I'm never entirely sure about La bohème. When I did a review of a DVD I started off by saying "Let's start with suitably lowered expectations," and finished with "Madmusings - failing to 'get it', one opera at a time..."
Actually, not a great deal of change, there. I mentioned on a Newsgroup on Sunday evening that it is, at best my fifth favourite Puccini opera. I wouldn't like that claim to be overly scrutinised, but I definitely prefer Tosca, La Fanciulla del West, Manon Lescaut and even La Rondine.
Nevertheless, I decided to book up to see it at Covent Garden. I think my prime motivator was that Angela Gheorghiu was Mimi. I was really gutted to read that the scheduled Rodolfo, Yu Qiang Dai is indisposed for the run and is being replaced, mainly, by Tito Beltrán, and for two performances only, by Rolando Villazón. I know little or nothing about either Dai or Beltrán, but I really would have liked to see Rolando Villazón. I would be happy to hear him sing the phonebook. Sold out - Angela Gheorghiu does that. Ah well, I shall just have to satisfy myself in seeing Rolando (twice) in Rigoletto.
The production shown is nearly as old as me and older than some of the Principals on display. Safe, traditional, it works. Including the cast of millions in the second, Cafe Momus, Act.
Music - good. Storyline, all right. Characters, two-dimensional, but, hey, this is opera not Play for Today. I think I'm supposed to say, music great. But I can't bring myself to it. I was sat next to a chap in his late forties, who was with his son, a student, and was talking him through it. A little too much, I think. Didn't quite grasp the concept of shutting up when the orchestra was playing. Was convinced that the conductor was Antonio Pappano when the programme said it was Mark Elder (and it looked a lot more like Mark Elder than Antonio Pappano...). Asserted the tenor was Chinese - he looked very Chilean to me. But he summed it perfectly - all the great arias happen in Act 1 - Che gelida manina, Mi chiamano Mimi and O soave fanciulla - and it's worth going to anything with Angela Gheorghiu in it.
Although I have to say she sounded a bit below par, vocally. I wonder if she was being tacticle, because in the less interesting bits she sounded quite generic, but where it mattered those glorious gorgeous high notes were there in all their splendour, and, quite frankly, worth the price of the ticket alone. I wonder if she had vocal difficulties, she certainly seemed to be coughing a lot...
The tenor, Beltrán, was eminently forgettable. A whiny nasally voice, without the top notes required, and with, at times, a very vague approximation to pitch.
Most of the rest were perfectly adequate also-rans, although Angela Maria Blasi as Musetta was larger-than-life (over)-acting wise, and Jonathan Lemalu as Colline sang an eloquent Vecchia zimarra
But the star of the evening was Mariusz Kwiecien as Marcello, definitely to voice to watch out for again.
So did the Camden New Journal, after a fashion...
But musically, its largely a success. Making his Covent Garden debut, the young tenor Mariusz Kwiecien does sterling work as the painter Marcello he will no doubt be playing the lead very soon.
Hint to Jonathan Allen:
a) Do your homework
b) Mariusz Kwiecien is a baritone - the clue is, he sang Marcello, a baritone role. Actually the clue is in the programme you got, no doubt for free, along with your free Press Ticket (paid for by taxpayers, donors and the ticket-buying public...ligger!)
c) The lead is a soprano role. That means, er, woman.
And he gets paid for writing such rubbish? There are some pretty piss-poor showers calling themselves journalists, if you ask me...Chap sat next to me would have written a better review.
Coming to a Big Screen near you on 30 June.
Update: Also in the Observer
