Puccini’s La bohème, a story of love and bohemian life in 19thcentury Paris, is an extremely well-known opera. It follows a group of young artists as they deal with unpaid rent, unfulfilling work and unstable love. It is a familiar story that can be set nearly anywhere, during any era.
Conducted by Judith Yan, Vancouver Opera’s production of La bohème took the typical setting of fin-de-siècle Paris and pushed it forward a few decades, bringing the set and costumes into 1920s Paris. The production began, however, in modern times. The curtain rises as tourists wander through the streets of Paris’ Latin quarter, inspecting vintage furniture, post cards and souvenirs. A woman puts on an old gramophone, and the opening to the opera, not quite a full-scale overture, begins to play. We are then transported back in time to the 1920s to meet the young bohemians at the centre of the opera.
I must admit that I often find myself listening more for the leading soprano or mezzo rather than for the male voices, probably because I have a better grasp of how the female voice can sound and can be manipulated. It is not very often that I find myself holding my breath for the next time the male lead sings, but such was the case for this performance. While I applauded Mimi’s “Mi chiamano Mimi”, and cried for her during her final aria “Sono andati”, Korean tenor Ji-Min Park ‘s Rodolfo was just so intriguing to watch and to listen to. His aria “Che gelida manina” gave me the chills usually reserved for the high note in a soprano aria. It was his voice I followed closely as he and Mimi walked backstage at the end of act 1, still singing as they catch up to their friends.
After an introduction to the exciting and reactive Musetta in act 2, act 3 once again begins in the present day, this time with an accordion playing the melody of “Musetta’s Waltz” from act two. I saw this production on February 19th, and Karl Lagerfeld, creative director for Chanel, had died that morning. As a tribute to him, a chorus member walks on dressed in all black, with his signature white ponytail and dark glasses. It was a subtle tribute that worked to the production’s advantage, further strengthening the connection between the past and the present through the idea of the Chanel brand and its popular association with 1920s Paris.
Puccini’s operas have always been very accessible, and are usually what I recommend to those who are new to the genre. It is easy to engage with his music, as his melodies are used frequently in film and television and enhance relatively straight forward plots. La bohème, among other Puccini operas, has been adapted into movies and musicals, most notably Jonathan Larson’s Rent. So, if you are already into musical theatre, La bohème is a perfect introduction to opera. The Canadian Opera Company’s 2013 production of La bohème was the first opera (of many) I ever saw, so it was nice to return to it after 6 years of expanding my opera knowledge.