Michael Fabiano as Rodolfo and Nicole Car as Mimì in La bohème, The Royal Opera Season 2017/18 © ROH 2017. Photograph by Catherine Ashmore.Asked by a member of the public whether his Bohème would be traditional, Jones responded “Please can you tell me what traditional means in this context?” He was being neither cantankerous nor difficult in his response and clearly holds the work in high esteem. He has even suggested he believes the story has overlaps with Chekhov given the moral ambiguity of the characters. Certainly, within Puccini’s perennial crowd pleaser there’s enough falling-in and out of love, arguments and reconciliations to fill a tawdry television soap drama, but it is the soaring arias, duetting couples and tragic ending which continues to imbue this piece with bums-on-seats appeal.
Much of the action takes place on an illuminated downstage attic room complete with rafters and a tiny stove (as if to emphasise the penury of the collection of good hearted vagabonds who populate it) in Stewart Laing’s imaginative visual re-telling. But he also treats us to a trinity of Burlington Arcade inspired set pieces which provide a colourful and imaginative backdrop to the big company scenes and a fantastically crowded restaurant, which houses the best realised comedic moments of the opera.
It is a blessing that the cast contains some exceptionally talented actor-singers, most notably Etienne Dupuis as Marcello, and his flamboyant on/off love interest Musetta - played hilariously and with flagrant aplomb by Danielle De Niese. The Argentinian bass Fernando Radó delivered Colline with a stunning tonal resonance which belied his youthful 32 years. And the young lovers Rodolfo and Mimi, Matthew Polenzani and Maria Agresta hit the high notes (both literally and in the audience’s estimation). Of the performers in the featured roles, only Duncan Rock as Shaunard slightly underwhelmed, but in such esteemed company it would be an enormous ask for him to outshine any of his fellow cast members.
This first revival of Richard Jones’s production sees Nicola Luisotti in charge of the orchestra and he extracts every beautiful nuance from the music without ever allowing the hugely recognisable passages to veer into hackneyed territory.
Overall, this a very different but worthy successor to Copley’s vision. Time alone will tell if it clocks-up a similar number of outings.
In this modern dress adaptation of Strindberg's 1888 1 Act play, MISS JULIE, It’s Julie’s (Vanessa Kirby) birthday and she’s throwing a massive party at her father’s mansion. People come in and out of the house but there is a feeling of boredom around Julie. She is determined to entertain herself and hide from real life; her escapism is filled with drugs and alcohol.