If Mimi’s flowers blossomed from her embroidery, the gloriously aromatic efflorescences would quickly fade—a moment of completeness soon met with decay. La Bohème’s leading lady embodies this universal truth of existence, and this existentialism in La Bohème is a beauty that is timeless. It is an exchange of energy from one lover to another and brings passion to life.
The music, composed by Puccini, performed by the Bavarian State Orchestra and conducted by Andrea Battistoni mimicked this same metaphor of a flower’s life. Battistoni controlled the music’s blooming swells and lulled valleys with the utmost sincerity and flare for the dramatics. Unfortunately, the audience could have used a softer dynamic range because every leading cast member at some point combated the orchestra to be heard. The exception to this was Marcello, performed by Davide Luciano. His booming baritone vocals conquered the grandest of orchestral explosions. At many points, the duets between Mimi and Rodolfo were actually ménages à trois, as the orchestra demanded its role amongst the lover’s quarrels and confessions of love. This is heard specifically in Act I’s candle flame exchange and love’s first embrace. I felt that the orchestra, at times, was another leading character and not always a supportive role. Although I am critiquing the volume levels of the orchestra and singers, I was quite moved by their performances. The iconic clarinet motifs in ascending harmony and overall memorable melodies of this opera were played and sung tenderly and with devotion. Giovanni Sala stepped in tonight as a replacement in the role of Rodolfo. Sala’s own innocence resonated well in this youthful character. In conjunction with his counterpart, Nicole Car’s Mimi, Sala’s tender tenor voice matched well with the expertise and virtuosity of Car. I sometimes questioned his vocal stamina against the prominent sound of the orchestra, but was unsure whether to put blame on his youth or the sound balancing.
The Bavarian State Opera house is a fantastic venue, but for such a prestigious opera house with high caliber sets, performances, props, and musicians, I found the amount of misspellings in the English supertitles shocking—a mistake easily fixed with proofreading.
Aside from my nit-picky preferences, I was in love with the evening and felt an embodied response while enjoying the four act’s rollercoaster of emotions. My overall take away was that this specific performance was a standard presentation—well done but lacking the last oomph that takes a performance from being just good to outstanding. My thoughts wandered to how this opera has been reborn in many contexts. For example, being the setting for cinematic marvels like Moonstruck, and also becoming the framework and palette in musicals like Rent, which gave a voice to queer storytelling. La Bohème is iconic for a reason. It will remain for times to come when continually presented with such delicacy. It is an opera where multigenerational audiences and myself fall into young love, experience life’s last spurts of energy, and, like Mimi, sing our final aria.
