What you need to knowThe English National Opera's revival of Puccini's well-loved opera La Bohème has opened at the Coliseum, London. Jonathan Miller's 2009 production has been reworked by Natascha Metherell.
La Bohème tells the story of two young bohemians, Mimi and Rodolfo, who fall in love in Paris and have a fleeting and doomed love affair. Miller moved the action from the 19th century to Paris in the 1930s.
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What the critics likeThis beautifully integrated piece of music theatre is sung with great fluency and acted with an understated veracity, says Tim Ashley in The Guardian. The orchestra is terrific and the performances are glorious – "it's immensely moving".
"With Jonathan Miller's production of La Bohème we step into a photo album of Parisian life in the 1930s," says Richard Fairman in the Financial Times. Splendid performances, including American soprano Angel Blue's outstanding Musetta, make this the ENO's most entertaining La Bohème for some while.
Oleg Caetani conducts the music with "passion and urgency", says Richard Morrison in The Times. The orchestra plays with exceptional colour and fluidity and the fizzing pace of the opening scene helps brings the whole show to life.
What they don't like"Miller's Bohème isn't a game-changer," says Alexandra Coghlan on Theartsdesk. But if its gentle realism and "blindingly good" music can persuade some first-time opera-goers to take a risk on another show, then it doesn't need to be.