LA BOHÈME at Opera San Jose – Warming Hearts

By Jeff Dunn

Though winter is fast upon us, the ever-fresh La Bohème is available to warm our hearts at Opera San Jose. Listening to Kearstin Piper Brown sing Mimi’s Act 1 aria on opening night did it for me, where the I sudden shift from A-major to G-major chords brings on her lovely “… when the thaw comes and the sun and first kiss of April are mine.”

Irresistible.

There is plenty of color and action in Kim A. Tolman’s elaborate scenic design, Michelle Cuizon’s often astute stage direction, and Alma Bokovikova’s flavorful costume design. The era of the opera has been moved from 1830 to 1918, but the surroundings and outfits are general enough, seen from a distance, that either date works. I would point out, however, that the Barrière d’Enfer, a famous toll gate given anachronistic prominence in Act 3, was demolished between 1860 and 1870. Also, there are supposed to be trees in Act 3 for Mimi to hide behind. Instead, she had to disappear offstage temporarily through the gate left open by incompetent guards. Not that these issues should matter to non-specialist audiences!

Competence was present in plenty by the cast. Artist-in-Residence WooYoung Yoon (Rodolfo) was especially outstanding, along with Kidon Choi (Marcello), in their Act 4 duet. Artists-in-Residence Younggwang Park and Jesús Vicente Murillo are a creditable Colline and Schaunard, respectively. Melissa Sondhi’s fine voice was applied to the role of the flamboyant Musetta. Kearstin Piper Brown portrayed an appropriate modesty as Mimi, often overplayed by Diva types. She alternates performances with Mikayla Sager in the role. Bay-area treasure Philip Skinner brought his special comic gravitas to the roles of landlord Benoit and Musetta’s hapless sugardaddy Alcindoro.

Joseph Marcheso’s orchestra played flawlessly, and was spritely in the glorious Cafe Momus scene of Act 2. Tempi seemed a bit overextended to me in the following Act 3, although there is wonderful music to linger over. Perhaps a slightly faster tempo would add more energy to the delicious fight scene between Marcello and Musetta.

I brought two of my grandchildren to the performance, and they were quite pleased. I am hoping their grandchildren will also be able to enjoy this masterpiece, long after I’m gone, whether the Barrière d’Enfer is there or not.