Review: La Bohème (Theatre Royal Glasgow)
- Flora Gosling
- Oct 13
- 3 min read
A glowing opera to break up the autumnal gloom
There is perhaps nowhere on earth where poverty is more glamorised than 19th-century Montmartre. It was a haven for creatives and free-thinkers, and it is hard to imagine the aesthetics of today's starving artists, in Paris or anywhere else, being so adored. In Scottish Opera’s production of La Bohème, the commodification of Montmartre in the present is woven into the lives of the characters in the past. At the same time, we are invited to revel in their romances, their trickery, their tragedy. There is a delicate balance to be struck between cynicism and indulgence.
The production is helmed by double-act André Barbe, designing the set and costumes, and Renaud Doucet, stage direction. The performance opens in a crowded Paris square, where a woman in a flapper dress sings to a crowd of half-interested selfie-stick-wielding tourists and screen-addicted tweens. Later, when the titular band of artists, musicians, philosophers and writers go to dinner, the same square becomes a vibrant scene of Christmas Eve merriment – a papier-mâché marching band parades through the town, adorable children plead for toys, and art Nouveau posters hang from the rafters. One detail of the vibrant set that is easy to miss is the striped frame around the whole thing, and the words “carte postale”. This is a postcard of another time and place – a romantic reimaging of the past, and Barbe and Doucet know that. There is a cynicism that runs underneath the production, but at the same time, we can be swept away in the story and the world that they create.
Mario Chang plays Rodolfo, the writer who falls in love with the humble and sickly Mimì, played by Hye-Youn Lee. Lee, as always, is awe-inspiring with her performance and vocals. At first, she seems meek and quiet, but as she sings about her solitary life, she reveals a strength we could never have imagined at the start. As Mario serenades her, you are struck by how grand his words are, how magnificent his voice is, and yet how down-to-earth he seems. He has a softness that makes him approachable amongst the eccentrics of the town. Speaking of which, Roland Wood plays Marcello with the gusto required for this eccentric (and womanising) painter. Callum Thorpe has less to do as philosopher Colline, but when he gets his moment, his voice fills the space and makes you take notice of him.
As my first encounter with this opera, I have no point for comparison – and yet I feel confident saying that the quality of this production is greater even than the opera itself. It is full to the brim with fine performances, directed with emotion and spirit, and has a design that is not only exciting to look at but thought-provoking too. This is an opera about people clutching on to warmth. Ironically, this production offers exactly the kind of warmth that today’s audiences are yearning for. Four stars.
Whispers from the Crowd: "I thought it was fantastic. It was our first time at the opera and I thought it was very good. We loved the set."
La Bohème will play at Theatre Royal Glasgow until the 25th of October, before touring to Aberdeen from the 30th of October to the 1st of November, Inverness from the 6th to the 8th of November, and Edinburgh from the 14th to the 22nd of November
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