Get Comfortable
Puccini's La Boheme is a favorite old blanket, perfect for crawling into on a damp, cold fall evening.
Nobody goes to see the world's most popular opera for a surprise ending. Puccini's La Boheme is, rather, a favorite old blanket, perfect for crawling into on a damp, cold fall evening. And so it was for the opening night of the Opera Company of Philadelphia's current season, which unfolded with no surprises, either negative or positive.
As familiar as La Boheme is, this is the first OCP production in eight seasons. Local audiences have, however, been afforded several opportunities to experience the work in the past several years, in stagings from Curtis, Center City Opera Theater and AVA. For whatever the work gained in intimacy in each of these smaller-scale productions, this new OCP version far surpasses the competition in sheer grand opera drama. This is a luxurious and exceedingly pretty La Boheme, with lively and smart set designs by Boyd Ostroff and a flow of action, as directed by Robert Driver, that takes full advantage of the ample space. There is an elegance and richness here that only a big-budget production can achieve; it is an easy pleasure to drink it in.
And what of the singing? The opera centers on the pairing of the poor young boho lovers Mimi and Rodolfo, and Ermonela Jaho and Roger Honeywell filled those roles with satisfying ardor and unforced acting. Vocally, this team seemed a bit mismatched, although not distractingly so. This was tenor Honeywell's first Rodolfo, and his bright voice needed more legato at first, less so as he warmed up. Jaho has a sweet-toned soprano with excellent dynamic control, which was somewhat obscured in ensemble singing. Secondary roles were all excellently performed, with special praise for Sari Gruber's buoyant Musetta, and company favorite Kevin Glavin's dual performances as the landlord and Musetta's sugar daddy. In both cases, Glavin actually evoked sympathy for gullible old men duped by rascally, bratty youth. And Richard Bernstein, as Colline, made the love song for an overcoat in the final act come across as especially poignant this evening.
As is often the case in OCP presentations, it is requisite to give praise to an unseen artist, conductor Corrado Rovaris. The orchestra under his firm leadership seems more supple and colorful than ever, the crucial scaffold upon which this very solid production is draped.
La Boheme
Opera Company of Philadelphia, Oct. 27, Academy of Music
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