“We’ll part in the spring,” Mimì and Rodolfo promise one another. No such luck for Franco Zeffirelli’s production of La bohème, which returns to the Metropolitan Opera stage for a whopping 18 performances this season. Premiered 42 years ago, it’s now older than many in the cast, but remains a massive draw for the Met. It’s easy to see why, with Zeffirelli’s gargantuan, hyper-realistic sets continuing to draw applause, even if they require 90 minutes of intervals for a two-hour opera. And while much has been made of the newly-restored sets, they look as dated and quaint as ever. With a rotating cast and little rehearsal time, it’s often at risk of turning into a living museum piece.
The main reason to catch this revival is Federica Lombardi’s Mimì. Lombardi has swiftly established herself as a leading Mozartian at the Met, but the size and richness of her voice lends itself well to Puccini’s heroines. She was at her best in Mimì’s high, soaring lines, which gave her gleaming lyric soprano the opportunity to bloom. She also has the capacity to reduce her voice down to a mere thread, which made for a particularly moving final scene. At times her pitch tended to veer sharp and her lower register lacked punch, but the generosity of her phrasing and conversational way with the text made for a very special Mimì indeed. It’s the little details, like how she allowed her voice to unfurl like the spring flowers she describes in her opening aria, that allowed a tired revival to seem fresh. It also helps that she’s a fantastic actor, with a natural radiance and quietly dignified presence.
She was well matched by Matthew Polenzani’s Rodolfo, who despite having been singing leading roles at the Met for 25 years retains a youthful charm. His essentially lyric tenor has grown in size, with an old-school Italianate ardour and ringing high notes. Thankfully, this hasn’t come at the expense of sweetness or flexibility, and it was wonderful to hear such musical and textual nuance in the role. He can be a stiff actor though, more comfortable in the hijinks of the opening scenes than in his scenes with Mimì. Without strong chemistry between the leads, the high stakes of Act 3 just don’t feel high enough.
Sparks were also missing between Adam Plachetka’s Marcello and Olga Kulchynska’s Musetta. Plachetka’s affable baritone is pleasant enough, and his sympathetic demeanour is an ideal fit for the role of the universal best friend. But he too often resorted to bellowing, making his smooth baritone sound gruff and pinched. Kulchynska’s Musetta was vivacious, outrageously flirting her way through Paris with a flamboyance that managed to cut through Zeffirelli’s fussy stage business. And while her bright soprano had no issues projecting through the auditorium, it often took on a harsh, glassy edge that didn’t blend well in the ensembles. We only root for Marcello and Musetta if we see the humanity and vulnerability come through – here, they too often turned into caricatures.
There was solid support from the rest of the bohemians, with Christian Van Horn’s witty Colline as the anchor. Van Horn has made his way through the ranks at the Met, and he’s a treasurable artist with a solid, sonorous bass-baritone and an appealing stage presence. His Colline was wonderfully understated, resisting the urge to overplay the comedy, and his brief aria featured some of the finest singing of the evening. Sean Michael Plumb’s Schaunard was a standout, with a warm, elegant baritone that projected easily through the auditorium. He also has an engaging stage presence, dispatching the physical comedy of the final act with a youthful naturalness.
The evening was presided over by Carlo Rizzi, who has emerged as the Met’s go-to conductor for Italian opera. It’s easy to see why: he has an innate feel for the flow of the music, pushing and pulling the tempo without feeling fussy. He’s sensitive to the singers’ needs and moves the evening along – if his conducting isn’t exactly revelatory, there are enough moments of magic, particularly with Lombardi’s Mimì, that make this revival worth catching.
