puccini and ruggero leoncavallo (composer of the 1892 opera "i pagliacci") both chose to set mürger's book to music. each claimed he was the first to make this decision. leoncavallo's "la bohème" was first performed in 1897, the year after puccini's opera. leoncavallo's opera never attained the fame that puccini's did probably because puccini's opera was gaining a popularity in 1897 that left leoncavallo's opera in the dust.