Bohemian Rhapsody: The Scots Whay Hae! Review Of Scottish Opera's Revival Of Puccini's La bohème...

Alistair Braidwood
Oct 14
3 min read

When the nights are fair drawing in, a night at the opera is perfect to take your mind off such things and transport you to a world of wonder, music, theatre and song. This Autumn, Scottish Opera offers a revival of the 2017 production of Puccini's La bohème, which began its run at Glasgow's Theatre Royal on Saturday before it moves around the country (dates below).

As the curtain rises on Act I (and later Act III) we are in present day Paris, with families of tourists roaming the streets and markets where the bohemians used to live and work. As one tourist reflects on what the life would have been like, we seamlessly find ourselves in that time and place where we are introduced to artist Marcello and writer Rodolofo, along with their comrades the philosopher Colline and musician Schaunard. They are each working out how best to work, eat, pay rent, and survive - and if they can do it with a sense of style, all the better.

The staging is a love letter to Paris (almost literally as events are framed by an Air Mail envelope), and adverts from the city's past - some reminiscent of the work of Toulouse-Lautrec, another featuring Josephine Baker - ascend. This is at times a big and busy production, with large numbers often on stage, including a brass band, children, market sellers, waiters, and even papier-mâché soldiers, and it would be all too easy to get distracted by the bright lights and big city, but it's in the more intimate moments that the power of La bohème is felt.

The Bohemians are eccentric characters who all leave their mark, with Roland Wood's Marcello and Mario Chang's Rodolfo particularly stand out as they try to work out what it means to love and be loved (often with no small amount of self-pity, it has to be said).

But it's the two lead women who dominate proceedings, and command the stage every time they appear. Rhian Lois as the coquettish and charismatic Musetta who 'hates her lovers behaving like husbands' plays with her admirers' affections, who include the cuckolded Marcello, and who has a lust for life which hides her own turmoil. Hye-Youn Lee is astonishing as Mimi, who has to endure wonderful highs and terrible lows, and every emotion is conveyed with such strength and passion what no one can be left unmoved by her plight.

Mention should also be made of the younger members of the cast. Often a number of children on stage can act as one, but here there were individual performances of real character which came across strongly and helped add moments of levity to proceedings. Add to the performances the attention to detail across the boards, from costume, set, lighting, and of course the music of Scottish Opera's peerless orchestra, and you have an assault on the senses which is at times breathtaking.

This production of Pucinni's classic is a timely one, with parallels between the present and past implicit. Decisions such as whether to burn furniture, or art, to stay warm, or deceive the landlord when they ask for rent, are all too believable. Such parallels are strengthened by subtle touches on stage, such as some Banksy-esque graffiti reminiscent of 'Girl With A Balloon', alongside the slogan 'No Future'. This is an opera about love and loss, but also about poverty, and what one can mean for the other. And as you walk back into the cold city night, that is what stays with you.

Below are images from the production (📸 credit - Mihaela Bodlovic):