La boheme

Synopsis

Puccini's most enduring opera. The story of the love of the poor poet Rodolfo for the consumptive seamstress Mimi. Set in the Latin Quarter of Paris the course of their love is constantly threatened by Rodolfo's jealousy and Mimi's illness. The painter Marcello and the provocative Musetta are the other main characters. This is where 'your tiny hand is frozen' comes from and the last few bars, as Rodolfo realises Mimi is dead, are some of opera's most moving moments.

Our Review:

18 December 2012

On opening night this, the 26th revival of John Copley’s venerable production of Puccini’s immortal tearjerker, tugged at the heart for the wrong reasons. It’s Mimì who’s supposed to be the delicate one in La bohème, but Maija Kovalevska was in such fine fettle all evening that her demise when it came seemed almost out of character. The Latvian soprano’s voice may not be the sweetest but it was strong and secure.

The same could not be said, alas, for her Rodolfo.  Although the show will sell on the strength of his name, Rolando Villazón was a shadow of his former self and easily the more fragile of the two lovers. Therein lay the evening’s true sadness. It was impossible to relax into the Mexican star’s performance as his powers seemed to ebb further and further away as the evening wore on, until by Act Three he was straining to be heard, pushing his way into the high tessitura and hiding ...

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