by Michael J. Vaughn
Grand opera is a musical thrill ride, demanding more virtuosity than any other vocal form, and Saturday night at the West Bay Opera's production of Puccini's "La Boheme," a tenor got derailed. Playing the impoverished poet Rodolfo, Richard Liszt was just about to relate the story of his life to his future lover, Mimi (Marta Johansen), in the classic aria "Che gelida manina" when the frogs hit. He fought valiantly to hold them back, turning to clear his throat whenever a pause gave him liberty, but nothing would do the trick. In the cadenza near the end of the piece, he rose to the high notes and failed miserably, emitting a strained warble that broke the hearts of his listeners.
Word would come in later that Liszt was suffering from a serious bug and would be replaced for the rest of the run by Saratoga's Stephen Guggenheim, who's been performing supporting and lead roles with the San Francisco Opera for the past two seasons. Still, in the completely unforgiving world of opera--and even though the valiant Liszt managed to stay in character through his ordeal--the main feeling Saturday night would simply be that one of the most beautiful arias in the canon had been lost to the evening.
Fortunately, one of the most beautiful operas in the canon was not.
Puccini's immortal treatment of the starving artists of 1830s Paris receives a sumptuous treatment from stage director Rick Dougherty, music director David Sloss and a vivacious cast of singers.
The story of "La Boheme," based on "La Vie de Boheme" by Henri Murger, centers on a painter, a poet, a musician and a philosopher who share a tiny flat in Paris and attempt to make the most of their muses in a rather dismal environment. The real action, however, takes place in the two love affairs, that between Rodolfo and Mimi (cursed by Rodolfo's fear and Mimi's sickness), and that between the painter Marcello and Musetta (cursed by Marcello's jealousy and Musetta's flirtations).
Through the crystal-voiced Johansen gives a superb follow-up to her masterful February performance of "Lucia di Lammermoor," clearly the couple of the evening is Rachel Louis and Shouvik Mondle as Musetta and Marcello. Baritone Mondle gives the painter a sly, dashing air, while Louis as Musetta is simply sparkling with comic wit and buoyancy. A lyric mezzo with power to spare, she has more fun with her tormenting of Marcello in the second-act cafe scene (an aria of bragadoccio generally referred to simply as "Musetta's Song") than any performer should be allowed. Add to this a couple of knockout costumes from costume designer Dhyanis, and Musetta is pretty much a one-woman pageant.
For set designs, West Bay went straight to the source with Jean-Francois Revon, who grew up in Paris. Given the small Lucie Stern stage, Revon achieves an impressively broad vista of the Paris rooftoops in the cafe scene (though the two or three rooftops strung up in the foreground seemed a bit of overkill).
As for West Bay's two directors, I can't say enough. Sloss' orchestra sounded better than I've ever heard it, especially in the lush string passages, and Rick Dougherty's setting of the final scene, carried out to perfection by his cast, is unutterably heartbreaking.
With the substitution of Guggenheim, who sat in on Wednesday's performance to learn the blocking and musical cues, West Bay's tenor casting is looking pretty solid. Friday's performance will be handled by Richard Nickol, who leaves thereafter for the semifinals of the Pavarotti Competition in Italy. Guggenheim will then step in for a real back-to-back endurance test on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon.
"La Boheme"
Who: West Bay Opera
When: 8:15 Friday and Saturday, June 2 and 3; 2 p.m. Sunday, June 4 (Sunday performance is sold out)
Where: Lucie Stern Theatre, 1305 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto
Cost: $29
Information: 424-9999
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