Read what our audiences have to say about La Bohème
Review by Jonathan Choat
The music is so delighfully romantic and the pathos sucks you into whatever the production brings, so the new Jonathan Miller version is engaging, cleverly staged from the cramped apartment through to the crowded Cafe Momus and street scenes. Great chorus work -all lively and perfectly audible. The mis en scene of 1920's Paris is slightly drab, rather than the usual fin du siecle romp, but works well and as always, is meticulously placed and observed by the Director. No superflous show - off director nonesense of distracting staging or bizarre relationships between the protagonists. And it is well acted by the singers, in this essential tale of young love blossoming and the agonies of parting. All the main supporting parts were very individually stamped and sung - the friends in the flat were young, randy men enjoying their bohemian poverty; Musetta was an opulent tart. What a shame that the two lead parts, who fall in love in a few moments, showed none of the passion of such a coup de foudre. They both seemed shy and almost embarrassed with each other throughout. When you are young and in love, you can't keep your hands off each other. Rudolfo and Mimi have no passion for each other, even at the first blossoming; when they are making up in Act 2, they stand apart saying lets stay together until the spring instead of embracing. And the final calumny - when she dies he sits astride a chair by her side and weeps! What is the matter with the man? Grab her lifeless body, embrace your lost love, dont just sit there! Now this is down to the director not the singer.
I have noticed before that J Miller is not in touch with love and coups de foudre. In his Rosenkavalier, when Octavian presents the rose to Sophie, there is a complete lack of stunned magic at first sight - as essentially appropiate to the glissando and the words. So an rather immature Rudolfo and a rather spinster like Mimi just don't work. It will improve with a change of these two roles - or a shot of lust for both of them. The orchestra could be a little more controlled to allow the voices to be heard above them - I can never understand why conductors do not realise this - but well and ebulliently played.
I think 7/10 which could improve to 8 or even 9 /10 with better played lead roles. The essence is there - it lacks their passion for each other.
Review by Gordon Land
I attended the matinee performance of La Boheme, with my family, on 15th Feb. I can only say my reaction was 'disappointment' Half the time we could not hear the soloists and, had we not had the subtitles, would not have been able follow the score. The orchestra were far too good for the voices they were accompanying. I respectfully suggest that Alfie Boe should stay in the recording studio, where the engineers can make up for his lack of power and projection - this performance just showed the difference between a 'nice' voice and a 'great' one. I appreciate that I did not have the best seats in the house, but I object to paying some £175 and not getting value for money. Why not consider using amplification as all other musicals do, or is that beneath the world of grand opera!
Review by N K
La Boheme was brilliant! The whole thing was fantastic, and the understudy for Mimi has a beautiful voice - I'm glad she got the chance to perform. Well done to the whole team - My bit of the dress circle were crying all the way through the last act! What a beautiful production, I wish I could see it again!
Review by Chris Everett
I sat in the front row of the dress circle on Sunday for the performance of La Boheme and expected to be delighted by a performance of this opera in English. However, for most of the performance, especially the dramatic bits, it may as well have been in Italian for all that I could hear of it. The ENO was not unaware of this because it displayed the lyrics above the stage so at least you could read them when you could not hear them.
It is time to abandon the conceit that opera singers can sing loud enough to be heard above a full orchestra. One in a century may but Sunday's cast could not. The conceit is just that - a conceit.
What is the solution? There are several. Reduce the size of the orchestra. Move the orchestra behind the stage. Or, the most intelligent and well proven method, provide amplification.
A West End musical audience paying half the price for tickets would not put up with it unamplified singers, especially in a theatre the size of the Coliseum. Let us see and above all hear a real revolution at the ENO in future.
Review by Keir Hopely
I went to what turned out to be the first night of La Boheme, the scheduled one having been snowed out. It seemed an appropriate opera to be going to see on a cold evening, and Jonathan Miller's set did not disappoint: grey, cold and slightly desperate. The production was taut and well-acted; and the orchestra did full justice to Puccini's splendid score. The final act was deeply moving; and I could hear snuffles coming from all around me as the heart strings were definitely tugged by the performance.
The singing was rather more mixed. Whilst all the supporting cast were splendid - with Pauls Putnins particularly good as Colline - the principals were not so uniformly good. Roland Wood's Marcello convinced; and he was consistently good throughout. Both Melody Moore's Mimi and Hanan Alattar's Musetta got better as the performance developed after a fairly shaky start. Alfie Boe, though, whilst pleasant sounding, simply lacked the power and projection to do justice to Rodolfo and was at times inaudible above the orchestra. So a very enjoyable evening and well worth seeing. But definitely not the best Boheme you will ever attend.
Review by Amy Spurling
An amazing production. Commended for it's gorgeous, evocative 1930s-depression, grey-streets, set. They were oh so filmatic - noir or Brief Encounter. Commended for its staging and acting. The characters actually had characters That's what you get with a top theatre director at the helm. What you also get with Jonathan Miller is taste, subtlety and poignancy. So my bottom lip was quivering pretty early on, particularly during the Act I duet between Mimi and Rodolfo, which fades naturally and beautifully as they disappear from view into streets beyond...
More beautiful duets in snowy streets followed, but the climatic death scene was the most achingly tragic and moving of all, precisely because it was so sparingly observed. None of that exaggerated, larger-than-life writhing and hand-wringing, so often seen in big opera. In Miller's production it was Rodolfo's friends' turned-away silence that told us she'd slipped away... I heard one critic describe this (and the production as a whole) as cold. This was the most human opera rendering I think I've ever seen. No other has had me in tears.
The orchestra was crisp, but if I had a criticism I'd say that it drowned out the singing at times. The two ladies (Mimi and Musetta, Melody Moore and Hanan Alattar respectively) were particularly good, and the most confident of the male performances were from Rodolfo (Alfie Boe) and especially Marcello (Roland Wood). See it and be moved.
Review from Chris Calman
We were very disappointed with the new Boheme production having come with high hopes as Miller admirers. The whole thing takes place in such an atmosphere of tawdry gloom that it is hard to see much. Not much Christmas cheer at Cafe Momus to provide the usual contrast to the other acts. Musically it was better, though the orchestra tended to drown out the singers to the point of virtual inaudibility especially Alfie Boe. In all respects second half was rather better (No we had not been drinking!) and she died beautifully and a bit more realistically as I believe Dr Miller intended. Since when by the way has an attic been firmly on the ground?! Having bought a subscription for the first time in years I do hope things improve.
Review by R Edwards
The Times reviewers' spleen may be diseased! In reaction to his unjustified comments in today's paper at the final curtain I heard cries in the upper circle of "The Times is wrong!" and nothing but appreciation as I listened in to the conversations of those around me as we descended the stairs. Was I dreaming or did those who received the most criticism get the loudest applause tonight? Anyway, I loved the production! Thank you for the only convincingly realistic production out of the many I have seen. It delivered more depth and clarity to me than any other. Thank you particularly for the amazing set - it's such a treat to have a full and proper one and I couldn't help admiring it's ingenuity. There were more young in the audience than usual and many were on the edge of their seats totally engaged. Bravo Miller and all!
Review by Alan O'Brien
Saw La boheme on Friday. Liked it. Main criticism: the set was very effective BUT it did put the singers too often further away from the audience than ideal - both higher up and further from the front of stage.
Minor point: the joke at the of the Momus scene where Richard Angus gets lumbered with the bill for the other table was lost, partly because the curtain came down early and partly because the focus was taken away from him.
Review by David and Jean Batterbee
Jonathan Miller's new production fully realizes his stated objectives. It was both visually and dramatically a very convincing slice of real time and place t hat perfectly fitted the work. Like all Jonathan's opera work it is grounded on a fine piece of theatre.A persuasive atmosphere ,a set that works so well I felt that the cast enjoyed using it. At times it felt like watching a movie,the direction and lighting seemed to move from close up to wide shot with ease and complete control . This seemed particularly evident in the difficult death scene that can be naff.In this case there seemed time to observe each of the principles discomfort,pain, distress or horror without losing focus on the central drama.It worked wonderfully well.
The cast were first and foremost a strong ensemble.I believed that they were friends even if the falling in love came rather easily. Melody Moore was outstanding,favouring a beauty of tone over fireworks in the big hits that served the theatre of the work and the range of her lover. Roland Wood was also a stand out performance,a fine voice and a really fleshed out character. The orchestra were splendid as usual. This was a really enjoyable night at the Opera. However familiar and easy to like the work,this is how it was meant to look and sound.
Review by Robin I Morgan
Doctor Jonathan Miller has produced another spectacular production for ENO, with his usual flair for taking things out of their original environment and populating them with masses of closely observed detail. Whether this updating of La Bohème by a century adds significantly to one's understanding of the work is still open to question. (His update of Rigoletto to New York certainly added insights.) The production is generally faithful to the story, though as the Barrière de l'Enfer, a Parisian toll gate, had been abolished by the twentieth century, liberties had to be taken with the libretto. The set comprises a central structure with a garret studio properly elevated above the stage floor, with stairs to one side. The backdrop, which was only partially visible, was of a grey Parisian skyline. The studio is artistically squalid, but with artefacts appropriate to its occupants: typewriters, books, easels, French plumbing and the required stove. There are no significantly jarring moments as the scene progresses. However, it did seem at though Mimi lived on the ground floor, rather than the attic she later claimed to occupy, so it was unclear why she was going up the stairs, which only led to the studio, when her candle went out. (It was a neat touch that though the house had electric lights, these flickered and went out owing to a power cut, thus giving Mimi a reason for carrying a candle.)
For the second act, the two parts of the central structure were rotated to produce the Café Momus (conveniently under the studio!) in a side street off a main thoroughfare along which there was a continuous and appropriate va et vient as the main action continued in the restaurant. Almost all the chorus had individual parts to act in the crowd. The structure is further rotated to produce the tavern (with suitable adverts on the walls) on the outskirts of Paris where Marcello and Musetta now live, and where Mimi comes looking for Rodolfo. Snow is falling, and when someone said it was freezing, the audience tittered in sympathy. For the final scene, the structure returns to the studio. It was a neat touch that the light in the studio in the first act was very cold and blue (and slightly too dark, which made it difficult to follow the action): this was appropriate for Christmas Eve. In the last act, set in early spring, when Rodolfo and Mimi know they will part, the light is much warmer and more yellowy. The act starts with Rodolfo and Marcello recalling their lost loves. The mood turns gayer when Schaunard arrives with food, but only to plunged back into alarm when Musetta arrives with the dying Mimi. I'm not sure the death of Mimi worked as well as it should. Rodolfo is sitting beside her holding her hand, but it is the others who notice the moment she dies and have to tell Rodolfo, who at first wonders what is going on. In other productions he is apart from Mimi at this point, so it is understandable he doesn't notice her passing. It just felt awkwardly contrived.
Musically, I felt it started cold but warmed up. I suspect the live transmission may have engendered some extra caution to start with. Alfie Boe's Rodolfo had a fine tone, though for most of the time the voice didn't carry as well as it should. Melody Moore's Mimi was clear and bright, though her stage presence was not helped by her costume. Hanan Alattar's projection of Musetta was properly judged to the house, and she carried the acting awards, not least in the way she managed Musetta's development from demi-mondaine to Marcello's soon-to-be-former mistress to the woman concerned for her dying friend. Colline's farewell to his old coat was suitably affecting, and it was good to see Richard Angas (bass) back as Alcindoro: he is always great value on the character parts. The stage band and hordes of children were on top form in adding to the Christmas festivities. The orchestra produced some lovely sounds, but there were some minor ragged edges which will no doubt not be there on subsequent evenings.
Dr Miller says he updated the design to the thirties to reflect the city so atmospherically captured in photographs of the time, and based the artists' relationships on the film, Withnail and I: "shabby, upper class boys who think squalor is very romantic". The production really only captured the time in the dresses of Mimi and Musetta. Most of the costumes, whilst appropriate, were fairly timeless. Mimi's however, a simple black dress with lace, and a short, permanently waved hair, didn't really work: she came over as too dowdy, rather than slight and graceful as the original was supposed to be. Musetta's tight dress and cropped hair was better, but did not really reflect the more flowing and flouncy character she was supposed to be. As for Withnail and I, I think the good Doctor seriously missed the point, though it didn't show in the production. The film, supposed to be a classic intelligent comedy, I found excruciatingly awful for the simple reason that neither of the main characters, let alone any of the rest, had any redeeming features to make them interesting. They were essentially foul mouthed and boring and their antic gratuitously silly. I doubt they saw their squalor as romantic as they wouldn't have understood the term. On the other hand, Murger and the librettists and Puccini have made all the characters in the opera interesting, and whilst they might amoral and decadent, they were at least producing some works of merit: Rodolfo's articles, Marcello' painting, Schaunard's singing. They were at least trying, and Mimi herself had a respectable trade. Musetta's trade may not have been respectable, but she at least stood by her friends in time of need. In fact all the artists were prepared to support each other throughout their trials. Withnail was too ego-centric for anything like that.
Sky'n'ArtsWorld, season sponsors, were doing a live relay not only of the stage, but also of what went on back stage. Personally I think what goes on back stage should remain private: the audience doesn't need to know how the thing is put together, only that it is. However, having invented the TV camera, it has to go everywhere. Thankfully, I don't have to watch. The cameras in the auditorium were reasonably unobtrusive, though some weird lighting was played onto the dome, presumably to aid them, and one of them did have an annoyingly bright light on throughout the performance. More seriously, the magic of the end of the second act was broken by the commentator's lights coming on too early and shining straight into the auditorium - something which really should not have happened. The problem of course is that those paying customers in the auditorium always have to wait until the TV is ready. One can see the commentator chattering into his microphone and one wants to shout at him to get on with it.
Review by Caroline Garland Taylor
There are two moments of quite extraordinary beauty and poignancy in this intelligent, thoughtful and superbly-acted production (this last so rare in opera, whatever the standard of the singing). In the first, Rodolfo and Mimi realise they cannot live together any longer - Rodolfo's obsessional jealousy has exhausted them both - while by contrast Musetta's and Marcello's sex-life seems to thrive on her infidelities. The quartet puts them at opposite sides of a snow-dusted Parisian street, grey and grainy, reminiscent of so many great photographs of the era (Cartier-Bresson, Brassai), singing passionately of loss, longing and the impossibility of their lives. The colours of the street are strikingly sombre following the lively chatter and fun of the earlier street scene (if only one could have eaten at the Momus following the opera.....), echoing the emergence of the realities of their relationships, and of life itself.
The second sublime moment occurs in the final scene. The four young men horse around exuberantly over the fact that there is only a single herring between them for food that day, comically taking a bite off the end of one of the two baguettes before using them for their duel. This wild gaiety is brutally disrupted when Musetta arrives distraught, telling them of Mimi's fatally ill condition. Both they and we realise simultaneously that their youthful life of fantasy is now over for ever. Musetta is deeply touching with her sudden heartfelt prayer to the Virgin, acknowledging that although she does not deserve to be heard will she allow Mimi to live? - an outstanding performance in a collection of finely-judged portraits of entirely recognisable young people.
In some productions, La Boheme can teeter on the edge of a banal sentimentality, but the conducting, the marvellously inventive sets, and above all the direction of this production put it firmly in the land of a passionate reality. Poignant, nostalgic (for one's own youth as well as for the era), vivid, lively and truthful. Don't miss this quite outstanding production.
Review by Sandra Lewis
What a shame that the orchestra, which was very good almost drowned out the voices in the production of La Boheme last Sunday. We came particularly to hear Alfie Boe, having seen him before and were disappointed that the acoustics of the theatre were not taken into account, the cast were so far back on the stage they did not stand a chance. I expected it to be the best Boheme I have ever seen, sadly it was not.
Review from Holly Faithfull
I was at the performance of La Boheme on Saturday evening (21 February). It was my first visit to the Coliseum since I always go to the Royal Opera House for opera and ballet. I was sitting in row F of the Dress Circle and found the orchestra was often far too loud, and drowned out the singers. I found myself wishing I could turn the volume down on the orchestra since the singers were straining to be heard over the more intense passages of music. This is not a problem I have had at other venues.
The reason that I have not been to the Coliseum before is that the operas are sung in English, rather than their original languages. I was hoping to be persuaded that this would be perfectly fine, but my fears were confirmed. I could not hear everything the singers said, and so still had to read the surtitles, whilst I found the the translations of the lyrics into English made them sound less romantic and believable than in their original languages. Operatic librettos are of necessity abbreviated and rather trite, in order to fit the story into the allotted time, but hearing the words sung in English spoiled the experience for me.
I usually leave the opera feeling overwhelmed by the performance, but I left the Coliseum feeling dissatisfied and underwhelmed. The singers themselves did a fantastic job, but I would like to hear them sing the opera in Italian.
Review by Izzi Woodrow
Watched La Boheme last night. A good show and the stand in for Mimi was excellent. The evening was spoled however by an absurdly hot theatre that left us feeling so hot it was making us feel quite sick. Others around us mentioned similar levels of discomfort. Until the Coliseum learn how to manage their facilities I wuld not return to see a further production.
Review by Leigh Barton
It was so hot last night I nearly passed out sitting in the upper circle, you guys need to get some air conditioning before someones dies in that heat. Not an enjoyable performance at all, a waste of money and I just wished it over so that I could get out into the fresh air and breathe. Shame on you!
Review by Clive Walker
Having read a rather jaundiced review at the weekend, Thursday's performance of La Boheme was preceded by a nagging feeling that this new Jonathan Miller production was likely to disappoint. By Act 2 I was giving myself a severe talking to and reminding myself that I had previously sworn to take anything Hugh Canning writes, with a large pinch of salt.
This Miller production, set in a period with which the director seems most at home, was a joy from the start and evoked just the right balance of a youthful artistic hand-to-mouth life style with the clarity of presentation which ENO does so well. In fact it was an excellent example of ENO doing 'what it says on the tin', namely presenting high quality accessible opera. If the size of the house on Thursday was anything to go by then ENO are doing this rather well.
The design by Isabella Bywater played the key scenes at an elevated level whilst allowing Mr Miller to create a sumptuous array of cameo characters in imaginative and highly detailed settings, particularly in Act 2 where the audience felt that they only had to step across the street to join the throng in and around the street cafe. The only concern with this set may have been the sightlines for the garret scenes from the extreme right of the auditorium where the stairwell wall of the garret may well have obscured any action in front of the fire place, a pity as this is where the denouement in Act4 takes place.
Alfie Boe made the part of Rodolfo seem effortless and was ably supported by Roland Wood (Marcello), Paul Putnins (Colline) and David Stout (Schaunard) whilst Simon Butteriss's 'Benoit' scene was a gem. Mimi's death at the end of Act 4 was a real tour-de-theatre with Mimi slipping away unnoticed, (reminiscent of Cyrano's death in Cyrano de Begerac), against a backdrop of gauche emotion verging on embarrassment on the part of the Marcello, Colline and Schaunard.
Owing to Melody Moore's indisposition on Thursday the role of Mimi was sung by Michelle Walton and I was probably not alone in feeling that if this is the quality of understudy that ENO can provide then the future looks bright indeed for, (in my opinion), London's premier opera company.
Review by David Lambert
I have just returned (19th Feb) from the latest production of La Boheme with Alfie Boe,Michelle Walton as the understudy whom I thought was very disappointing and was upheld by the stunning performance of Hanan Alattar who played Musetta. The stage production was very cleverly portrayed with good sets, however, the direction was incredibly dramaless. No passion, some very odd ideas when sitting on chairs singing the solo's and duets, and the final scene, was perhaps the least emotional acting I have seen in any production of La Boheme. The whole performance was saved by the musicians and the director Miguel Harth-bedoya with his enthuaism that oozed from the stand.
Excellent performances from Pauls Putnins, David Stout, Simon Butteriss and Richard Angas but unfortunately for me, I was not moved by the prodution at all and I will just have to wait for another year or so. However, saying all this, one should not be put off by other people's reviews, and what didn't work for me, there are others who of course would have been totally moved by the performance and well done everybody for giving such a performance.
Review by Shelley Berke
To echo many of the previous reviews-we were expecting great things from Janathan Miller's production of La Boheme, which we saw on 4th March. The costumes and sets were good, as expected, but I was very disappointed at the lack of balance between singers and orchestra. The orchestra was far too loud for all of the singers, though the girls (Mimi and Musetta seemed to rise above the orchestra to be more audible than the chaps. Alfie Boe, in particular, was mostly inaudible. It's the first time I have come away from the ENO and been so disappointed and I am cross because I can see this is a common criticism of the production, and nothing seems to have been done about it.
Review by J.C White
We saw 'La Boheme' yesterday (Sunday 8th March). A beautifully directed production as always from Jonathan Miller, with an great set design - the best we have seen. Except for the very bright arc light through the skylight of the set in Act III which shone directly at the Dress Circle blinding us.
What a pity that the soloists were drowned out completely by an extremely loud orchestra! Surely the sound levels were checked before first night? This really spoiled the production for us - particularly as the soloists were all extremely good - when you heard them! We did think however that Melody Moore was a tad too well fed to portray a 'frail beauty'!!
Review by Doreen Melbourne
I went with my husband to see La Boheme at the Colisseum with a great sense of anticipation. I always enjoy the wonderful sets of the West End theatres and their extraordinary ingenuity and this one did not disappoint. However, the same could not be said of the production generally. The orchestra was excellent but completely obliterated the soloists on some occasions, especially at the beginning. I don't know if the accoustic is particularly bad but without the surtitles we would have been unable to distinguish many words at all. This however was not entirely disadvantageous as we felt the libretto had lost a lot in translation and was at times clumsy and did not fit the music.
Melody Moore as Mimi has a wonderful voice but was hopelessly miscast. Henri Murger, Scenes de la vie de boheme, describes Mimi as follows: "Aged twenty-two she was slight and graceful.Her face reminded one of a sketch of a highborn beauty; it's features had marvellous refinement........This frail beauty allured Rodolphe. But what wholly served to enchant him were Mimi's tiny hands." Sadly, this does not describe Melody Moore. She is too tall and far too healthy looking to be consumptive!
Generally the acting was good but Mimi and Rodolfo lacked passion. They seldom looked at each other, let alone touch. We have seen a number of productions of La Boheme and I have always been moved to tears by the death scene - but not this time. I longed for Rodolfo to take her in his arms, to throw himself on to the bed but he just sat astride his chair - possibly a very English response, not the hot-blooded Italian one we had a right to expect. Generally a little disappointing.
