My wife says it’s not a competition and that Director Yuval Sharon’s production of Puccini’s La Bohéme should not be compared to classic productions. I’ll try, but that’s a tall order given that practically the whole thing is taken from the classic production, just reversing the order of the acts, and adding a character to tell us what is going on. Remember that this is one of the most popular and beloved operas of all time. Few opera fans will view this production without already having feelings for the characters and making comparisons. I guess the important question isn’t which version you might prefer, but how will this telling affect your feelings.
Mimi (Kara Goodrich) is dying as she is surrounded and comforted by her friends (l to r) Marcello (Troy Cook, kneeling), Rodolfo (Joshua Blue, kneeling), Schaunard (Benjamin Taylor, sitting), Colline (Adam Lau, standing), and Musetta (Melissa Joseph, sitting). Photo by Steven PIsano; courtesy of Opera Philadelphia.
In Act I of the original La Bohème, we meet four bohemian friends – Rodolfo the poet, Marcello the painter, Schaunard the musician, Colline the philosopher, and Benoit their landlord. Then we are introduced to Mimi the seamstress who will quickly become the love of Rodolfo’s life. In Act II, there is a Christmas Eve party at Café Momus where lovers Mimi and Rodolfo bond forever and lovers Marcello and the coquettish Musetta spar with each other. In Act III, Rodolfo’s and Mimi’s relationship has become strained, and they struggle to reconnect; Musetta and Marcello spar more. In Act IV, Mimi dies from consumption and everyone, including the audience is sad. But for this production, Director Sharon has reversed the order; you get the sad stuff at the beginning of the opera and the happy stuff at the end.
The National Gallery of Art has a series of paintings by artist Thomas Cole titled “The Voyage of Life”, four paintings depicting childhood, youth, manhood, and old age. They have fascinated me since I was a young man, and one can view them in chronological or reverse order, but they represent stages of life, not specific events. Puccini’s opera portrays four scenes from a developing relationship: chance encounter, celebration of love, a falling out, and the risk of loss. The exact scenes depicted are the result of specific decisions made in a timeline, even though they also represent different stages of a love affair. Normally, these stories are told as leading from one stage to the next, but what would be the effect of viewing them in reverse chronological order, of telling or remembering them differently? In Fall 2021, Virginia Opera performed La Bohème: Rodolfo Remembers, a shortened version which begins with Rodolfo remembering Mimi and trying to come to grips with his loss; it was affecting, an excellent production. After all, they are just stories – Puccini himself omitted one act from the original five acts in the libretto. What is gained in the changes? What is sacrificed? How do the changes impact the listener?
Mimi (Kara Goodrich) sings to Marcello (Troy Cook) of the trouble in her relationship with Rodolfo. Photo by Steven PIsano; courtesy of Opera Philadelphia.
What was gained in this production of La Bohème?
First, Opera Philadelphia further enhanced its reputation as a leading, progressive opera company. This production could have been featured in the coming O23, OP’s fall festival that seeks to discover opera’s boundaries.
The audience got to see something different while viewing a classic opera. One of the director’s goals was to give modern audiences the opportunity to view a classic opera as a world premiere. In that, it succeeded. It helped a lot that Puccini’s music holds up to changes in the order played, and that Conductor Corrado Rovaris and the Opera Philadelphia Orchestra played the music so beautifully, woven seamlessly into the timing of the singers and the plot. Impressive.
A scene with cast and chorus as characters celebrating Christmas Eve in the town square near Cafe Momus, revealing the circular, rotating disk tilted up. Photo by Ray Bailey; courtesy of Opera Philadelphia.
Speaking of singers, this was a fine cast, beginning with soprano Kara Goodrich as Mimi. She sang beautifully with a powerful, attractive, emotion-filled voice. It was easy to understand why, after her appearance in a minor role in OP’s Rigoletto in May of last year, OP had no problem casting her in a major role. Tenor Joshua Blue was also excellent. For much of the opera I thought his voice waxed and waned in intensity, but in his major arias, he shone brightly and drew well deserved applause. The principal singers were overall quite good: baritone Troy Cook as Marcello and soprano Melissa Joseph as Musetta; bass Adam Lau as Colline and baritone Benjamin Taylor as Schaunard. In this version, Schaunard and Colline are also a couple. In a contributing supporting cast, Musetta’s sugar daddy Alcindoro was well played by bass-baritone Frank Mitchell.
At Cafe Momus, Musetta (Melissa Joseph) delivers “Quando me’n vo’”, perhaps La Bohème’s most famous aria. Photo by Steven PIsano; courtesy of Opera Philadelphia.
An audacious staging by Director Sharon, who is Gary L. Wasserman Artistic Director of Detroit Opera and a Macarthur Fellow (the genius award), added to the enjoyment of the new and different in this version. This production had been previously honed with performances in Detroit, the Spoleto Festival, and Boston. With very limited sets all assembled in place on a large circular, rotating disc, the action flowed from scene to scene non-stop, without intermission. I liked the absence of an intermission, personally, but staging was sans the visual appeal of the Zeffirelli staging used by the Met, which requires pauses for set changes, but draws you into the scene more completely. The many costumes were colorful and fun; kudos to Costume Designer Jessica Jahn. The singers on the disc were frequently handing things off to the costumed actors appearing at the edge of the disc; whether this was done for effect or was simply functional was not clear. The Zeffirelli production focused on enhancing the romantic aspects. Mr. Sharon’s seemed a little more verismo focused; he wanted us to appreciate the poverty of the bohemians and question how things happen.
Members of the Philadelphia Girl’s Chorus and the Philadelphia Boy’s Chorus added color to the Cafe Momus act. Photo by Ray Bailey; courtesy of Opera Philadelphia.
The lack of a more complete set was most notable in the Café Momus scene, but was largely offset by the brilliant use of an extra large chorus which paired the Opera Philadelphia Chorus with the members of the Philadelphia Girl’s Choir with the Philadelphia Boy’s Choir. The use of such a robust chorus with limited props was exceptionally effective, and they sounded great under the direction of Chorus Master Elizabeth Braden. The rush of a horde of chorus members to begin this act was fun, but near the end, I did find that the thinness of the set began to wear on me.
For me, the best moment of this version came in Sharon’s Act II/Puccini’s Act III. That act has always been somewhat of a shock and downer as we leave the joyous lovers and are plunged into the icy water of their estrangement (the act Puccini removed helped bridge this change). Coming as relief to the death just witnessed, I was more receptive to the arias sung in this act. This is really a great act, and one that the singers excelled with; Troy Cook as Marcello was especially strong in this act. The final act where Rodolfo and Mimi forge their love had some outstanding vocals by Joshua Blue and Kara Goodrich and perhaps Puccini’s most compelling music, but this was my favorite act in this production. It was new to me, almost like really seeing it for the first time; I now look forward to seeing that scene in a classic production.
In the last act, the friends are gathered for friendly banter as Colline (Adam Lau) and Schuanard (Benjamin Taylor) dance as Rodolfo ( Joshua Blue) and Marcello (Troy Cook) look on. Photo by Ray Bailey; courtesy of Opera Philadelphia.
What was sacrificed?
For me, there are two things that every La Bohème must do. First, make the audience feel like bohemians, connect with the youthful idealism of living for soul-felt art and willingness to suffer the deprivations and creature comforts that requires, and second, convey the friendship borne of that special bond comrades in purpose enjoy. It’s not so important that we feel serious sympathy for their living conditions. La Bohème is a romantic work. Rodolfo tells Mimi that in his soul he is a millionaire; the production must impart that feeling to the audience; it puts everyone in good spirits. It is the true setting of the story, and coupled with Puccini’s outstanding music, we are put in the perfect mood to respond deeply to the love story. With the right players, and OP had the right players, it happens readily in the beginning of the Puccini version where the bohemian friends are a major focus and then head off to party. There is even a comic scene, excised from this version, where the friends tease and trick landlord Benoit in his attempt to collect the rent. If you don’t like the four friends and their irrepressible spirit, the romance of the entire opera is deflated. I already knew the four friends, but I suspect that starting with the heartache of Mimi’s death somewhat mutes that aspect for audience members meeting them for the first time.
I think the other essential element of La Bohème is that you must like, even fall in love with Mimi. She must make you want to put your arms around this charming, gentle spirit we meet in Puccini’s Act I. Ms. Goodrich acted that part well, but we meet her in this telling on her deathbed, staggering in movements; and in the next act, we experience her in argumentative conflict with Rodolfo. I was already bought in to Mimi’s character through multiple viewings of La Bohème; how did novices respond to Mimi? Did they manage to love her at the end?
In the end, which was the beginning, Mimi (Kara Goodrich) and Rodolfo (Joshua Blue) fall in love. Photo by Ray Bailey; courtesy of Opera Philadelphia.
Some of the staging did not work especially well for me. The introduction of a new character, the Wanderer, to explain the scenes was more a distraction than helpful, even though actor Anthony Martinez-Briggs was outstanding in the role; I liked the Wanderer very much, just not in this opera. His refrain was that ‘it could have all turned out differently if’ was supposed to make us think. I was thinking already. A brief introduction at the beginning by one of the existing characters would have sufficed. In the final scene where Mimi and Rodolfo meet and fall in love, their big arias were sung to the audience as they watched each other from the background. For me, it gave the scene a little bit of a recital quality, but the performances of those arias were outstanding.
Should you go see this version? I strongly recommend it for the novel staging by one of America’s most creative, young stage directors, the marvelous singer/actors, and wonderfully played music and the extraordinary choruses. If you have seen La Bohème enough to be a little weary of it, this might be a good refresher and offer some new insights like Sharon’s Act II/Puccini’s Act III did for me. If it’s your first viewing, I’d like to know what you thought. Perhaps most importantly, Bohème La did rekindle my affection for La Bohème.
The Fan Experience: Performances for La Bohème were scheduled for the Academy of Music on April 28, 30 and May 5, 7. The opera is sung in Italian with surtitles displayed on the overhead screen in English. There are four acts but no intermissions. Running time was one hour and forty minutes.
I’d also recommend making your plans now for Opera Philadelphia’s O23 festival to be held over twelve days this September/October. This event has consistently been a hightlight of the opera season for my wife and me. My preview of O23 can be found at this link.