We look at this revival last night of a recent classic La Boheme, by English National Opera at their home base of the London Coliseum.
If you are going to open a new season, with a new first night, then it’s always best to stick to what you know, and what your audience will also know. “La Boheme”. – probably the flagship so to say of Puccini’s writing, is the opera that fits everybody’s understanding; it is a wash of melodies, a story line that resonates with all of us, and the heroine dies at the end.
And it is based in Paris. Sure, it is brought forward into the 30’s inter war period in Europe, but there is nothing new about its universal relevance. Emile Zola was a writing brutally about the down and out poverty of lower classes in Montmartre, just 13 years before Puccini published this opera. And even at the present day – the same groups and styles people, congregate aimlessly with little hope, just a few steps down from Gare du Nord.
But then again, sticking to the rules, was never ENO’s style. This opening night was remarkable on so many new levels.
This was a meeting of old friends. People old and new hugged each other in the theatre reception. Groups of people chatted loudly as they took their seats; “And how are YOU?!”
Yes, this was the same Jonathan Miller production, and brilliant clever staging. But there was a new sense of purpose, a much harder ambience behind the smiles. This has not been an easy journey for ENO.
The orchestra, so often the driving force of every ENO opera, raced away, almost taking your breath away. It was immediately crisp, assured – before merging into that flow of melodies that is a Puccini opera.
The close harmonies of the key protagonists – and the much larger ensemble group at end of Act 2 – was masterful.
Joshua Blue as Rodolfo, is a revelation. On his ENO debut, he adds a level of subtlety, of less is more. I loved the provocation of Vivian Mpofu as Musetta. And Clelia’s Cafiero’s direction – and making her ENO and UK debut as guest conductor, was the glue that drove things forward.
And yet, as much as I thought these elements would steal the show – I was wrong. Walking ahead of me towards our seats, an older man was humming some melodies – which came from “Carmen”. There is the same emotional engagement of Bizet’s music as in the Puccini score. And they are both telling parallel stories; love doesn’t work out, and the heroine dies.
So many people afterwards told me that this was their first visit to something called an “opera”. This one is worth seeing.
La Boheme is running for a series of 9 performances finishing Oct 19th.