Set during Christmas 2009 on Kilburn High Street (the street outside the venue) in London UK, the set (by Kate Guinness and Lucy Read) eloquently conveys the warmth and familiarity of a twenty-something Londoner's flat. The atmosphere is brilliantly upheld by the four male leads who dominate the first act. Marcello (Richard Latham), Rodolfo (Christopher Diffey), Colline (Georgios Papaefstratiou) and Schaunard (Brett Brown) are getting ready for Christmas drinks at the local pub. Whilst all four singers are superb in creating a playful, party atmosphere, particular mention must go to Richard Latham - his excellently mature tenor voice and comic timing shine out from within a talented cast. Marcello, Rodolfo, Colline and Schaunard drive the relevant, realistic world of OperaUpClose's La Bohème. The libretto also contributes - with sporadic references to Kilburn High Street, down to the smells of curry that waft past the windows. It is a new translation from the original by Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924) by director Robin Norton-Hale. The libretto cleverly teeters between translation and a completely original version.

Marcello, Colline and Schaunard go to the pub leaving Rodolfo to finish some important typing. Beautiful Mimi (Charmian Bedford) knocks on his door needing cash for the electricity meter. They instantly fall in love. Mimi shows signs of a strange illness and, deteriorating throughout the opera, she dies in Rodolfo's arms in the same room where they first kissed. Sadly, Charmian Bedford struggles to justify Mimi's chronic illness within the present-day context of the production. She only manages to portray a caricature of an ill woman, so making it very difficult to empathise with her tragedy. Perhaps it is harder to believe that a young woman living in the 21st Century might show symptoms as tiny as a cough only to die a few months later. For the opera's 1896 premiere audience, such a fate might have been more common - and Mimi's death, most likely from tuberculosis, more resonant.

For the second act, the opera is catapulted into the bar below the theatre. Here, for twenty minutes, the production becomes extraordinary. The performance could benefit from running straight from Act I upstairs to Act II downstairs without a ten minute break. But once the second act is underway the awkward interruption is forgotten. The bar of the venue becomes the real-life setting for the brief second act. Rodolfo and Mimi join Marcello, Colline and Schaunard at the pub. The singers perform in the middle of Kilburn's busy night crowds, entertaining not only their paying audience but anyone caught up in the action. Suddenly the cast are joined by 40 chorus singers who have, up till now, blended with the pub's customers. As well as being a pleasant surprise, the chorus is excellently balanced - an achievement for musical director Andrew Charity, especially regarding the unusual acoustics.

Unfortunately the dialogue-heavy recitative (a style of delivery in which a singer is allowed to adopt the rhythms of ordinary speech (Wikipedia)) within Act II becomes lost in the buzzing bar. But the strong performances from Clare Presland as sexy but kind tease Musetta, and Tom Murphy as her tormented admirer Alcindoro, allow the narrative to remain just about decipherable. Clare Presland puts such layers into her characterisation Musetta that it is easy to see how Marcello falls desperately in love. The same can not be said for Charmian Bedford's Mimi, whose charming side fails to assert itself over her chronic illness. Act III returns to the upstairs theatre space - Rodolfo and Marcello's flat. But the relationship between Mimi and Rodolfo is breaking down. Charmian Bedford and Christopher Diffey both show depth of vocal range and versatility during the show-stopping quartet Addio dolce svegliare alla mattina! (Goodbye, sweet awakening in the morning!), and their characters promise one another that they will stay together - at least until spring.

The energetic return of 'the lads' in Act IV is expertly judged. It shows the skill of director Robin Norton-Hale, who edits Giacomo Puccini's lengthy opera down to 140 minutes with great confidence. The tragedy of Mimi's death in the final act could have been devastating, but the unbelievable nature of her death results in it not quite tugging at the heart. But OperaUpClose achieve something fresh and original with their innovative production of La Bohème.

Cast Credits: (alpha order): Charmian Bedford - Mimi. Brett Brown - Schaunard. Christopher Diffey - Rodolfo. Richard Latham - Marcello. Tom Murphy - Alcindoro. Georgios Papaefstratiou - Colline. Clare Presland - Musetta. Ian Wilson-Pope - Benoit. Chorus: Emily Altneu. Chantal Amber-Rose. Cristian Atzori. Alice Bernard. Paola Berta. Stanley Blum. Laura Carradi. Michael Chalkley. Olivia Chappell. Lauren Collins. Elizabeth Danegan. Palash Dave. Jen Dickson. Rachel Dobell. Alison Evans. Danielle Fenemore. Jessica Foden. Celia Garcia. Gemma Giubarelli. Joanna Hughes. Larissa Hunter. Emily Jordan-Patrikios. Hannah Marie Kilminster. Jenifer Kristian. Rebecca Mcdonald. Meg McNaughton. Liis Mikk. Shane Nolan. Olu Osilewe. Natasha Penumuchi. Georgina Philip. Amy Puglia. Carlos Quezada. Stephanie Rohr. Carolyn Saint-Pe. Monica Salvi. Zita Syme. Mandy Truang. Ria Whitton.

Company Credits: Composer - Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924). Libretto Translator / Editor - Robin Norton-Hale. Director - Robin Norton-Hale. Musical Director / Conductor - Andrew Charity. Set & Costume Designers - Kate Guinness, Lucy Read. Lighting Designer - Christopher Nairne. Sound Designer - uncredited. Technical Operator - uncredited. Assistant Director - Antonia Alonzo. Stage Manager - Neusha Milanian. Company Manager - Arabella Wynne-Hughes. Chorus Captain - Larissa Hunter. Repetiteurs - John Collis, David Gostick, Elspeth Wilkes, Ben Woodward. Costume Supervisor - Katy Mills. Hair and Make-Up - Sarah Russell. Assistant Stage Managers - Deborah Harris, Abigail Horton-Fairbrass. Design Assistants - Maito Duval, Min Chung, Patrick Cahill. Photographer - Adam Levy. Producer - uncredited. Company - OperaUpClose. For OperaUpClose: Press - Caty Smith. Marketing - Paul Muir. Associate Producer - Alex Sutton. Production Assistant - Larissa Hunter. Artistic Director - Adam Spreadbury-Maher.

END

(c) Sarah Loader 2009

reviewed Thursday 9 December 09 / Cock Tavern Theatre, London UK

Fringe Report (c) Fringe Report 2002-2012

www.fringereport.com