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Richard Trinder
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@richardtrinder
8:44 AM 13th October 2019
arts

The Return Of The Bohemian

 
Eleazar Rodriguez as Rodolfo and Lauren Fagan as Mimì. Photo by Richard H. Smith
Eleazar Rodriguez as Rodolfo and Lauren Fagan as Mimì. Photo by Richard H. Smith
La bohème is back at Leeds Grand, courtesy of Opera North.

This hardy perennial of an opera, revisited here for the umpteenth time by Opera North, is a firm fan favourite. Sitting in fourth place in the operabase.com list of most-performed operas (with another Puccini piece, Tosca, also in the top five) La bohème has been translated, re-interpreted, partly re-written and re-dated. I once saw a dreadful version where the bohemian's frozen Paris apartment was replaced with a bustling hospital ward. Yuk! Despite all these onslaughts La bohème survives and thrives.

Yuriy Yurchuk as Marcello, Eleazar Rodriguez as Rodolfo, Lauren Fagan as Mimì and Anush Hovhannisyan as Musetta. Photo by Richard H. Smith
Yuriy Yurchuk as Marcello, Eleazar Rodriguez as Rodolfo, Lauren Fagan as Mimì and Anush Hovhannisyan as Musetta. Photo by Richard H. Smith
Thankfully, mercifully even, Opera North's La bohème is a 'straightish' production and, apart from a remarkably convincing drag act and some delightful children, was pretty much as Puccini intended. It's charming, wonderfully lyrical and terribly sad. It's hard not to love. It convincingly passes the 'humming test': see how far you can go after the end of the production before you catch yourself humming. I made it as far as the loo!

Lauren Fagan is an ideal Mimì and the beautiful, if slightly quiet voice of Eleazar Rodriguez added further poignancy to the role of Rodolfo.

The sonorous tones of Ukrainian baritone Yuriy Yurchuk gave gravitas to the Marcello part and Armenian soprano Anush Hovhannisyan clearly relished her coquettish role as Musetta. The final reunification of Marcello and Musetta is a powerful, melancholic anchor of the final scene and was played perfectly by the couple.

As always, the orchestra of Opera North revelled in the lush romantic melodies of Puccini, whilst set and costume designer Anthony Ward delivered an appropriately grubby, quirky visual metaphor for a physically undernourished set of bohemians.

Yuriy Yurchuk as Marcello and Lauren Fagan as Mimì. Photo by Richard H. Smith
Yuriy Yurchuk as Marcello and Lauren Fagan as Mimì. Photo by Richard H. Smith
Come the revolution there will be a day of reckoning: Shakespeare will have to account for his decision to bump-off both the idiot boy Romeo and the lovely Juliet, Louisa May Alcott will be made to atone for Beth March in Little Women and Puccini will have to apologise to all the men with glistening eyes streaming out of Leeds Grand after what he did to poor little Mimì.

La bohème is back, and not to be missed.

Phyllida Lloyd’s production is conducted by Renato Balsadonna with Michael Barker-Caven as Revival Director and Anthony Ward as set and costume designer.

Further information can be found at https://www.operanorth.co.uk/whats-on/la-boheme/
After Leeds, La bohème tours to Newcastle Theatre Royal, Nottingham Theatre Royal and The Lowry at Salford Quays.