When Giacomo Puccini had the idea to write his famous opera, “La Boheme,” in the mid-1800s, he was on to something.

A story about a group of ill-fated artists who are bound together by their love of art and need for companionship is a story with enough depth and intrigue to span generations.

Though such a storyline incorporates important messages relevant to all human beings, not everyone jumps at the chance to see a Puccini classic. For those who aren’t into the opera scene, Jonathan Larson gave “Rent,” a story with the same basic ideas as “La Boheme,” but with a ’90s twist.

The Civic Center’s successful eight-show run of Larson’s masterpiece proved that a tale of bohemians struggling with love, hate, life and death is timeless.

Larson’s version of “La Boheme” kept the main storyline in tact, however, virtually everything else was altered to appeal to the MTV generation.

Instead of dying as a result of starvation as they did in “Boheme,” the artists in “Rent” are dying from the modern plague of AIDS.

Also the relationship between Mimi and Rudolpho in “La Boheme” is quite heterosexual, whereas Larson incorporates a lesbian relationship (Maureen and Joanne), a homosexual relationship (Collins and Angel) and a heterosexual relationship (Mimi and Roger) to make it easier for a wider audience to relate.

Though the instrumentation in “Rent” didn’t resemble anything remotely close to the instrumentation in “Boheme,” melodies from Boheme were sporadically played during appropriate sections of the musical.

“Musetta’s Waltz” from “Boheme” is played at the beginning of the show while Mark and Roger are sitting in their apartment, and is played again by Roger while Mimi is on her death bed. However, instead of being played by a lush string section as it is in the opera, the melody is played by an electric guitar.

The actual music itself was everything BUT operatic.

Larson managed to incorporate a combination of loud electric guitars with soft string pads throughout the show. And somehow the versatile singers pulled it off without a second glance. It was evident, even before I looked at the singers’ biographies, that the singers had experience as pop singers.

Another contemporary facet to the show was the band’s placement. Instead of being traditionally stationed in the pit in front of the stage like it is during most musicals, the band played its instruments right on stage with the actors. This placement let the audience know it was in for something more than a regular run-of-the-mill Broadway show.

When Puccini wrote “La Boheme,” he undoubtedly wanted to make a statement about life through a portrayal of the life of the artist. Puccini would have been proud of Larson’s feat of adapting his message to a few more generations.