Ellen Kent’s current revival of her original production perfectly captures the emotion and drama at the heart of Puccini’s timeless masterpiece of unforgettable music that tells of love, friendship, and death, under the direction of maestro Vasyl Vasylenko.
Set in the Latin Quarter of Paris in about 1830, it is Christmas Eve when we meet four struggling bohemians living in a garret: a poet, Rodolfo (Davit Sumbadze); a painter, Marcello (Iurie Gisca); a philosopher, Colline (Valeriu Cojocaru); and a musician, Schaunard (Vitalii Cebotari) who arrives having had some good fortune and they agree to celebrate by dining at Café Momus. They are interrupted by their landlord, Benoît (Eugeniu Ganea) but cleverly trick him into revealing he has been playing around which allows them to throw him out in comic moral indignation without paying their rent.
Whilst the others leave, Rodolfo remains but is interrupted by a knock at the door: a young girl needs to light her candle but then becomes faint and drops her key. As they search, Rodolfo discovers her name is Mimi (Elena Dee). As his impatient friends call for him, Mimi is framed in moonlight, and they declare their love for each other.
As the party dine in the hustle and bustle of the Latin Quarter, a former lover of Marcello, Musetta (Viktoria Melnyk) appears with a rich and elderly admirer, Alcindoro (Ganea), in tow, and, to his embarrassment, she sings a risqué song to garner Marcello’s attention.
The opera resumes some months on with a clearly unwell Mimi searching for Marcello who is working in a nearby tavern. She tells him of Rodolfo’s jealousy although we discover this is a sham: he is too poor to care for her and hopes she will find love with a wealthier suitor. They are reunited in their love whilst, in contrast, Marcello quarrels with Musetta over her flirtatious behaviour.
Some weeks later we return to the garret where Marcello and Rodolfo are caught up in nostalgia for their girlfriends who have found new, wealthy lovers. Suddenly Musetta appears with Mimi in tow: reconciliations seem in order but will it all end too soon?
The hand painted set design provided a wonderful backdrop of Paris to the garret and street scenes with its rich palette complemented by Valeriu Cucarschi’s lighting design, and more than a hint to Chagall in Act Three where the falling snow was literally the icing on the cake.
Vasylenko’s drive and flair allowed the Orchestra of the Ukrainian Opera and Ballet Theatre to overcome the depletion in their usual number with their soft playing underscoring the dramatic tension of the music at every turn and reaching the necessary crescendo as they segue through its rollercoaster of emotions.
Sung in its original Italian with English surtitles we were treated to some wonderful choreography from Stage Director Victor Donos whilst Chorus Mistress Kateryna Kondratenko-Savienkova oversaw a talented team that also included a stilt walker and a toyseller (Ruslan Pacatovici) as well as students provided by Stagecoach, and Nicci Hindson with her entertaining dog, Milo.
All the cast performed strongly with some cleverly choreographed and comic camaraderie between our four artisans where Cebotari’s bright energy perfectly offset Cojocaru’s more sober philosophical tones. Gisca delightfully balanced the humour and edge of painter Marcello with a fine vocal performance, whilst Sumbadze’s strong vocal gave full poetic licence to his conflicting emotions of love and jealousy.
Tonight, though, belonged to two beautifully talented sopranos. We’ve all met a Musetta and Melnyk served up every bit of sassiness, sexiness, and sweetness you could imagine and more with playful elegance and an impressive vocal throughout. Dee in turn shone as Mimi with her heartfelt performance sensitively embracing the emotional angst at the centre of this tragic love story with a vocal that fills dreams forever.
La Bohème is one of three productions touring throughout the UK and Ireland with full details avail-able at www.ellenkent.com
Reviewer: Mark Davoren
Reviewed: 21st February 2025
North West End UK Rating:
Rating: 5 out of 5.
