June 30, 2007: La Boheme in Verona

2007-06-30 La Boheme (Puccini), Arena di Verona

Rodolfo = Marcello Giordani
Mimì = Tamar Iveri
Marcello = Gabriele Viviani
Musetta = Donata D'Annunzio Lombardi
Colline = Marco Spotti
Alcindoro = Angelo Nardinocchi
Schaunard = Fabio Previati
Benoit = Graziano Polidori
Parpignol = Carlo Bosi
A customs official = Federico Longhi

Lü Jia, conductor



La Bohème


Opera in 4 acts by
Giacomo Puccini
Libretto by Giuseppe Giacosa e Luigi Illica

opera and synopsis


Arena
30 June 2007 at 21.15
Season Tickets


Principal Conductor Lü Jia
Director Arnaud Bernard
Scenographer William Orlandi
Costume Designer William Orlandi
Choir Master Marco Faelli
Lighting Designer Paolo Mazzon
Director of stage design Giuseppe De Filippi Venezia



Orchestra, Chorus and technicians
from the Arena di Verona

Another fine day in Verona, Italy. Problem with Arena di Verona and La Boheme, is that the stage is huge, and that this opera is more of a intimate romance. Of course act 2 is a great, big scene with lots of people. But this problem was a Zeffirelli-like production, huge and the little people got lost. Not being able to find out right a way Rodolfo and Mimi was a disappointment. Zeffirelli would not have made that fault, I believe. he would have a way to highlight the important people in the opera. Act 1 + 4, all action in a tiny bit of the stage, in the middle. But the Arena is so big why did the director not make the attic of the artists, Marcello and Rodolfo, huge using most of the arena stage area.

Other problems was for me all the circus of act2, people blowing fires from their mouth. Just a show that made it difficult to get the real operatic action... And act 3, very bad, hated the bicycles thing. Here we are supposed to see peasant woman at the customs controlling their bread, milk cans etc. The bicycling was just a circus thing... And act 4, when the guys are pretending to be at a ball. Here they were not dancing, they were drying up laundry and playing with that, Gavotta, Pavanella, Fandango... no dance.

The singers, orchestra was all great and the production was not all bad, just not quite right and Arena was not the right place.

OD Travel + Photos

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