Puccini, in effect, composed two Mimìs: the shy, tentative outward girl, and the ecstatic, passionate woman within. It was not a night for star turns onstage-applause in the expected places, no ovations-but a consistently high level of singing made for an ensemble drama. The pacing of the musical action, whether adagio or scherzando, never flagged. Wherever there was a particular felicity or plot twist in Puccini’s scoring, she made sure it was heard. And it would be good for once to enjoy Act IV’s mock-fight on the rooftops as a carefree scamper, rather than wonder if the Met is paid up on its liability insurance.īut all went unerringly in the pit, as conductor Kim traced the opera’s whipsawing moods with a winning combination of precision and flexibility. The audience applauded each raising of the curtain as if welcoming an old friend.Ī cast of capable and well-matched singers made the composer’s lines soar, and if acting was not generally the strong suit in this lineup, well, who goes to La Bohème for the acting? Still, between the pathbreaking realism of the libretto by Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica, and Zeffirelli’s cinematic staging, there are theatrical values in this piece that often take a back seat to the music.įor example, managing the contrapuntal lovers’ quarrels of Acts II and III onstage for clarity is a challenge that revival director Gregory Keller didn’t always meet. The production, which made its bow on December 14, 1981, with James Levine conducting and Renata Scotto, José Carreras, Teresa Stratas and other notables in the cast, looked as spectacular and wintry as ever.

The Korean maestra Eun Sun Kim, new music director of the San Francisco Opera, arrived at last on the Met podium, trailing a long list of international credits, and led a rendition of Puccini’s comic-tragic score that captured all its youthful energy and timeless longing. The Metropolitan Opera’s standby of standbys, Franco Zeffirelli’s production of Puccini’s La Bohème, celebrated 40 rambunctious and tear-stained years Tuesday night with a sterling debut-this time not onstage, but in the pit. Charles Castronovo and Anita Hartig star in Puccini’s La Bohème at the Metropolitan Opera.

La boheme met opera schedule