La Bohème at the London Coliseum

The figure of the bohemian youth, dancing and gyrating their way in the back alleys and dirty dives, living under the pretence that they can make a living from creative pursuits, falling in love and then falling apart as quickly as that makeshift fixie bike they made themselves…  

It is a life I know far too well. Perhaps with the exception of the fixie bike. My point is that with each era comes a new breed of bohemians, those who exist in the edges of society, thriving on free love and free food, expertly avoiding authority and avoiding that novel they are meant to be writing to pay the rent… It is the very adaptability of the bohemian to any era that has secured Giacomo Puccini’s La Bohème in the cultural canon as arguably one of the most recognised operas.

Perhaps a portion of this popularity in the 21st century can be attributed to everyone’s favourite rock opera, Rent, by Jonathan Larson, which made life as a drug addled stripper look like something I could get on board with. Sadly, I must confess that my arrival at La Bohème did come via Rent. Having never been to the opera before, the arrival of Jonathan Miller’s intimately staged production of La Bohème at the English National Opera (ENO) seemed ideal to dispel the myths of stuffy upper classes and women in horned hats.

With sets and costumes designed by Isabella Bywater based on images of 1930s Paris inspired by Brassai’s photographs, the audience is transported into the dark but vivacious world of our bohemian protagonists. Poet Rodolfo, painter Marcello, musician Schaunard and philosopher Colline make up our group of tearaway creatives, enjoying a life of wine and meagre meals while avoiding their haranguing landlord.

Opening in Rodolfo’s apartment, later ingeniously transformed into favourite boho hang out, Cafe Momus, thanks to the rotating set, the first act perfectly plays Rodolfo (Gwyn Hughes Jones) and best friend Marcello (Roland Wood) together, with a repartee and general tomfoolery to reflect the light hearted attitudes of these Parisian bohemians in spite of looming rent.

The introduction of the female characters in the shape of Marcello’s luscious ex lover Musetta (Mairead Buicke) and Rodolfo’s beaux Mimi, played by the enchanting Elizabeth Llewellyn in her ENO debut, captures the joie de vie of the young boho lifestyle in these early scenes.

The ensemble scenes at Cafe Momus are as emotionally exhilarating as the more subdued moments where bohemian life hits back the hardest, most notably the heart wrenching duet between Marcello and Mimi in act three. The old adage of ‘live fast die young’ has long been the mantra of such youths but in consumption ridden 1930s Paris, unfortunately this is not so much a decision as a painful truth, and unfortunately our young lovers Rodolfo and Mimi feel its chill too soon in their love affair.

Masterfully conducted by Stephen Lord, it is the music that tells the story, as with any opera. Propelling the audience through the turbulent emotions of this beautifully simple but devastatingly tragic love story, Millers’ La Bohème rightfully earns the acclaim the production has received throughout this run, proving that sometimes even the oldest classic still deserves a revival.

La Bohème will be performed on January 22, 25 and 27 at:

London Coliseum
St. Martin’s Lane
Covent Garden
WC2N 4ES