BWW Interviews: LA BOHEME Opens at Hagerstown Hub Opera

Opening this weekend at Hagerstown Hub Opera, Puccini's La Boheme proves that the struggle is real. La Boheme is one of the most well known operatic stories about a group of young, impoverished artists struggling to make ends meet while holding onto their artistic ideals in a Parisian garret. Millennials may know the story as the classic opera which inspired the hit Broadway musical Rent.

Directed by Phillip Collister and musically directed by Andrew Rosenfeld, La Boheme is comprised of professional opera singers in the principal roles, and the performers enjoyed the challenging aspects of bringing the Bohemian characters to life.

"Rodolfo has a big arc-he starts off as a fun loving, but destitute poet who makes a modest living writing articles for a newspaper. He, along with the rest of his friends, are amused by their modest situation and find lots of humor in it. We see Rodolfo go from a jovial young man to someone who is swept away when he meets Mimi, the love of his life. When he realizes Mimi is fatally ill, Rodolfo knows that having her live in the squalor of his garret is bad for her. He tries to push her away with the hope that she will get better care. The two lovers are reunited and we see that Rodolfo is a very tender person and we see him dealing with the reality of caring for someone who is critically ill." said Nicholas Simpson on playing Rodolfo

"This production is my first time singing Mimi and it's a role I have dreamed of singing. I always cry when I see La Boheme and I have always related to Mimi. I think the most difficult part of playing Mimi is that she is sick and dying. Puccini is pretty clear that she doesn't know she's dying until she overhears her lover Rodolfo telling his best friend Marcello that she's dying, so that moment has to be a real surprise to her. When she is dying, I think it has to be evident in her singing, so I try to create a little more pallid sound when I sing in Act 4" said Gabrielle DeMers.

Of course, in an opera about the relationships between the Bohemians, the real-life relationships between cast members and their interactions are important to transfer realistically onstage.

"The most enjoyable part of this production has absolutely been working with the cast. In a opera like La Bohrme, the character interaction makes the show, especially with the four gentleman Bohemians. Fleshing out those relationships to give depth to those interactions makes something so simple as four guys living together and trying to make ends meet something really compelling for the audience" said Jason Buckwalter, who plays Marcello.

"La Boheme is truly an ensemble cast featuring characters who are friends and who deal with the everyday struggles of earning enough money to scrape by. The best part in putting together La Boheme has been exploring these characters, with the guidance of [director] Phillip Collister, and fleshing out their relationships to one another. Mimi is the newcomer to this group of Bohemians, who already have wonderful report, so it's been fun to figure out how she fits in and relates to Rodolfo's friends" said DeMers.

"We're very lucky in this production that the entire cast and director have a wonderful rapport. We all genuinely enjoy each others company, and we've bonded in and out of the rehearsal room. We've laughed so much together and we've had a very easy collaboration bringing these characters to life" said Simpson

Founded in 2010, Hagerstown Hub Opera is committed to bringing professional operatic performances to Hagerstown and allowing professional singers and artists the opportunities to spread the joys of professional opera to surrounding communities without easy access to the arts. The entire cast is excited to share their latest production with an audience.

"La Boheme has everything that makes opera truly wonderful and accessible: gorgeous music, a classic love-at-first-sight romance, comedy, complex characters, friendships, and death. There are some wonderful young singers in this cast and hopefully you'll be moved by this iconic love story" said DeMers.

"With it's beautiful music and moving story, La Boheme is something that everyone should see. While it is very cold in the opera (which takes place mostly in Paris in the winter) there is a good deal of human warmth in the score and story" said Simpson.

"It truly is one of the greatest operas ever written. People who have never seen it before will find something tremendous and deeply relatable in it and those who have seen it before can always find something new in it to enrich their understanding of the piece. I think it's fantastic that the Hub Opera Ensemble brings opera to Hagerstown. Bringing opera to as many people as possible is really important to me and opera in places you might not expect to find it is a truly welcome surprise" said Buckwalter

La Boheme also features Francesca Aguado as Musetta, Joe Pleuss as Schaunard, Zain Shariff as Colline and Andrew Payne in dual roles as Benoit and Alcindoro. La Boheme runs May 22, 29 and 30 at 7:30 PM and May 24 at 3:00 PM. All performances occur in the Kepler Theater at Hagerstown Community College, 11400 Robinwood Drive in Hagerstown, MD. Tickets are $25 for an advanced rate general ticket and $30 at the door. For more info or to purchase tickets online, please visit http://www.huboperaensemble.org/

Photo Credit: Perk Hull Design Courtesy of Hub Opera Ensemble