La Bohème Archives - North West End UK

29Apr

By Ezzy LaBelleNo Comments

North West

La Bohème – Storyhouse, Chester

Stories of love and endurance always capture the spirit and Puccini’s La Bohème is arguably one of the most famous operatic pieces on this theme. Opening on Christmas Eve in a 19th century Parisian garret, we witness the ebb and flow of two couples - Rudolfo (Thomas Elwin) Marcello (Michel de Souza) Musetta (Jenny Stafford) and Mimi (Francesca Chiejina) - with fates entwined in a storyline that stands as well today as when it was first written. Picture two lovers meeting on a snowy night against the backdrop of the famed ‘city of romance’. Where should we assume their meeting will take them in life? In this classic tale of love, friendship and mortality, the audience are faced with a stark social picture of what it’s like to live on the breadline. Be prepared to meet the highs with the...

14Mar

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

RENT – Carriageworks Theatre

It’s a tribute to Jonathan Larson’s genius that his quirky offbeat rock musical about a bunch of New York outsiders is the eleventh highest grossing Broadway show of all time and this is a pretty faithful recreation. The claim that it’s a reworking of Puccini’s opera La Bohème has always seemed to be a bit overblown, but it remains a powerful ode to artists as outsiders based on Larson’s own experiences when he was struggling to get work made. The narrative and dizzying array of musical styles is held together by aspiring director Mark making a gonzo documentary about his friends living in and around a New York squat, many of whom have AIDS when that for many was still a death sentence. Paul Lonsdale’s Mark is a touch on the mature side, but he sings and acts well. Rent continues...

La Bohème Live at The Drive-In – ENO, East Car Park, Alexandra Palace

25Sep

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

London

La Bohème Live at The Drive-In – ENO, East Car Park, Alexandra Palace

Monty Python used to say, and now for something completely different, and ne’er was a truer word said than with ENO director P.J. Harris’ contemporary English language adaptation of Puccini’s classic opera, and it is also transformed from its 19th C Parisian location to a modern-day encampment in a disused London car park, where we meet our four struggling hipsters: poet Rodolfo (David Butt Philip); painter Marcello (Roderick Williams); philosopher cum photographer Colline (William Thomas); and musician Schaunard (Benson Wilson), who arrives having had some good fortune. They are interrupted by Benoît (Trevor Eliot Bowes), a security guard, but cleverly trick him to avoid paying him his dues. Whilst the others leave, Rodolfo remains but is interrupted by a young lady needing a light fo...

4Jul

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

London

La Bohème – Royal Opera House

By the time it was retired in 2015, the Royal Opera’s previous production of La Bohème, directed by John Copley, had notched up 25 revivals in its 41-year history, so the pressure was on for its 2017 replacement, directed by Richard Jones and with sets and costumes by Stewart Laing, for what is one of the most frequently performed operas worldwide. The play is set in the Latin Quarter of Paris in about 1830 where on Christmas Eve we meet four struggling bohemians living in a garret: a poet, Rodolfo (Michael Fabiano); a painter, Marcello (Mariusz Kwiecień); a philosopher, Colline (Luca Trittoto); and a musician, Schaunard (Florian Sempes), who arrives having had some good fortune and they agree to celebrate by dining at Café Momus. They are interrupted by their landlord, Benoît (Jeremy ...