It was, of course, only a matter of time before someone came up with the idea of replacing the Parisian bohemians who populate Puccini’s evergreen opera with bohemians of a more domestic address. In Argentinian José Cura’s production of “La bohème”, played at the Stockholm Opera since 2015, the action is set in the Gamla stan district of the Swedish capital. The inspiration comes from August Strindberg’s novel “Röda rummet”, which depicts, partly autobiographically, the circle of Swedish bohemians who met in Bern’s salons around 1880. Then the idea took off, and Puccini’s four male protagonists have been replaced by a bunch of well-known characters from Nordic cultural history: the poet Rodolfo has become August Strindberg, the painter Marcello into Edvard Munch, the composer Schaunard into Edvard Grieg, and the philosopher Colline into Søren Kierkegaard. SCANDINAVIA BOHEMIAN: Fv Magnus Berg (Edvard Grieg/Schaunard), John Chest (Edvard Munch/Marcello), Stefan Pop (August Strindberg/Rodolfo) and Petri Lindroos (Søren Kierkegaard/Colline) Photo: Ole Ekker / TSO That this is creative history writing, hardly need to be mentioned. Grieg was never a bohemian, and Kirkegaard died long before the others grew beards. To imagine that these gentlemen engaged in charming able-goys in an attic apartment in Stockholm at the end of the 19th century requires a certain strain of the mind. So here we are talking about an opera performance based on, at best, extremely poor memory. At least there is little of the truth. But nice læll, as they say in Trøndelag. Disturbing Munch pictures Because, truth be told, Trondheim Symphony Orchestra and Opera’s version of the production has become a visually and directorially great performance, although this is more in spite of than because of the idea of replacing Puccini’s talentless whiners with Scandinavian spirit fighters. That the romantic dreamer Rodolfo in this production is August Strindberg, I simply never manage to get it into my head during the scant two hours I sit in Olavshallen. Same with Grieg and Kierkegaard, who basically just got new names. It is different with Edvard Munch, because a number of Munch’s most famous pictures are used as a backdrop for the action. Often the result is disturbing, given the distance both thematically and aesthetically between Puccini’s sentimentalism and Munch’s expressionism. CULTURE CRASH: Munch (John Chest) plays a central role in TSO’s staging of “La bohème”. The Strindberg portrait was painted by Lova Wallén (Kungliga Opera’s decor workshop) after Munch’s sketches. Photo: Ole Ekker An example is the scene in the dormer room in the first act where Rodol … oops, I mean Strindberg and Mimì meet for the first time and fall head over heels for each other. Here, at one point, the cold and moonlit apartment is floodlit (on Christmas Eve!) by Munch’s powerful “The Sun”, blown up on the back wall at the expense of one of the opera’s most beautiful vocal moments. Because Mimì here sings about spring’s first rays of sunshine. By and large, however, this version of “La bohème” appears as a relatively traditional production with a historical period flavor, and as such it works excellently. Musical triumph It is on the musical level that this production really shows class. The Trondheim Symphony Orchestra plays accurately and steadily under conductor Massimo Zanetti, who finely balances dramatic flow and elaborate details. Most impressive are the large choir scenes in the second act, where children and adults, professionals and amateurs, deliver a vocal power and precision that would have been as dazzling in London or Salzburg as in Trondheim. Also convincing is soprano Lina Johnson, who sings a Musetta who in this production is transformed into “Tulletta”, alias Mathilde “Tulla” Larsen, with whom Munch had a stormy relationship around the turn of the century. STORMFULT: Soprano Lina Johnson (“Tuletta”/Musetta) and baritone John Chest (Munch/Marcello) Photo: Ole Ekker The big scene in the second act where “Tulletta” sings the opera’s great number (“Musetta’s waltz”) is the opera’s scenic highlight, and one of the few places I “buy” the directorial concept. The performance has a brilliant Munch in the form of the American baritone John Chest, although I think he becomes somewhat one-dimensional in his expression throughout the performance. Weak love story The two biggest roles are sung by foreign stars, both of whom deliver high-level vocal performances. However, the Romanian tenor Stefan Pop impresses more than he touches in the role of Rodolfo/August Strindberg, even if he gets more lyrical warmth later in the performance. SOLID: Stefan Pop (Stringberg/Rodolfo) and Elsa Dreisig (Mimì) maintain a high standard, even if the love glow did not completely convince news’s reviewer. Photo: Ole Ekker The not entirely convincing love scene in the first act between Strindberg and Mimì is nevertheless a “consecutive error” which means that the performance never quite gets under my skin. This despite the fact that French-Danish Elsa Dreisig, with her bright and flexible soprano, creates a beautiful portrait of the poor and sick Mimì. The composer’s god of small things Puccini characterized “La bohème” as an “opera about small things”, and Puccini’s genius lies precisely in the almost magical ability to transform the ordinary into something wonderful, whether we are talking about tubercular flower bridges or pruney waltz melodies. Turning the opera’s gallery of talentless dreamers into artists of world-historical significance is therefore an idea that is jarring on paper, and even more so on stage. However, it says something about this opera’s irresistible charm that this ultimately doesn’t do much. Then one can speculate on what Strindberg had said about being dragged singing into an affair with Mimì, the man who is said to have said: “Näst små barn och blommor er musik det jävligaste jag vet.” news reviews Title: “La bohème” Date: 7 March 2024. Played until 13 March. Orchestra: Trondheim Symphony Orchestra & Opera Place: Olavshallen, Trondheim Duration: 2.5 hours Conductor: Massimo Zanetti Direction, scenography, lighting and costume design and mask: José Cura Re-recording direction: Victoria Bomann-Larsen Concertmaster: Daniel Turcina Choirmaster: Urša Lah Choir: Trondheim Vocal Ensemble, Trondheim Symphonic Opera Choir & Children’s Choir Mimì: Elsa Dreisig August Strindberg/Rudolfo: Stefan Pop Edvard Munch/Marcello: John Chest Tulla Larsen/Musetta: Lina Johnson Edvard Grieg/Schaunard: Magnus Berg Søren Kierkegaard/Colline: Petri Lindroos Benoit & Alcindoro : Ola Marius Ryan Julbocken/Parpignol: Arnstein Morken
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“La bohème” by Trondheim Symphony Orchestra & Opera in Olavshallen – Reviews and recommendations
