The lack of a more complete set was most notable in the Café Momus scene, but was largely offset by the brilliant use of an extra large chorus which paired the Opera Philadelphia Chorus with the members of the Philadelphia Girl’s Choir with the Philadelphia Boy’s Choir. Sharon’s seemed a little more verismo focused he wanted us to appreciate the poverty of the bohemians and question how things happen.
The Zeffirelli production focused on enhancing the romantic aspects. The singers on the disc were frequently handing things off to the costumed actors appearing at the edge of the disc whether this was done for effect or was simply functional was not clear. The many costumes were colorful and fun kudos to Costume Designer Jessica Jahn. I liked the absence of an intermission, personally, but staging was sans the visual appeal of the Zeffirelli staging used by the Met, which requires pauses for set changes, but draws you into the scene more completely. With very limited sets all assembled in place on a large circular, rotating disc, the action flowed from scene to scene non-stop, without intermission. This production had been previously honed with performances in Detroit, the Spoleto Festival, and Boston. Wasserman Artistic Director of Detroit Opera and a Macarthur Fellow (the genius award), added to the enjoyment of the new and different in this version. What is gained in the changes? What is sacrificed? How do the changes impact the listener?Īn audacious staging by Director Sharon, who is Gary L. After all, they are just stories – Puccini himself omitted one act from the original five acts in the libretto. Normally, these stories are told as leading from one stage to the next, but what would be the effect of viewing them in reverse chronological order, of telling or remembering them differently? In Fall 2021, Virginia Opera performed La Bohème: Rodolfo Remembers, a shortened version which begins with Rodolfo remembering Mimi and trying to come to grips with his loss it was affecting, an excellent production. The exact scenes depicted are the result of specific decisions made in a timeline, even though they also represent different stages of a love affair. Puccini’s opera portrays four scenes from a developing relationship: chance encounter, celebration of love, a falling out, and the risk of loss. They have fascinated me since I was a young man, and one can view them in chronological or reverse order, but they represent stages of life, not specific events.
#Washington post november 18 2018 crossword light opera series
The National Gallery of Art has a series of paintings by artist Thomas Cole titled “The Voyage of Life”, four paintings depicting childhood, youth, manhood, and old age. But for this production, Director Sharon has reversed the order you get the sad stuff at the beginning of the opera and the happy stuff at the end. In Act IV, Mimi dies from consumption and everyone, including the audience is sad. In Act III, Rodolfo’s and Mimi’s relationship has become strained, and they struggle to reconnect Musetta and Marcello spar more. In Act II, there is a Christmas Eve party at Café Momus where lovers Mimi and Rodolfo bond forever and lovers Marcello and the coquettish Musetta spar with each other. Then we are introduced to Mimi the seamstress who will quickly become the love of Rodolfo’s life. In Act I of the original La Bohème, we meet four bohemian friends – Rodolfo the poet, Marcello the painter, Schaunard the musician, Colline the philosopher, and Benoit their landlord.
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