Composer: Giacomo Puccini
Director: Natascha Metherell
Conductor: George Jackson
Natascha Metherell’s production places the story in a 1950s Italian film studio; the band of struggling artists are updated to freelancing writers and set painters of the film industry, Musetta is a glittering starlet and the ill-fated Mimí makes her way by embroidering flowers in the costume department.
Unfortunately, this concept misses the mark most of the time; the drama is muddied rather than elevated by too-busy staging and confusing locations. In the most high-stakes moments, such as Mimí and Rodolfo’s first meeting in Act I, our focus is constantly pulled away by the overcrowding of the space by chorus members.
An integral part of what makes this opera so compelling in its original form is the shift between the characters’ interior and exterior lives – but in Metherell’s production it seems that the characters are actually never in private. Are we watching a ‘play within a play’ style of drama? Are we watching a group of people who actually live on a film set? These questions are simply never answered, which makes it increasingly difficult to emotionally connect with these people and their relationships.
At least from Act IV, the drama is given a clearer location, enclosed in the drab walls of Rodolfo’s small apartment as Mimì lies in the throes of her sickness, but unfortunately, this world-building is needed much earlier for us to understand the height of these stakes, and the tension of the opera’s tragic climax is yet again broken by the distraction of wandering chorus.
Musically, this cast is incredibly strong across the board. Katie Bird in particular is a wonderful Mimì, with a markedly rich voice that travels effortlessly. Open-air theatre will almost always favour higher voices, so if the balance ever feels slightly off between orchestra and voice in the male-dominated scenes of Act I then this is quickly forgiven, as the trade-off is more than worth it.
The singers are all extremely sensitive performers and the chemistry between them as a mismatched group of friends is palpable. The children’s chorus is brilliant, and in Act II where they pile on stage to rehearse ‘takes’ of the film is probably the one instance where Metherell’s concept holds up; their unwaveringly high energy amongst all the moving parts of this act makes for a visually impressive sequence.
Ultimately, a concept-approach to any canonical work should not require the audience to have watched a traditional production to fill in the dramatic gaps themselves. This bohème is musically very compelling but dramatically lacking in too many places.
Runs until 5 August 2023
The Reviews Hub Score
Musically compelling
