When it comes to operatic tearjerkers it takes a lot to beat Giacomo Puccini’s La Boheme. His superb score soars and sweeps through the performance and, when tandemed with a production as visually pleasing as Ellen Kent’s current offering, the audience is left with a treat for almost all of the senses.
Inside the Assembly Hall Theatre auditorium several rows of seats have been removed to accommodate the huge orchestra who offer up a sumptuous sound that shows off the supreme talent of the musicians. Under the watchful eye of conductor, Nicolae Dohotaru, they deliver something all too rarely heard in touring productions – the sound that only a full orchestra can supply.
As the curtain rises we are treated to the first view of Nadezhda Shvets’s beautifully bohemian Parisian set, with a spartan and neglected room providing a central focal point. This is the home of Rodolfo, a poet (Vitalii Liskovetskyi) and Marcello, a painter, (Iurie Gisca) both struggling and penniless and it is here, in the freezing cold of winter and by the light of just one candle, that Rodolfo meets his neighbour Mimi, a seamstress (Alyona Kistenyova) and where we set out on this tragic tale of love.
Although the opera features, at its heart, the relationship between Rodolfo and Mimi, La Boheme is more of an ensemble piece. Together with the tragic pair we also meet Schaunard, a musician (Oleksandr Forkushak), Colline, a philosopher (Vadym Chernihovskiy), Benoit, their landlord (Eugeniu Ganea) and Musetta, a singer (Olga Perrier) and, whether together or individually, they fill the auditorium with a sound that is both rich and powerful.
Following successful local auditions, Frodo the Jackadoodle dog and his owner, Caroline Funnell, join the chorus for the Christmas Eve festivities in act two with Frodo playing Musetta’s pet and, seeing them so comfortable together, it would be very easy to believe that dog and actress had been friends for many years – although, as a different local dog is used for each performance, they have only known each other for a few hours.
Ellen Kent has been supplying huge national tours since 1993 and is, almost single handedly, responsible for bringing award-winning opera and ballet to a mass audience. Her productions are always visually stunning, beautifully lit and performed to the highest standards and this production is simply wonderful and another well deserved feather in her cap.
**** Four Stars