Puccini was only 65 when he died 100 years ago this November – but his lifetime spanned a period of astonishing change. Born before unified Italy, in what was still the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, the composer died the proud owner of fast cars and speedboats.
To mark the centenary of the composer’s death, English National Opera opens its season by dusting off Jonathan Miller’s 2009 production of La bohème (two semi-staged performances of Suor Angelica also mark the anniversary). The rotating cutaway set – artist’s garret upstairs on one side, bohemian drinking hole downstairs on the other – gives us 1930s Paris in numerous shades of grey. But the interwar drabness is enlivened by some exquisite lighting, overseen in this revival by Marc Rosette: the subtle glow of pendant lamps in the garret, the cold blush of dawn at the start of Act 3, the inviting glow of an interior glimpsed through windowpanes as snow falls outside.
Above all, this gai but gritty Paris is brought to life by the antics of its inhabitants. Here, the bohemian boys are a likable bunch. There was play-fighting with baguettes and boisterousness on tap, the physical chemistry persuasive even if the acoustic properties of the upstairs space meant that balancing their ensemble numbers was a challenge. Charles Rice’s generous baritone made for a sympathetic Marcello, while Dingle Yandell’s Colline was clear and luminous as he prepared to pawn his beloved overcoat.
Making his ENO debut as Rodolfo, British-American tenor Joshua Blue sounded distant in his Act 1 encounter with Mimì (that garret acoustic again). But he settled gradually into an easier, heartfelt flow, the top of his voice at times a thrillingly focused gleam, the emotional intensity of his Act 3 encounter with Mimì audible if not yet matched by his dramatic presence. As Mimì, Nadine Benjamin was limpid and affecting; at her best – and most heartbreaking to watch – in the second half. Here, her singing was closer to cries of pain, her soprano’s hard edge cutting deep as she and Rodolfo struggled together, before she found almost unbearable poise and restraint in the final act. South African soprano Vuvu Mpofu’s Musetta travelled a similar trajectory: irrepressibly vivacious as the centre of attention in Act 2 (an impressive ENO debut, this) only to dial her voice back to a mere whisper as the end neared.
In the pit, Italian conductor Clelia Cafiero made her first UK appearance, drawing out luxurious richness from the strings and some elegantly shaped woodwind solos. There were occasional moments when the brass sounded disconnected from Puccini’s sumptuous orchestral fabric, but Cafiero’s sense of pace – Puccini’s phrases sculpted to accommodate the subtlest flexibility of tempo – made for an extremely compelling performance.
