Chicago Classical Review

Giacomo Puccini’s La Bohème proved just as timeless and heart-wrenching as ever in Opera Festival of Chicago’s production Friday night at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie.Now in its sixth season, the young festival is growing stronger with each passing year, boasting impressive singing across the board and high production values.

Opera Festival of Chicago’s mission has historically been to bring lesser-known Italian operas to Chicago stages—which they are doing with their second offering this summer, Francesco Cilea’s rarely presented Adriana Lecouvreur. For the company’s opener, they have veered into more standard rep with Puccini’s beloved tragedy.

Tenor Nathan Granner brought powerful vocalism and a cool-guy persona to the role of the poet Rodolfo. The opening lines of “Che gelida manina” were beautifully rendered, and he continued to find more vocal colors and ease in the top as the opera progressed. His acting choices were also highly specific, bringing out textual nuances that lesser singing actors sometimes gloss over.

In the role of his ill-fated lover, Mimì, was soprano Alexandra Razskazoff. A winner of the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition in 2022, she is well on her way to a big career in which Puccini heroines will undoubtedly become a mainstay. She demonstrated a well-rounded tone with soul-stirring high notes and a robust middle voice. One sometimes wanted a bit more fragility and coquettishness for the consumptive seamstress. However, Razskazoff spun her steely voice  into more of a silvery tone to great effect at the end of her Act 3 break-up aria, “Donde lieta,” and in her final moments in Act 4.

Baritone Kenneth Stavert was a genial presence as the painter Marcello, complementing Granner’s vocal timbre in their duets and providing an apt foil for the capricious Musetta. 

What soprano Catherine Samartin lacked in vocal clarity and power, she made up for with her comedic acting as Musetta. Dressed in cascades of pink ruffles and masses of blonde ringlets, she stole the show in Act 2 while taunting her on-again/off-again lover, Marcello, with her oblivious sugar daddy, Alcindoro (portrayed admirably by bass-baritone William Powers). While Musetta is generally a pretty annoying character, Samartin proved an endearing Musetta by the end as she decides to sell her jewelry to buy Mimì a muff.

Rounding out the Bohemians, baritone Jonathan Wilson was a spritely Schaunard, while bass Anthony Reed brought tenderness to Colline. His aria, “Vecchia zimarra,” in which he decides to pawn his coat to pay for Mimì’s medicine, was a beautifully vulnerable moment, too often over-sung by less sensitive singers. 

Music director Emanuele Andrizzi led the orchestra through Puccini’s lush score with assuredness and sensitivity, keeping the ensemble in balance and following the singers’ Puccinian rubato throughout. The only moment of untidiness came in the busy crowd scene of Act 2, where the excited children’s chorus got slightly ahead while hounding Parpignol (David Greene) for toys. Andrizzi and the adult choristers helped them get back on track quickly, however.

Opera Festival of Chicago’s general director, Sasha Gerritson, also served as the stage director of this production. She leaned into the opera’s humor to balance its tragedy, particularly with the quartet of Bohemians and Musetta. While some of the stage action verged on hammy, the Bohemians’ make-believe antics in the beginning of Act 4, complete with a baguette sword fight, were especially well choreographed.

The traditional production featuring a scenic design by Shane Cinal and period costumes by Bill Morey. Hanging panels added dimension, with images of windows and falling snow or Parisian café posters and street signs projected onto them.

The large chorus was well prepared by chorus master Richard Robbins. Their sonic and visual impact when the curtain rose on Act 2 elicited an audible gasp of delight from the audience. They added nice visual interest and color during the crowd scenes without detracting from the soloists and nimbly navigated the packed stage. 

La bohème will be repeated 7:30 p.m. July 1 and 2 p.m.  July 5. Adriana Lecouvreur plays 2 p.m. June 28 and 7:30 p.m. July 3. operafestivalchicago.org

Posted in Performances
No Comments