Review: LA BOHEME, Welsh National Opera - Birmingham Hippodrome
Photo credit: Richard Hubert Smith
One of opera’s most revered tales, La Boheme, returns to Birmingham Hippodrome in a new production by Welsh National Opera this week.
Being the most frequently performed show in the genre’s canon, it is also one of the most accessible shows for those not as familiar with opera, particularly with musicals such as Rent being based on the piece. My only personal recommendation to those new to the opera is to not sit to close to the front as the surtitles shown high above the stage are definitely sore neck inducing!
Ultimately a tale of love and loss set against a Bohemian backdrop, Puccini’s La Boheme centres on four creatives who are struggling to make ends meet financially. One night, poet Rodolpho meets neighbour Mimi, a seamstress, and their lives changes forever.
Stephen Brimson Lewis’ set and costumes capture their lifestyle with a pastel colour palette, with each act painting a different picture in front of your eyes, aided by Tim Mitchell’s lighting and Nina Dunn’s video design. For a show that originally premiered in 1896, this traditional take on La Boheme will undoubtedly please opera aficionados, however it would have been a welcome change to perhaps have a slightly more modern take on the material aesthetically.
Puccini’s gloriously romantic score soars through the Hippodrome auditorium, expertly conducted by Pietro Rizzo. Act Three is a highlight in its entirety, with stunning melodies and harmonies in the quartet between the phenomenally talented Rodolpho (Jung Soo Yun), Mimi (Elin Pritchard), Marcello (Rodion Pogossov) and Musetta (Aoife Miskelly). If I could play that section on repeat for the foreseeable, I’d be one happy Bestie!
Caroline Chaney’s direction could go somewhat further in heightening the emotions of the piece. The music takes it 80% of the way there but the acting would push it further and this occasionally feels slightly pedestrian. Nevertheless, this is a beautiful presentation of an iconic piece.
**** Four stars
Reviewed by: Jenny Ell
La Boheme plays at Birmingham Hippodrome until 11 November before visiting Southampton and Oxford. Further information can be found here.
