LA BOHÈME
Opera in Four Acts by
Giacomo Puccini
Libretto by Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica
Marcello..............Joshua Benaim
Rodolfo...............Jonathan Boyd
Colline................Kirk Eichelberger
Schaunard...........Roberto Gomez
Benoit.................Jesse Merlin
Mimi...................Shana Blake Hill
Parpignol............Marc Meyer
Alcindoro...........Eric Coyne
Musetta..............Malinda Haslett
Orchestra and Chorus of the West Bay Opera
David Sloss, Conductor
Michael Morris, Chorusmaster
Kenneth Tigar, Stage director
Jean-François Revon, Set designer
Performance of
Friday, May 31,
2002, 8:00pm at
Lucie Stern Community Theatre
PALO
ALTO, CALIF -
As one of the cornerstone works in the modern
operatic repertoire, one encounters Puccini's La Bohème
frequently. Too often the performances are reduced to a routine
level where acting is perfunctory, singing is perfunctory and
everyone seems to be going through the motions. The performance on
Friday May 31st at West Bay Opera had elements of the routine but
had a few moments where it rose above the routine - making for a
satisfying evening at the opera.
Chief among these moments of excellence was the singing of the male
principals. Jonathan Boyd as Rodolfo deployed a very pleasing lyric tenor
with excellent legato and plenty of squillo. His voice had a beautiful
quality in all parts of his range. His first act aria, Che Gelida Manina, was
excellently sung with gleaming high notes, even legato and the right degree
of impulsiveness. However, he had a worrisome tendency to sing in the Richard
Leech style of singing with excessive pushing and making the audience
perceive his effort. Toning that down would make a huge difference both in
the dramatic portrayal as well as prevent a couple of the register breaks
that were evident a few times.
As far as pure voice goes, debuting artist Joshua Benaim as Marcello showed a
lyric baritone of fine promise. His baritone showed much greater bloom in the
upper register but not as much presence in the lower part of his range.
Despite the excellent vocalism and an endearing stage personality, his
overall performance didn't quite come together. Maybe with more experience in
this role it will change. Keep your eye on this young man!
Kirk Eichelberger sang a Colline with an appropriate mix of levity and weight
and was most moving in the farewell to the coat ("Vecchia Zimarra") in Act
IV. Roberto Gomez was Schaunard.
It's unusual for any performance in opera these days to have much stronger
male cast than the female principals. Such was the case on Friday night.
Shana Blake Hill as Mimi showed a voice that was pretty; however, when she
sang above mezzo forte her voice tended to take on an edge that wasn't
pleasant. She had a tendency to sing under the pitch a great deal. Perhaps
this is not the most conducive role for this soprano. The less said about
Malinda Haslett's Musetta the better. Her portrayal was shrewish and her
singing edgy. It made me wonder why Marcello would even want to be with her.
Jesse Merlin and Eric Coyne made the most of their small roles as Benoit and
Alcindoro.
The chief weakness of this production was the acting - all the principals
seemed to be subscribers to the "I am an opera singer" style of acting rather
than a naturalistic style. While that might work in a bigger theater, in the
428-seat Lucie Stern Theater it came off as a tad artificial and created a
barrier between the audience and the stage. This had a tendency to mar my
enjoyment of the show. Kenneth Tigar's direction made good use of the small
stage. The excellent production team of Jean-François Revon, Latifa Medjdoub
and Chad Bonaker succeeded in creating an effective illusion of early 1900
Paris.
David Sloss presided over the production from the pit. There was no great
musical nuance or insight but there were no train wrecks either. The small
orchestra played well. The volunteer chorus acquitted themselves with
enthusiasm. Their joy in performance was palpable even if their musical
efforts were not always successful. And ultimately, giving and sharing joy are
all that opera is about!
David Jones
is a San Francisco-based
correspondent for Classical Voice.
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