La bohème @ Festival Theatre, Edinburgh
Scottish Opera's La bohème dazzles with a delicious sense of excess, and uses its enduring story to draw compelling parallels to the contemporary
As operas go, Giacomo Puccini’s La bohème is usually a safe bet. The libretto has etched itself into pop culture via revivals, adaptations and allusions – everything from the plot of Broadway hit Rent to the use of Musetta’s Waltz in Moonstruck – and the title La bohème is about as recognisable as anything in the Italian repertory. That said, the premise is as follows: a poet falls in love with a seamstress dying of consumption while a painter and a singer rekindle a former romance, all ‘bohemians’ of the title braving the Parisian winter in impoverished conditions. It’s a tragedy about a creative collective on the outskirts of several things – success, fortune, survival, maybe even love. Importantly, it also takes place at Christmas, making this Scottish Opera production a herald of the holiday season.
The stage is set in an awesome, multifaceted courtyard marketplace with three offerings: a clothes shop, a restaurant/bar (which functions as several locations throughout), and what looks like an art shop, which also becomes the entry/exit point for the main characters’ garret in act one. It feels like a forgotten hotspot of Parisian cafe culture during a famously cosmopolitan era: as in Scottish Opera's 2017 production, this revival also transposes Luigi Illica’s libretto to 1920s Paris.
In many ways, the production capitalises on the sense of being on the margins of something, since the characters are existing on the fringe of modernism and the Jazz Age’s excess – we get a sense of this in the character of Musetta, whose wardrobe (bought and paid for by a rich benefactor) points to this well-known context. Flyers descend, popping off with vibrant LEDs. Every ensemble member is authentically dressed. There’s a man in a horse costume. A prop leopard is wheeled on and off. The elaborate, detailed design of this production cannot be commended enough.
We found issues with the balance of sounds, with the orchestra unfortunately often overpowering the singers. A shame, since the ensemble must be praised for delivering performances of dynamic range and emotional nuance. Hye-Youn Lee shines, back in the spotlight as the doomed seamstress Mimi, and special mention must go to Rhian Lois who sweeps the stage in a gust of energy as the charming Musetta. Every emotional beat is hit, including comedic notes which reinvigorate an ultimately deathward story like this, and disarm unfamiliar audiences as the story plummets to its tragic finale.
Yet the most striking of this production’s successes is its sharp perception of how relevant La bohème really is. Opera is commonly seen as an elitist dramatic form, but (without spoiling anything) this production saturates itself in the contemporary, drawing parallels in experiences of hardship between 1920s France, the glamorous coating of which conceals a kaleidoscope of inequality, and concerns and topics which map seamlessly onto the present. As long as there is love, loss and inequality in the world, Puccini’s masterpiece will likely endure.
La bohème, Festival Theatre, Edinburgh, run ended
scottishopera.org.uk/shows/la-boheme