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Visit La Scena Musicale Online Reviews. [Index] Half a Hankie for COC Bohème by Joseph So / April 10, 2000 This season marks the 50th anniversary of the COC and the company chose La Bohème, one of the three operas produced in its inaugural season, as the centerpiece for its festivities. On opening night, all the principals in its first season were invited to attend and an announcement was made in the theatre honouring these artists, followed by a lavish post-performance reception. Among those in attendance were Mary Morrison (Mimi), June Kowalchuk-Eggleton (Gilda), Joan Hall (Maddalena), Jan Rubes (Colline). Nicholas Goldschmidt, (conductor) and George Crum, (chorusmaster). La Bohème is an opera for young voices and as such a perfect showcase for these early pioneers, all of them with healthy, youthful voices at the beginning of their careers.
The rest of the cast acquitted themselves honorably without rising to an equally exalted level. The Mimi of Eszter Sumegi produces a big sound with a nice sheen and she looks lovely on stage, but the voice is more suited to the more dramatic roles such as Tosca, Jenufa, or Katya Kabanova. Her Mimi is far too robust vocally and visually, without the requisite floated high notes and delicate mezza voce that this role demands. Dmitriev, a successful Miller and Count di Luna in seasons back, returns as a refined and musical Marcello. Scottish soprano Rosalind Sutherland almost steals the show as an unusually colourful and effective Musetta. COC ensemble bass Alain Coulombe makes the most of his one moment to shine in the coat aria. Alfredo Daza in his company debut completes the group of bohemians. The evergreen Cornelis Opthof continues to be a valuable member of the company as Benoit/Alcindoro. The naturalistic sets and costumes, while not lavish, are perfectly acceptable. However, the lack of a revolving platform necessitates three intermissions, something of a rarity for the COC. The single major blemish of this revival is the stage direction. Puccini wrote much of the action into the music, but time and again, these musical cues are ignored. This is particularly noticeable in Acts 1 and 4 there is no attempt to coordinate the tearing of the manuscript for the fire, nor the sprinkling of water on the face of the fainted heroine with what is written in the score. Rodolfo takes hold of Mimi seconds before the startled 'oh' from Sumegi, as if it is an afterthought. The sublime orchestral interlude right after Colline's aria and the exit of the bohemians is tailor-made for stage direction designed to tug at the heartstrings, but it went for nothing. This is really too bad, as overall the musical values are high and the end product should have been better. Richard Bradshaw, a last minute replacement for the scheduled Silvio Varviso who withdrew due to the death of his wife, conducts fluently, but his brisk tempo proves a struggle for some of the singers trying to play catch up. Overall, an enjoyable evening but rated only half a hankie for the even the most tearfully-proned. Puccini: La Bohème Mimi Eszter Sumegi Conductor Richard Bradshaw Visit La Scena Musicale Online Reviews. [Index]
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