Review: “La Bohème” at Dresden State Operetta

However, it must have been a challenge when the Dresden state operetta rivaled Giacomo Puccini's “La Bohème”, which is actually part of the core repertoire of the nearby Opera Sempero. But director Catherine Kondorov trusted her company's team, wanted to take a risk and commissioned Matthias Reichwald, the first director of the future state operetta, to direct the production.

Reichwald is known primarily as an actor and is increasingly turning to directing. His film Bohème in Dresden impresses with its precision and precision of detail, placing beautiful images on the stage, interspersed here and there with quotes from classic films, and exuding the charm of Parisian bohème. Poets, painters, musicians and philosophers live together in an attic high above the city. The cloud images suggest the presence of a communal apartment for the artists, separate from traditional society.

Karolyi Reisz's theater conveys only hints of social status. Using a cast-iron spiral staircase, he symbolizes the possible ups and downs of human life, although in the second picture he remains rather simple, but in the third picture, set in the suburbs of Paris, he creates a deep drama of the skin of the landscape. Icy snow.

The scene becomes a bit suspicious again at the end, when Mimi drags herself into his attic for a reconciliatory meeting with Rodolfo. She has become visibly weak and is now pregnant. But why she was suddenly able to rearrange the room and move the bed frame and cannon stove with such tremendous force is not clear. A lot of poetry falls by the wayside in this tragic ending.

When the friends who were looking for a doctor and medicine for Mimi return, it is all too late. The stage floor is torn apart and Mimi disappears into a fantasy afterlife. A poignant final image creates the famous breathing pause before rousing applause; The greatest compliment to moving musical theatre.

The fact that Reichwald and his production team left this “bohème” in 19th-century Paris and did not attempt to artificially bring the opera into the modern era speaks of the authenticity of the timeless original and of the respectability of today’s theater makers.

This also applies to the costume designer Toto, who used the material extensively and decorated the entire set in a set of bohemian scenes from and after Henri Murger. Nothing was necessary, after all, Puccini tells it all in his music, which expresses human emotions such as hope, despair, love, play and jealousy, touches the heart and has truly attractive qualities.

The State Operetta Orchestra entered the country this evening bravely and courageously, giving a powerful performance under the baton of outgoing conductor Johannes Bell, but sounding very loud throughout. Especially since this also challenges the choir and soloists to give their all. Less might have been more.

The music certainly could have been more honest with more balanced dynamics. However, overall, the State Operetta Choir gave a fantastic performance, especially from the children's choir, who enjoyed playing and singing.

The fact that “Bohème” was sung in German may upset purists among Italian opera fans; It certainly helped to make the ambiguity and wordplay more understandable, but it undermined the correspondence between text and music. The fact that the German text was not worded consistently and in a clear and convincing way was somewhat disappointing – although the soloists can be evaluated quite differently.

Cristina Maria Verscher played a wonderful role as Mimi, a crystal clear soprano, with a poised and emotional character, both in singing and acting. Jung Woo Kim as Rodolfo impresses with his resounding tenor, but lacks vocal precision in both his vocal design and enunciation. This part in particular would be nicer.

On the other hand, Julie Seckinger's Musetta was also superb, performed with precision in all situations, a convincing equivalent of the diva and the vamp. The other men in the artist's shared apartment completed their parts quite satisfactorily, Grzegorz Sobczak as Marcelo being particularly enjoyable as he showed a distinct emotional range, while Brian Rothfuss as Schonard and Andreas Mattersberger as Colin emphasized the comedic aspects and perhaps still depths. Grow in their roles.