James Inverne has written a fascinating new play based upon the rivalry between the two Italian opera composers, Giacomo Puccini and Ruggero Leoncavallo, at the end of the 19th century. At that time, as Inverne explains in his programme introduction, Milan was a hive of theatrical creativity with numerous composers competing to be the successor to Verdi. This play, which has its premiere at the Park 200 theatre, focuses on the race between two composers to produce a new opera entitled La Boheme, based on the 1851 book by Henri Murger.
The play starts in Leoncavallo’s living room, with him railing to his wife against Puccini, who he claims, has stolen his idea for the opera after a conversation in a coffee shop. Puccini’s account is very different, claiming that he had had the original idea and had been working on the opera for several months. There then ensues a frantic competition to compose and stage the first version of La Boheme. It is giving nothing of the plot away to reveal that Puccini completes and stages his opera first which, after a shaky start, remains to this day a classic of the opera genre.
The play is written in a highly theatrical style with the three characters on stage all the time, commenting on conversations between the others, breaking the fourth wall and acting out other characters. It was a presentation that worked well and there was a lot of humour in the dialogue.
The set design of the Leoncavallo’s living room by Carly Brownbridge was simple but effective with a grand piano, a chaise longue and a few tables. The wood effect floor was covered with a facsimile of a music script. There were a few imaginative touches such as opening windows on the back wall to reveal props as needed and a curtain which could be drawn back to illustrate the curtains in a theatre.
Sebastien Torkia played Puccini as self-confident and sarcastic, full of his importance as the pre-eminent composer of the time. Alisdair Buchan’s Leoncavallo by contrast was much more unsure of himself, struggling to compose a follow-up to his very successful opera Pagliacci. Lisa-Anne Wood (who has the most beautiful singing voice) was his long-suffering and supportive wife and periodically illustrated excerpts from the operas under discussion. I would have liked to have heard more live music as part of the production.
The running rime is about one and three-quarter hours with an interval. I felt that the ending was a bit drawn out and could have done with tightening, but overall, this is an extremely entertaining and informative evening of theatre.
That Bastard, Puccini runs until 9 August in the Park Theatre’s 200 auditorium in Finsbury Park. Tickets are available from https://parktheatre.co.uk/whats-on
Reviewer: Paul Ackroyd
Reviewed: 15th July 2025
North West End UK Rating: