Armidale's Opera New England, yes a little town of 25,000 people has an opera company, now has a season of Giacomo Puccini's La Boheme and we went to the gala opening last night, which was very enjoyable. Some of the audience dressed up in formal gear, but in 21st century style I wore my best jeans and t-shirt, which didn't it seems elicit any adverse reaction, rather than 19th century clobber designed solely to proclaim one's status. Nowadays such formal attire tends to proclaim insecurity or desire of second-rate ability to impress.
The mainly local orchestra was conducted by my some-time doctor, Bruce Menzies, but many of the lead singers were imported - mainly from conservatioriums or university music schools in Brisbane, Sydney or Melbourne. Perhaps some of the singers were a little under-powered, though not the tragic Mimi. However, the setting and lighting were very good, and the producer even managed a snow-storm at the Barriere d'Enfer on the outskirts of Paris. However, the crowd scenes mainly comprised local singers of all ages.
I tried taking some pictures of the event, but I couldn't use flash - I'd have been ejected! The first picture shows the bohemians' garret in the Latin Quarter, which was used creatively for the performance and towards the end we saw rain falling on the glass roof.
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And here we see the inside of the garret, with the near-destitute painter Marcello (standing) and poet Rodolfo, who becomes attached to Mimi, kneeling in front of a small trying to coax it to life.
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And here's a street scene in the Quartier Latin, where Mimi meets Rodolfo's friends at the cafe Momus.
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I won't go into the rest of the plot, which many of you possibly know anyway, but I came away reflecting how miserable opera libretti must be given the large number of deaths portrayed! In the case of La Boheme, Mimi dies with, if not from, a very bad cough, which was rather unsettling given my own chest infection and cough! Perhaps the reason for such sadness lies, as it does with murder mysteries, in people going away thinking how much better they are than a lot of other people!
Anyway, I wish the opera company well and await the next performance!
AS
The mainly local orchestra was conducted by my some-time doctor, Bruce Menzies, but many of the lead singers were imported - mainly from conservatioriums or university music schools in Brisbane, Sydney or Melbourne. Perhaps some of the singers were a little under-powered, though not the tragic Mimi. However, the setting and lighting were very good, and the producer even managed a snow-storm at the Barriere d'Enfer on the outskirts of Paris. However, the crowd scenes mainly comprised local singers of all ages.
I tried taking some pictures of the event, but I couldn't use flash - I'd have been ejected! The first picture shows the bohemians' garret in the Latin Quarter, which was used creatively for the performance and towards the end we saw rain falling on the glass roof.
And here we see the inside of the garret, with the near-destitute painter Marcello (standing) and poet Rodolfo, who becomes attached to Mimi, kneeling in front of a small trying to coax it to life.
And here's a street scene in the Quartier Latin, where Mimi meets Rodolfo's friends at the cafe Momus.
I won't go into the rest of the plot, which many of you possibly know anyway, but I came away reflecting how miserable opera libretti must be given the large number of deaths portrayed! In the case of La Boheme, Mimi dies with, if not from, a very bad cough, which was rather unsettling given my own chest infection and cough! Perhaps the reason for such sadness lies, as it does with murder mysteries, in people going away thinking how much better they are than a lot of other people!
Anyway, I wish the opera company well and await the next performance!
AS
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