The agony and the ecstasy: Puccini’s tragic tale soars
The denizens of Bohemian Paris have earnt a place in our hearts in La Boheme – now a new production and a Brisbane Festival treat.
Enduringly popular and originally framed in an 1830s setting, La Bohème is arguably a 19th-century version of the sitcom Friends.
With its romantic themes, memorable tunefulness and vibrant orchestration, this opera inspired the hit musical Rent, Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge and also the film Moonstruck, starring Cher, which quotes from Puccini’s sumptuous score.
In this version, four impoverished bohemian dreamers – a philosopher, musician, artist and poet – are flatmates in 1920s Paris. On a bitingly cold Christmas Eve, seamstress Mimi knocks on the door in need of a light for her candle. She and Rudolfo fall head over heels in love. As Mimi’s consumptive illness worsens and Rudolfo becomes increasingly aware of the tragic consequences of living as an outsider, his bright idealism dims.
This Opera Queensland production … is intelligent and coherent
This Opera Queensland production – created in collaboration with West Australian Opera – with Matt Ward’s assured direction, boosted by Charles Davis’s clever sets and costumes – is intelligent and coherent. For instance, the imaginative tableaux and arrangement of OQ’s accomplished choruses of adults and children on stage representing a joyful and bustling Christmas Eve, are a delight.
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The stark setting, insightfully illuminated by Christine Felmingham’s lighting, flames this narrative prompted by Henry Murger’s book, Scenes of Bohemian Life. A greenhouse-like structure situated in a wooded, snowy landscape, symbolising Rudolfo’s ideation of Mimi as a delicate hothouse flower, is usefully adaptable, serving as Cafe Momus and the bohemians’ spartan digs.
The snowfall beautifully portrayed by Queensland Symphony Orchestra’s flutes and harp at the opening of Act 2 makes QPAC’s Lyric Theatre shiver and brokers sympathy for the young idealists swathed in woollen scarves who don’t have enough to eat or sufficient firewood to burn.
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Luckily, the QSO, conducted by Italian maestro Umberto Clerici – who spent four years as a cellist in the orchestra in Turin, where La Bohème premiered in 1896 – fires Puccini’s score with scorching aplomb and superbly peaked phrasing. The Queensland Symphony Orchestra sounds luxurious, producing exclamatory and whispered tone.
Musically, the production flashes superior credentials in the exquisite performances of Puccini’s hit arias in Act 1 – Rudolfo’s Che Gelida Manina, Mimi’s Mi Chiamano Mimi and the show-stopping love duet, O Soave Fanciulla.
Characterisation is generally convincing, with a distinguished crop of soloists. It helps that the lead roles of Mimi, gloriously sung by Elena Perroni, and the obsessive, love-struck Rudolfo touchingly incarnated by tenor Valerio Borgioni, bring an authentic sensibility to their performances as Italians.
Nina Korbe’s Musetta is stunning, every bit the coquettish diva, conquering the stage and singing Quando Me’n Vo in Act 1 with star quality. Bradley Daley’s Benoit, the vexed landlord, is good. Samuel Dundas’ Marcello is relatable, a persuasive mix of tender concern, passion and scorn. Jeremy Kleeman’s Schaunard, Luke Stoker’s Colline and Shaun Brown’s Alcindoro are all commendable and add depth.
At 129 years of age, La Bohème is apparently the fourth most performed opera in the world. The success of this charming and entertaining revival stems from its equally accomplished musical as well as theatrical mettle, a feather in the cap for the company.
La Bohème plays the Lyric Theatre, QPAC, until September 13.