La Bohème is not Puccini’s best. My review of the last Welsh National Opera production of it, from 2022, goes into why it might not work in some ways. With the arias remaining as standard, the story feels like the mirror of Verdi’s La Traviata – set in Paris, leading lady dies at finale, sung in Italian – though, true to its title, it depicts the less affluent side of society. Other composers have set the story to opera, but Puccini’s remains the standard.
The WNO Orchestra, conducted here by Corinna Niemeyer, are often enthralling this evening, with bursting romance, sparkly glockenspiel and stabbing brass keeping the opera in check – yet I know what to expect from both story and score. There is one dynamic idea contained in this staging: Mimì, the seamstress central character who will eventually succumb to tuberculosis, is haunted by a presence which does not leave the stage until she does for the last time. This representation of death is omnipresent – the only other time Mimì’s mortality is questioned is during the café scene in act two, when the diners whip out menus emblazoned with skulls, as Mimì is cornered, taken unawares.
Had these portrayals been amped up more, the sense of dread and menace might have had a bigger impact. The 2022 WNO staging, from Annabel Arden, had nice little touches, such as Mimì deliberately blowing out her candle so she can meet neighbour Rodolfo. The set remains the same for the most part: Dieuweke Van Reij conjures up a Parisian street, versatile enough for all four acts, and the rise and fall of the back of the road where characters arrive and depart makes for a wonderful sight. (I also clocked that the surtitles are now back to their regular presentation, after the vast increase in size for the Bluebeard and Oedipus Rex pairing.)
Costumes, by Jon Morrell, suggest a setting maybe a century after the 1830s, as Puccini intended. With glamour still abounding, La Bohème’s second act – set on Christmas Eve at a swanky restaurant – is the most typically exuberant. Are these Bohemians homeless, living on the street? What is this haunting presence which attaches itself to Mimì?
The cast feel like they know Puccini. Alexia Voulgaridou brings experience to the role of Mimì, and her introductory aria in the first act was touching, if lacking depth. Carlos Cardoso, as her soon-to-be lover, matches the two, and his singing might be the best here. Sporting a long, worn coat and a beard as struggling painter Marcello, Navasard Hakobyan gives off the feel of a real bohemian, and has fun with the role vocally speaking, even if as support to Rodolfo he doesn’t really do a lot in the story.
Singer Musetta always adds froth to La Bohème, and her famous aria is given with camp glee courtesy of Sofia Kirwan-Baez. The other group in the Bohemians, Colline and Schaunard, are played by Ross Fettes and Owain Rowlands in both casual attire and black tie, and bring food, money and good humour to the scene.
Christopher Lemmings doubles up as both seller Parpignol – whose red balloons evoke Stephen King’s It – and the looming presence of Death, in which guise his frequent loitering onstage nods to half a dozen older depictions. His voice, though brief, has command and a salesman’s conviction. Lemmings’ dual role is an ingenious idea – indeed, the best one this production has.
La Bohème, Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay, Sat 3 Oct
words JAMES ELLIS
