La Boheme

Melbourne Opera’s first offering for the year was a good one. I was particularly impressed with the direction. There was with a lot of innovative action, particularly with the boys in the shenanigans of the last act.           

It was dominated by the luscious Mimi of Lee Abrahmsen. I have admired her for years, and she was in her element in Puccini, her rich voice soaring over the orchestra. Roy Best as Rodolfo does not have a Puccini voice and struggled with the orchestra in the first act, but his singing was assured and acting convincing. The ending was powerful.

The find of the evening was Nathan Lay as Schaunard. I have watched this young baritone over a number of years, and I was very pleased to find that he rose admirably to the occasion to easily match his more seasoned colleagues.            

Phillip Calcagno and Steven Gallop were very good as Marcello and Colline, and Antoinette Halloran a vivacious Musetta. Roger Howell was a delight in the small comic parts. Apart from the occasional glitch the orchestra did well and a late lighting cue got a laugh.

The sets were impressive and probably quite heavy as the scene changes were long. The chorus was a lot more assured than in the last production though there wasn’t much room to move in Act 2 on that small stage. The translation appeared to be an updated version of the one that has been around for decades, but generally worked well.

This season deserves to be sold out.

Graham Ford.

Images: Phillip Calcagno (Marcello), Roy Best (Rodolfo), Lee Abrahmsen (Mimi), Nathan Lay (Schaunard) and Steven Gallop (Colline); Roy Best (Rodolfo) & Lee Abrahmsen (Mimi) and Phillip Calcagno (Marcello) and Antoinette Halloran (Musetta). Photographer: Robin Halls.