It's amazing what a bad director can do to a good show. And being stuck in the audience between a bunch of blue hairs and a guy who feels compelled to use his BlackBerry while Mimi is trying to die, well, that doesn't help.
There are three productions of "La Boheme" in the city right now, and as of last night I have seen them all. Let me just give you the advice that if you're not sure which one to see, between the three, that you would do best to skip the City Opera production. I was kind of sad that it didn't work.
Musically, it's fine. The State Theatre still has its terrible acoustics, but the cast was uniformly strong and the conductor, well, I really enjoyed his interpretation of the score. Oddly, this Boheme has the strongest Mimi I have heard in all three versions (and I've heard two of the three Broadway Mimi's).
The set and the direction are what create the most problems. For example, in Act I, the apartment where the bohemians live is actually removed from the stage right at the start of the love duet, and the moon comes in. And it starts to snow. Now, this would be beautiful if it made dramatic sense in the context of the snow (She suggests they follow his friends to the Cafe Momus, he flirtingly replies that it might be nicer to stay here, where it's warm. Except they're nowhere, in a snowstorm.) I have also never heard noisier stage snow. Ever. It sounds like it's pissing down rain on them. It was so distracting that (the people sitting near me and) I began to laugh.
Act II's staging was basically a distaster, and so was Act III. First of all, they brought in that damn noisy snow again. Second of all, it's supposed to be set by the gates to Paris, and there's a tavern there where Rodolfo, Marcello and Musetta are staying. But in this version, it's just sort of set in this bizarre-I-can't-tell-you-where, but there's a big train engine. It makes NO sense.
Then, in Act IV, Marcello and Rodolfo are supposed to be working together (on separate projects, in the same room). But the director has placed Rodolfo in a chair on the roof of the apartment, and Marcello is downstairs repainting it. Makes no sense when a housepainter curses his paintbrush. He's supposed to be having artist's block because his mind is preoccupied by Musetta, hello?. So their big duet takes place with them not even in the same room!
Oy. Go see the Baz version, or, even better (especially musically, and for the beautiful staging in Act II and III) the Met Opera version. And if you see it at the Met, look out for Jere; he's one of the fabulous Soldiers On Parade.
Posted by Jon at April 11, 2003 12:27 PMI read about this broadway version of Verdi's opera...can't imagine how they would present it (butcher it) Broadway style.
Posted by: Nina at April 11, 2003 01:47 PMahh, fark. I meant PUCCINI, not VERDI! I was thinking about La Traviata!
I rather enjoyed the Broadway version - from a theatrical point of view. The reduced orchestra and the microphones left something to be desired, but it was a lot of fun to watch. The young actors, while not as vocally talented as those at the Met or City Opera, really give moving performances. And it's visually a lot of fun, if not quite as thrilling as the Met's version which probably has 200 people and a horse.
Posted by: Jon at April 12, 2003 12:57 AM