A tragedy without tears
West Bay Opera’s ‘La boheme’ is exceptional but fails to deliver ‘a good cry’
by Kevin Kirby – Palo Alto Weekly
On opening nights at West Bay Opera, it is customary for José Luis Moscovich, the company’s general director, to address the house prior to the overture. A dapper man with a dry sense of humor and a soft yet crisp speaking voice, Moscovich has a nice touch with a curtain speech, making the audience feel like integral collaborators in the preservation of a precious cultural heritage.
Last Friday, at the opening of Puccini’s “La bohème,” the first show in WBO’s 54th season, Moscovich riffed on the recent health care debate, wryly suggesting that the government should support opera as a form of therapy and suggesting that this show was just what the doctor ordered for those in need of “a good cry.”
Certainly Puccini’s tale of young love cut down in its prime is designed to be a tear-jerker. When the chronically ill seamstress, Mimi, appears in the rundown garret that the poet Rodolfo shares with three other starving artists, asking him to relight her candle because she has no matches in her own quarters, no one with any knowledge of operatic tropes could expect their sudden romance to have a happy ending. By the opera’s final scene, when a severely weakened Mimi is carried into the garret once more, unable to climb the stairs on her own, it’s hanky time.
Or at least it should be. It is perhaps an overstatement — and an overly glib one at that — to say that there was not a wet eye in the house at the close of Friday’s performance, nor was the Lucie Stern Theatre filled with the sniffling noises of an emotionally devastated crowd. In short, the production simply lacks the visceral punch that one would hope for.
It’s an unfortunate critique to have to make, since WBO’s latest staging of this perennial favorite gets so many things right. The orchestra, singers and visual design are all quite strong.
Conductor Bryan Nies has assembled a fine group of musicians. Apart from some minor difficulty in a tricky pizzicato passage in Act III, the orchestra was effectively flawless. Nies has superb control of the players, and his sensitivity to the ebb and flow of the score is exemplary. During Rodolfo and Mimi’s crucial arias — especially Act I’s “Che gelida manina” and “Si, mi chiamano Mimi” — Nies never takes his eyes off the singers, matching their phrasing breath for breath.
Pedro Betancourt (Rodolfo) and Carrie Hennessey (Mimi) are equally adept at capturing the lyricality of Puccini’s melody lines. Their duet, “O soave fanciulla,” is a lovely close to the first act, even if the characters’ proclamation of love seems a bit premature for two people who met 10 minutes earlier.
David Hodgson is immensely likable as Marcello, the painter, and his unselfconsciously warm baritone serves the music well. Ani Maldjian gives a vocally accomplished performance as Marcello’s on-again, off-again lover, Musetta, even if she doesn’t quite capture the infamous siren’s larger-than-life persona.
John Bischoff and Teagan Moore lend great energy and humor to the garret scenes as Colline and Schaunard, respectively. Both men have rich voices, even if Moore seems to be scraping the bottom of his vocal range in a few passages. Moore is very funny in Schaunard’s dance solo at the top of Act IV, and Bischoff delivers the aria “Vecchia zimarra” (in which Colline explains to his faithful overcoat that he must pawn it to buy medicine for Mimi) with perfect simplicity. Eric Coyne is adequate as the landlord Benoit — balancing on one foot on a raked tabletop while bragging about his extramarital conquests — but his exaggerated makeup actually distracts from his performances.
Jean-François Revon’s set designs are simultaneously simple and ornate. They are a marvelous recreation of the Art Nouveau style… and an appropriate one, as WBO has set the story at the turn of the 20th century. There is hardly a straight line or square corner to be seen. Instead, the garret and the Café Momus are defined by enormous curvilinear window frames: sinuous, calligraphic and botanical, and the sky in Act III is framed by ominous tentacles of cloud or vegetation.
The only odd scenic choice is the apparent decision to strip the garret of all props and other set dressing during Act IV — “apparent” because it almost seemed as though the stage crew had simply failed to preset the stove, the easel and a handful of smaller items before the lights came up, leaving Marcello and Rodolfo to sing about “this pen” and “this brush” with not a single prop in sight.
The period costumes by Yuri Cataldo are effective, as is Steven Mannshardt’s lighting design. Another odd choice, however, is the decision to play all of Act III behind a dark scrim. Granted, this tactic creates a murky pre-dawn feel that suits the scene, but it also robs the actors of their facial expressions.
Jimmy Smith’s staging is very good in the garret scenes; less so elsewhere. In particular, the Latin Quarter market scene that opens Act II feels more cramped than vibrant. Also, more rehearsal time should have been devoted to the children’s chorus; the kids are enthusiastic but unpolished.
Ultimately, though, none of the production’s relatively minor flaws would matter if this “Bohème” could deliver on Moscovich’s promise of a good, cathartic cry. But the saddest thing about this tragedy is that the alchemy doesn’t quite work. Perhaps the sting of Mimi’s fate is blunted by the fact that Hennessey never exhibits a full measure of youthful gaiety in the first place, choosing to play Mimi as rather staid and pragmatic throughout. Perhaps the fault lies with the somewhat lackadaisical reactions of her friends when she returns to the garret in Act IV, as though they all realize they’ve come to the final, preordained scene.
Whatever the reason, it might be wise of Moscovich to change the thrust of his preshow remarks. Both musically and visually, this is an exceptional production. If it were pitched as a timely social commentary on the cruelty of a healthcare system that neglects the poor, rather than as a tear-jerker, it might just succeed on all fronts.
What: “La bohème,” presented by West Bay Opera
Where: Lucie Stern Theatre, 1305 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto
When: Remaining performances are Oct. 24 at 8 p.m. and Oct. 25 at 2 p.m.
Cost: $30-$55 (group discounts available)
Info: Call the box office at 650-424-9999. For more information, go to www.WBOpera.org.
See some of the masters create and have a little fun yourself at the
