Past Production Reviews
1La Bohème is an unpretentious and rather sad story from the life of a poor creative public in the Latin Quarter of Paris, where poverty and talent, despair and love go hand in hand. During the lifetime of the author, Giacomo Puccini, the opera received mixed reviews. Immediately after its premiere in 1896, venerable critics called it empty, childish, meaningless and too primitive for such a genius composer. However, La Boheme is a case that has stood the test of time. The love story of the poet Rudolph and the flower girl Mimi, which unfolds in 19th-century Paris against the backdrop of bustling city life, has become one of the most demanded for performances on opera stages in the world. Chelyabinsk is no exception. This year, they decided to modernize Bohemia: the director Vyacheslav Starodubtsev rebuilt all the details of the crowd scenes, worked with the artists on a thorough, deep drawing of the images. Of course, graceful scenery, costumes and appropriate and stylish video inserts also did their job, but still the main thing in a love story is the heroes. Bohemia has a well-played ensemble of actors. Remarkable scenes where bohemian characters - the poet Rudolph, the artist Marcel, the musician Schonard and the philosopher Collin - heat the stove with manuscripts, fleeing the hellish cold in an attic with ice windows, and collect a meager supper on the table - bread and wine. Anyone who remembers student revels will surely breathe a sigh of nostalgia. It doesn't matter what year is outside and what city is outside the window: bohemians and poor students everywhere live about the same. The two love lines - Rudolph and Mimi and Marcel and Musetta - are also superbly played. Mainly because, apparently, deliberately displayed in strong contrast. Tenor Alexey Pyankov plays Rudolph as gentle and restless, sensitive and loving. He's all - softness and vulnerability. While baritone Dmitry Nikitin in the role of Marcel is the whole embodiment of temperament: dry, harsh, nervous and slightly infernal. Soprano Natalia Bystrik in the role of Mimi plays exactly what is in the libretto - secrecy and at the same time gullibility, thirst for love and fear of losing it. And the beauty Musetta, played by the burning Elvira Avzalova, becomes the most multifaceted character - and this is largely due to the actress herself, who managed to turn the spoiled lady of the world into an almost tragic figure. The massive stage in a Parisian cafe against the backdrop of the Bolshoi Theater scenery is a real feast for the eyes and ears. A party of cheerful bohemia, where people of different classes collide, where former lovers meet and new feelings arise, where the merchant Parpignol presents the children (a wonderful children's choir) with horses and dolls, where wine is poured and songs are sung - the viewer is transported to Paris at the end of the 19th century (original events take place in the thirties of the last century, but "Bohemia" was slightly modernized in this respect) and becomes a witness of the seething metropolitan life. The rendered quarters of the narrow streets of the city go into perspective, as if opening from the stage a portal to the beautiful colorful past. In the interval between the acts - there are four of them - the viewer is shown a black and white "movie": a chronicle of shots from Paris at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. Carriages, carriages, ladies in fluffy dresses, men in bowler hats, crowds of people at the 1900 World's Fair - this cozy retro not only helps buy time for rearranging the scenery, but also envelops the viewer with the right atmosphere. The last unhurried generation - before a major technological breakthrough. A generation for which a moving electric sidewalk was a high-speed mode of transport, and death from consumption was a common, not so rare ending. A good melodrama will always sell well, and even more so in combination with the musical setting of the great Giacomo Puccini. La Bohème, starting its journey in the status of a shell-shocked by all, has become one of the most popular operas in the world. This is a good performance for those who want to touch someone else's life, sparkling with creativity and passion, to see its rise and fall. Starting on a major, fluffy note, the opera ends with lyrics and tears. Yet this is not a dark, not a tragic story. Artists, poets, philosophers are as light as moths. Bohemia - what to take from it? But it is beautiful, but there are always friends, bread and wine. And love is penniless. It’s a pity that it’s not for long.
