The Opera Tattler

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Opening of La Bohème

La-boheme-gheorghiu   * Notes *
La Bohème opened yesterday afternoon at San Francisco Opera with incoming music director Nicola Luisotti conducting. His tempi were quite elastic, though even when he drew out parts, they did not sound sluggish in the least. The singing was all fine, even wobbly Norah Ansellem (Musetta) managed to be convincing, though her high notes were not pretty. Oren Gradus sang Colline's "Vecchia zimarra" beautifully. Quinn Kelsey did well as Marcello, his warm tones were lovely, though his voice was noticeably louder than the others. Piotr Beczala's Rodolfo sounded vulnerable, particularly in "Che gelida manina." I found the big star of the performance, Angela Gheorghiu, a bit difficult to hear over the orchestra at times. When audible, her voice can be sublime, and she does sound better in this than in La Rondine last season.

I did not actually watch this first performance, so I have little to say about the production. The set and costumes are standard fare for Bohème, everything looks as one would expect.

* Tattling * 
It has been a long time since an opera performance was ruined for me, and given that I go so often, it was bound to happen. Everything was going well in balcony standing room for the first 2 hours and 40 minutes, no latecomers tried to speak to me, no one's cellular phones or watch alarms could be heard, and so forth. Then in the last five minutes, two middle aged men started talking aloud right next to me. One had complained of feeling faint, and so, like me, was sitting in the back. His friend apparently had grown tired of standing room as well, and they could not be quiet, they even giggled as Mimi died. Usually when the last notes of the piece ring out, I feel like I have been kicked in the stomach, and some part of my brain is highly annoyed at Puccini for being so manipulative. This time though, these couple of cretins managed to destroy that effect. Even the sing-along woman at SF Lyric was not able to do that!

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6 responses to “Opening of La Bohème”

  1. graustark Avatar
    graustark

    My only real complaint was the conducting. Luisotti took an overly symphonic approach, quite similiar to what Von Karajan did on the famous Freni/Pav recording. From Balcony Circle, it seemed to me he was causing problems at times for other singers besides Gheorghiu. Considering the current state of Ansellem's voice, she did pretty well. The staging was far better than last time, with the final act being the best I've ever seen it done. I guess I found the right place to sit, because nobody made a sound or even barely moved a muscle during the entire performance.

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  2. The Opera Tattler Avatar
    The Opera Tattler

    Luisotti did take a symphonic approach, in that way he was not unlike Runnicles.

    Up in the back of the balcony it was quite easy to hear everyone but Gheorghiu, but yes, certainly that house doesn't have the best acoustics either.

    Looking forward to seeing the opera next time!

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  3. bean Avatar
    bean

    ACH!!! I AM SO HORRIFIED! YOU ACTUALLY LIKE PUCCINI! gasp gasp choke

    I'm sorry, I can no longer be friends with you.

    Good-bye.

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  4. The Opera Tattler Avatar
    The Opera Tattler

    O you like him too. You like Fanciulla. Also, you like the part in Act IV of Bohème when Schaunard sings "Lallera, lallera, lallera."

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  5. Roberto Avatar
    Roberto

    When I saw Angela Gheorghiu last year on La Rondine, I was not at all impressed with her voice. At that time, I just blamed the poor acoustics of where I was sitting in the dress circle. Then I started to read here and there that Gheorghiu's voice was gone. Even so, I still refused to judge her based on that performance. I waited until 11/19, the day that I would see her again as Mimi, on La Boheme.

    For me the opera starts with "Che gelida manina". Outstanding sung by Piotr Beczala. He didn't even get close of reaching the high C at the end. Good for him. At the rational level, it was the best decision. I hope that his voice lasts for several decades. Last year, I saw him here in SF on a correct and elegant performance as Tamino. However Rudolfo is another story and I was eager to see the other side of Beczala. He displayed great vocal texture, with a very rich and powerful voice. An untouchable performance.

    Then it was Gheorghiu 's time with "Si mi chiamano Mimi". I realized right away that her voice is indeed gone. No "chest" and total absence of anything that resembles a passagio. And, for the record, I was sitting on the middle of balcony's first row. For those that know the War Memorial, it is the best seat in the house, as far as acoustics is concerned. On "O soave fanciulla", I mostly just heard the tenor.

    Act II is mainly dedicated to Musetta. I could not understand a word of what Norah Amsellem was singing, but nevertheless she hit some tough notes.

    On Act III, Gheorghiu was a little better, but there was no way that she would recover from the disaster of "Si mi chiamano Mimi". Brian Mulligan was a big surprise. It is an important role and Mulligan gave everything that a great Marcello needs.

    As for the Act IV, first of all, we shouldn't need that intermission. Except if Gockely needs the revenue from bottles of water and glasses of wines for his budget. It is a short act. A special mention to Oren Gradus' performance on Colline's aria. Gheorghiu, once again, was not impressive.

    Luisotti 's conducting was outstanding. I agree with those that compared his approach with Karajan's famous recording. For me this is highly complimented. This is verissimo! It demands a full orchestra with the singers being able to penetrate it. Luisotti did his job. If Gheorghiu couldn't do, that's her problem.

    Every single aspect of the production revival (set design, wardrobe, direction, lighting, etc.) was mesmerizing. It was a "Mimi-less" La Boheme, but there was so many qualities on this production that I totally didn't care for Gheorghiu mediocrity.

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  6. The Opera Tattler Avatar
    The Opera Tattler

    Dear Roberto: Thanks for the review! I was most impressed with Gheorghiu a few years ago at the Met, as Amelia in Simon Boccanegra. I find her voice to be a bit quiet, very vulnerable, and very pretty.

    I don't think SF Opera actually takes in that much on food concessions, since Patina does the service. So, I don't think Gockley cares too much about having more than one intermission, in fact he has stated on many occasions that fewer is better. It is a function of the set, and there should have been a better way to design it so that we could have only one intermission.

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