La Boheme should not be missed
Puccini’s La boheme; NZ Opera, soloists, Freemasons New Zealand Opera Chorus, Orchestra Wellington, conducted by Tobias Ringborg
Wellington Opera House, until October 13 Reviewed by John Button
La boheme is a sure-fire, box-office opera, and this new production will – surely – sell out.
Ever since its premiere in 1896 it has grabbed audiences with its mix of emotional hand wringing and its exotic setting of bohemian Paris in the 1830s, and even when productions stray from the atmosphere of the original it can still work.
This production is a touch starker than some, although not modernistic like the 2008 production, and the lighting is basic, even a little brutal, making the cafe scene less sheerly festive than it perhaps should be.
But it works because it is superbly cast, brilliantly sung and finely acted.
In short, it is intensely believable, allowing the final scene to make its full effect even to those for whom La Boheme is as familiar as an old glove.
Above all, for me, it is the singing.
In 2008 a fine, young cast sang beautifully, but this cast of New Zealanders and two Australians is even finer, sweeping all before it.
Marlena Devoe as Mimi and Thomas Atkins as Rodolfo not only look the part but they offer up singing at once both subtle and gloriously full blooded, culminating in a final scene of power and emotional tension.
And what superbly idiomatic support they receive; whether it is the beautifully realised Marcello of Nicholas Lester, or the fine rapport offered by Julien Van Mellaerts as Schaunard and Timothy Newton as Colline, the friendship and emotional commitment makes for stunning theatre. The light relief offered by the Musetta of Amelia Berry gives an added dimension – beautifully acted and gloriously sung.
The smaller parts are finely done and the chorus is, as usual, completely first rate.
But the clincher is the conducting of Tobias Ringborg. He guides the production with a sure sense of style, drawing some superb playing from Orchestra Wellington, not afraid to occasionally overpower the singers as Puccini clearly intends, and generally marshalling the emotional highs and lows in masterly fashion.
This should not be missed.