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La Boheme
By Michael Van Duzer
Over one hundred years old and going stronger than the Energizer Bunny, Puccini’s La Boheme seems to be everywhere these days. In a week, the national tour of its grunge offspring, Rent visits Los Angeles, and next month, Baz Luhrmann’s sensational Fifties update opens on Broadway. In the present climate is there any danger of us reaching Boheme overload? Might Opera Pacific regret choosing a traditional production of the opera to open their season? Not for a minute. Puccini’s hardy perennial favorite pulled through again and the clamor for tickets forced the company to add another performance to the schedule.
The reason for Boheme’s popularity is simple: it’s the perfect synthesis of melody with the passion of young love. Director Bernard Uzan chose not to tamper with a sure thing, guiding his cast through their paces with a sure hand that concentrated on illuminating the details rather than re-thinking the piece. A final tableau shared by all the bohemians around the corpse of Mimi, a moment usually reserved for only Rodolfo and Mimi, was a particularly nice touch.
Uzon was fortunate in having a cast youthful enough to convince the audience that they were truly young and in love. Misha Didyk proved an earnestly bookish Rodolfo whose poetic flights of fancy were not always taken seriously by his friends. Vocally he is a tenor with properly ardent high notes and an almost disconcertingly baritonal lower register. As Mimi, Robin Follman revealed a dependable instrument that handled the role with grace and ease. Her acting was simple and unforced, even making the encroaching disease believable.
Frank Hernandez’s powerfully sung Marcello was a standout, and his enslavement to Anita Johnson’s maddeningly insinuating Musetta was completely understandable. Gregorio Gonzalez proved a playful Schaunard, and Kyle Ketelson (memorable as Leporello in last season’s Don Giovanni) sang Colline with such richness and self-possession that he threatened to steal the show. The only unfortunate performance choice came from the usually impeccable Andrew Fernando who was encouraged to overdo the buffo antics as Benoit/Alcindoro.
John De Main led the orchestra with his customary élan. All in all the production is a worthy addition to the landscape of battling Bohemes.
Orange County Performing Arts Center November 5-10, 2002 www.operapacific.org
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