LA BOHEME ~ A Met Matinee

Saturday November 20th, 2021 matinee – In 2016, Anita Hartig was a radiantly-sung Liu in TURANDOT at The Met. When her Violetta was announced in the 2018-2019 season, I was eager to hear her again, only to find that – at least at the performance I attended – she was having serious pitch problems. So this year, despite wanting to hear Charles Castronovo and Artur Ruciński in BOHEME, I hesitated to go because Ms. Hartig was the Mimi. Then I heard a clip from the prima of Mimi’s Act I narrative and the soprano sounded fabulous. So, there I was today, in a packed house, experiencing the Franco Zeffirelli BOHEME for the umpteenth time.

The afternoon started on a sour note: while waiting for the curtain to rise, the two women sitting next to me removed their masks, started eating crackers, called people on their phones, and even called each other! Seriously! I wasn’t about to let them ruin the performance for me, so I abandoned my seat with a view and went back to my more usual score desk.

I liked Eun Sun Kim’s conducting a lot. Her tempi felt just right, and she seemed to breathe with the singers, allowing them leeway with sustaining notes when they wished. The orchestra were in fine fettle, and I especially loved the harp passages at the opening of Act III.

BOHEME is a love story, and today’s lovers were excellently paired. Ms. Hartig’s “Mi chiamano Mimi” was gorgeously sung and phrased, and she turned on the power for the ecstatic cresting phrase of the love duet, and again for the climax of the ensemble following Musetta’s Waltz. Ms. Hartig’s sustained high-C at the end of Act I was handsomely harmonized by Charles Castronovo, today’s Rodolfo. The tenor’s Act I aria was particularly appealing in his way with the words; his top notes do not ‘bloom’ but they have ample power. In Act III, his anguish in telling Marcello the real reason he must break with Mimi was passionately expressed. Ms. Hartig’s “Addio senza rancor” was very moving, and she gave us an exquisite pianissimo on the final “…rancor!” A few moments later, having decided to stay with Mimi until the Spring, Mr. Castronovo ravished the ear with his own lovely pianissimo on “…alla stagion dei fior!“

Artur Ruciński’s Marcello was sung with power and warmth; he led the ensemble ‘reprise’ of Musetta’s Waltz in a commanding way, and was wonderful in his Act III duet with Mimi, and then in his conversation with Rodolfo. Fererica Lombardi was a bright-toned Musetta, making the most of her Waltz. Alexander Birch Elliott was an excellent Schaunard, and I very much liked Nicholas Brownlee’s voice as Colline – so much so that I regretted leaving before his Coat Aria (the thought of sitting thru another endless Gelb-Intermission sent me packing after Act III). The Scottish baritone Donald Maxwell, long a favorite at the Royal Opera, Covent Garden, doubled in the roles of Benoit and Alcindoro.

The Zeffirelli BOHEME has come in for some bashing of late. Some people feel it’s time for a change. But – like the Zeffirelli TURANDOT – it’s been a veritable cash cow for the Met, selling out (or selling “big”) no matter who is singing. Today’s nearly full house seemed attentive and appreciative. And of course they applauded the rise of the curtain on the Café Momus scene. Oh dear, people actually enjoying themselves at the opera! We can’t have that, now, can we?

Metropolitan Opera House
November 20th, 2021 matinee

Conductor...............Eun Sun Kim


~ Oberon