Herbert Ross’ production of Giacomo Puccini’s La Bohème currently being presented by LA Opera has everything an audience venturing to the opera could hope for. When the curtain rises on Gerard Howland’s beautifully-textured scenery, one is instantly transported to a brutally cold winter scene speckled with the soft, orange glow tantalizingly emanating from windows. This contrast of warmth and cold in both color and implied temperature is fused throughout a production which samples the heights of elevated drama while luxuriating in broad comedy to relay a story of destitution existing within the crevasses of opulence.
It is no wonder this source material thrived in Jonathan Larson’s adaptation, Rent, seeing as the story of destitute artists fighting to survive under the heels of the wealthy continues to resound with pertinence. However, with grand crowd scenes, stirring arias, and elegant designs, it is more than just cultural relevance that will keep audiences engaged in La Bohème. In fact, the staging is so gripping the two and a half hour runtime seems to slip away in the blink of an eye.
The excellent artistry of the singers additionally bolsters the production. Gihoon Kim’s Marcello seems to be driven by emotion pulled directly from his core while Oreste Cosimo’s Rodolfo resonates like an idealistic, lovestruck figure pulled from a Caillebotte painting. As Musetta, Erica Petrocelli (an alumnus of the Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artists Program) flits into rages of comic frustration while maintaining poise and elegance. Janai Brugger (another Domingo-Colburn-Stein alumnus) conjures rapturous applause as the tragic heroine, Mimi. Especially in the third and fourth acts, Brugger conjures a deeply human performance that elevates Mimi above a character from a melodrama. William Guanbo Su, in his LA Opera debut as Colline steals many of his scenes with clarity in his timbre.
With all the elements of grand opera firing at full capacity, La Bohème is certain to be a delight for lovers and newcomers to opera alike.
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