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SEEN AND HEARD UK OPERA REVIEW

Puccini, La bohème (Second Cast) : Soloists, chorus and orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Conductor: Maurizio Benini. Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, 5.1.2010. (JPr)

Eri Nakamura as Musetta - Picture © Johan Persson
 

After reporting the 21st revival of John Copley’s 1974 production of Puccini’s perennial Parisian favourite in 2008 (review), many of my reflections on the work and its staging remained valid now that it has returned for the 23rd time. At the 2008 revival, the tenor had a leg injury and Colin Clarke has since reported from the first night of this current run of bohèmes that an ailing tenor was substituted after Act II (review) Thankfully, there were no such alarms on the evening I went to see the alternative cast. John Copley supervised all the current performances himself and I fully agree with CC that this traditional production in the late Julia Trevelyan Oman’s accurate recreation of 1840’s Paris, is ‘eminently watchable’. I must also add that the evening, due to an excellent contribution from all concerned in Act IV, ultimately had a very touching and affecting conclusion; though this might be more due to Puccini’s exceptional craftsmanship, masterly characterisation and ability to manipulate sentiment, than to those actually performing the work on the stage.

It was good to see in this cast, that the Royal Opera now has the apparent confidence to give significant opportunities to young artists past and present from its Jette Parker programme : and having notably enjoyed their appearances earlier this year I was particularly looking forward to hearing Ji-Min Park and Eri Nakamura as Rodolfo and Musetta, even though they did not entirely live up to my expectations. The inclusion of these young singers though, generates an area for discussion about the cost of seats at The Royal Opera. The informative performance programme, which includes Sarah Lenton’s fascinating insights into John Copley’s production, also contains a list of the great artists  involved in it over its 35 year existence. While more than a few of them would certainly have been worth the premium seat prices that Covent Garden was charging for these nights at the opera, it is distinctly doubtful whether the house should still be charging up to £200 a seat for the ensemble presented here. I have always want talented young artists (and particularly British ones) to get their opportunities on the most important opera stage in this country, but the Royal Opera must also be fair to its audience – and to the singers themselves – because charging premium prices entitles audiences to expect the highest of performance standards.

Or perhaps admission prices don’t really matter that much: because the opening of Act III made me wonder just how many people in the audience were seeing this production – or even any La bohème - for the first time. Trevelyan Oman’s iconic design for the ‘Outside the Barrière d’Enfer’ scene includes gently falling snow which prompted applause that felt distinctly over-the-top even though it was highly relevant to the UK’s recent Arctic weather. But the opera opens on Christmas Eve and in Act I Colline has already sung that the cold and snow are ‘Signs of the Apocalypse’. This is not, and never has been a reference to ‘global warming’, whatever the audience thinks! Unfortunately too, clearing up the ‘snow’ means having a second interval after Act III which makes the evening a long one for a Puccini opera.

For once, the Bohemians were the right ages for their roles and  they set about their stage business – anger, passion or comic capers by turns - with appropriate youthful spirit and energy. John Copley seems to have changed little in the production – and why would he? - but I do not remember Colline ever taking his trousers off in Act IV before and then placing them under the bed, with the result that they hastily have to be put  back on when Musetta brings Mimì back to the garret. Also there is much less ‘cricket’ than there used to be, with only one piece of  baguette flying about as the bread is batted away with a shovel.

Of the two main pairings, Marcello and Musetta clearly outsang Rodolfo and Mimì and made the evening seem more like Leoncavallo’s 1897 version of the story in which the former are by far the more important characters. Christopher Maltman was an exceptional Marcello and the only one of the main principals to give a complete performance, combining his smooth, ardent baritone with acting that showed both élan and a total commitment to what he was doing. Against him,  Simone Del Salvio was an engaging, though rather stalwart  Schaunard. Former Jette Parker Young Artist Vuyani Mlinde however, was much more energetic than usual as the philosopher Colline; he brings to the role what appears to be a naturally vivid stage presence and matches this with a powerful and expressive bass voice that put just the right amount of pathos into the ‘Coat Aria.’ This ‘farewell’ created a wonderful emotional moment which was completely spoilt by his conductor, Maurizio Benini, yet again pausing for applause and turning La bohème into an opera-by-numbers. Jeremy White gave a reasonably vivid cameo as the landlord Benoit, while the vastly experienced Donald Maxwell was such a brilliant and strongly characterized, soon-to-cuckolded  Alcindoro that he managed to unbalanced Act II’s comic moments by becoming the focus of attention even when he shouldn’t be.

Welsh soprano Rebecca Evans is a very good - though not outstanding - Mimì, more prim and proper English school governess than ‘flower embroiderer’, but with a sweet, warm-toned, if not overly large voice which came into its own in her hauntingly expressive contribution in Act IV. Current Jette Parker Young Artist, Japanese soprano Eri Nakamura, and Jette Parker Principal, Korean tenor Ji-Min Park, completed the ensemble of principal singers. Ms Nakamura was very appealing as the amusing and fickle Musetta and although her voice was a little too strident on occasions, she gave much evidence here that she is likely to sing more Mimìs than Musettas in the future. Ji-Min Park as Rodolfo showed that he has still a lot to learn and his essentially small sound and uneven phrasing counted against some exquisite mezza voce singing, solid top notes and an appealing gawky boyish performance. Singing together, Rebecca Evans and Ji-Min Park could not quite cut through Puccini’s passionate orchestration in Act I which usually brings a frisson to their burgeoning love. At quieter times though, as  against the poignant and increasingly faltering harp ‘heartbeats’ in Act IV, they were much clearer and they sang a very emotional final duet.

Italian conductor Maurizio Benini was conducting this opera for the first time at Covent Garden and led a vigorous reading full of Italianate fervour and bright colours which accentuated all the Puccinian extremes of emotion. With the support of the always reliable Royal Opera chorus and orchestra this was a polished, persuasive – and ultimately deeply moving - musical performance that was the ‘real thing’ and perhaps deserved a slightly stronger cast.

Jim Pritchard