Reader Reviews
La boheme (Soho Theatre, Inner London)
Back to Show Details| Score | Comment | Date |
 | I enjoy listening to opera but have rarely felt tempted to attend, put off partly by the language barrier and also that many opera singers are reputed to be very poor actors. All of which made OperaUpClose's production of La Boheme so enticing. Staged in the cosy Soho Theatre and in the downstairs bar it's translated into English and updated so as to be very recognisable to anyone more familiar with Rent. The young cast sing beautifully and there is superb accompaniment from a brilliant sole pianist and the bar scene is a riot, bringing Dean Street to a halt outside. However, the libretto sometimes sounds clumsy and clunky and is not always legible - perhaps it would be better in Italian with the voices used as instruments forming part of a beautiful score. This remarkable production will live long in the memory and I would be very intersted to see more of this company's work, but it also confirmed some of my prejudices about opera. - David Baxter | 12 Aug 10 |
| went to a matinee performance and really enjoyed it- especially the bar scene which was mad and chaotic and made me laugh- I would love to have just walked in on it. True to it's name OperaUpClose delivers an intimate performance with great singing and I loved the Soho now slant- interesting and entertaining- well worth a visit. - lola | 10 Aug 10 |
| Stunning. I never normally like to hear Puccini's great love story in English, but this talented cast, delivering an updated version set in Soho, pull it off with aplomb. And what a great idea to do Act II, Cafe Momus, in the bar downstairs as a promenade. As always Puccini's wonderful score got to me, as indeed it did for many others, and even though it's played just on the piano, I say just the piano but that does not to do justice to Andrew Charity's brilliant accompaniment. Wonderful - 10/10. - rds | 08 Aug 10 |
