Big Excitement at the Met’s Puccini/Zeffirelli "La Boheme!"

Replacements of leading opera singers because the scheduled artist is indisposed, are definitely old hat. The substitute Mimi, in the April 5th matinee of La Boheme, made history, not only at the house, but across the globe, as it was transmitted into 66 countries in High Definition.

What made it so special was that Kristine Opolais, the Latvian soprano had just sung the lead in the Met’s Madama Butterfly the night before. Too animated (as probably all leading singers are after an important performance) she admitted getting to sleep only at about 5:00 AM. At 7:30 AM she received a phone call asking her to sing Mimi at the matinee scheduled to start at 1:00 PM.

She is thoroughly familiar with the role as she has performed it in several leading houses in Europe.  Incidentally, she is scheduled to sing Mimi at the Met next season. But now it meant a mad race to familiarize her with this particular production, have hurried costume fittings etc. And then there was the challenge of a non-rested voice having to perform another extremely long and demanding leading part…

Kristine Opolais pulled it off beautifully. She has a rich, powerful instrument that can also deliver a gorgeously placed pianissimo, and she displayed a keen sense of theater.

She gave us a splendid Mimi, a perfect match for the latest heartthrob tenor, Italy’s handsome Vittorio Grigolo.  Already categorized as a super-star, and winner of many awards as a cross-over artist, his mellifluous voice is perfectly suited for the Puccini repertoire. 

The couple made the ill-fated lovers totally believable – and beautifully so. And they are both in their thirties. What wonders we can expect in their undoubtedly successful futures!

This was a Boheme to thoroughly enjoy all around. The Italian baritone, Massimo Cavaletti, is making an extremely satisfying Met debut as Marcello. Sussana Phillips, who has sung the role 25 times at the Met, again supplied all the spark and joie-de-vivre a perfect Musetta should have.

Our Schaunard, the Bass/Baritone Patrick Carfizzi who hails from nearby Newburgh, and has performed 300 times at the Met, gave the role a well-paced maturity beneath all the frivolity of the hapless Bohemians.

Another New Yorker, the bass Oren Gradus, performed the bumbling philosopher Colline. His acting was better than the delivery of the famous Overcoat aria. But it did not matter. The whole of the performance, under the baton of Stefano Ranzani, who drew the usual wonderful tone from the Met’s remarkable orchestra and great chorus, was a powerful experience. Bravo to everyone.

But now let’s get to the Zeffirelli production – that is  “old” but so incredibly fresh.

I consider it a treasure; a persuasive exponent of an opera placed into its historically correct time period -- Paris circa 1830 -- with appropriate costumes and sets.

We are dealing with the world’s “favorite opera” – the most performed opera in the Met’s roster -- Verismo at its best.

Thank you, Mr. Gelb, for not tampering with this production, as was done so disastrously (if you count boos as a benchmark) with the post-Zeffirelli Tosca. Or the ludicrously super-intellectual recent La Traviata.   

I am not against innovation, but not when it is merely for innovation’s sake. (The many young faces the cameras caught in the Met’s own audience proves that you need not have nudity or other deliberate gimmicks to attract a new generation of opera attendants. Familiarity in opera is plus, not a deterrent.)

Most of us have seen/heard La Boheme countless times. It is indeed a musical gem, totally engaging, lyrically so inventive and moving that I invariably find myself reaching for a handkerchief as that final curtain falls. Joyce DiDonato during her engaging intermission interviews also confessed to tearing up every time.

Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924) conceived the 4-act La Boheme with the same librettists, Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica, with whom he collaborated on Tosca and Madama Butterfly. The story is based on Scenes de la Vie de Boheme, an auto-biographical work by one Henry Murger (1822-1861.)

Evidently the plot interested Puccini especially, since, he, while a young music student in Milan, lived in an unheated garret with his brother and an impoverished cousin. So he truly knew what he was composing about!

The opera premiered in Turin, in 1896, under the baton of a young Arturo Toscanini, who in 1946, exactly 50 years later, conducted his famous NBC Symphony Orchestra in a repeat performance to commemorate the event.

By then, it was clear that La Boheme was a smashing success, on its way to become the world’s favorite opera, the mainstay of virtually every opera house around the globe. Who would have prophesized that, when its premiere met with a decidedly lukewarm reception? But then Bizet’s Carmen initially was a total flop!

The Met premiere took place on tour, in Los Angeles in 1900, and has an interesting tidbit to report. Seems Nellie Melba, who originated the Mimi, took it upon herself to sing the mad scene from Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor as an encore. Just imagine that happening today!

That early production lasted until 1952, when it was replaced by one that was still used in 1977 for the historically important first telecast of the opera, with Luciano Pavarotti and Renata Scotto as the il-fated lovers. It stayed on the boards until the current Zeffirelli production replaced it in 1981. Thus this most shown of all Met operas has really had only three productions in its illustrious career.

You all know the story and can sing any of the arias at the drop of a suggestion. So let me tell you some data about the opera that fascinated me when I decided to do some deeper research.

As said, Boheme’s libretto is based on Murger’s autobiographical reminiscences. George Marek (of RCA and other fame) in an essay, The Original Bohemians, delved into the lives of the actual people on which the opera characters are based.

Rodolfo is Murger himself, an unsuccessful writer suffering the hunger and cold so graphically portrayed for us. But later, after collaborating in a moneymaking play about this period in his life, he was able to lead a prosperous bourgeois existence.

Schaunard, the musician, also stopped leading the life of a Bohemian when he became a successful toy manufacturer.

Seems our innocent Mimi, was a part-time prostitute, who indeed died of consumption but not romantically in a garret. She met her demise in a hospital that later used her body for medical students to dissect.

Musetta, the courtesan with street-smarts and a heart of gold under that sexy exterior, certainly got around, but alas, met a sodden end as she drowned during a Mediterranean crossing.

It turns out that Café Momus, the restaurant our band of friends frequented on that colorful over-the-top Christmas Eve, was an actual eating establishment in Germain l’Auxerrois.

Here, I must admit my one criticism of the Zeffirelli production. The second act is just too over-populated in its relentless parade of chorus and 106 supers milling around the Café Momus. This dwarfs the Bohemians and robs them from being the focal point of the action. At times they are literally hard to find. (The HD cameras did the job for us. The folks in the $400 dollar seats had no such luck!)

But the third act with its absolutely breathtaking snow scene makes up for the previous exaggerated clamor. And the sheer beauty and simplicity of the final act is what breaks our hearts.

I think I’ll attend the encore.

It takes place on Wednesday, April 9th at 6:30 PM, at The White Plains City Center15 and NewRoc16.

Here are some comments from a few of your Westchester neighbors:

The Humphreys of Mamaroneck have been attending the Live-At-The-Met-HDs almost since their inception. Mary Humphrey said they almost were going to skip this Boheme, having seen it at the Met quite often. “I am so glad we did not miss it. The singing was outstanding – everything was exceptionally beautiful.”

Her husband, Harvey, who in his college days ushered at the Met, praised the “big screen” approach. “The close-ups allow us to see the facial expressions and changes as you never could see in the house -- especially if your seat was in the Balcony!” He mentioned that “if you had only one opera to go to, La Boheme, should be the choice.” (From now on consider it the one to take to that proverbial desert island!)

Jo Hendrie and Elvira Grasso, both of New Rochelle, consider themselves novices when it comes to opera. Not that either of them have never seen one before, but they said that was years ago, and for both, this was their first HD experience. Jo Henrie had read the sad story on line, so she was prepared for the tragic ending. “I loved the whole beautiful experience, and especially enjoyed the backstage interviews. I never realized that the Met stage had such depth.” She certainly plans to come to the Hds again. “No muss, no fuss. I considered it a wonderful event.”

Her friend Elvira Grasso had seen La Boheme on a video tape and over the years had often heard many of the arias and duets. (How could she miss them, if she ever listened to serious music!)  She fully enjoyed this performance and certainly plans to come to the HDs again. “The price was just beautiful too.”