by Cazoshay (Shay) Ward - University of Alaska Anchorage
…And that joyful flame is love, a theme that plays prominently in the opera La Boheme. Love is displayed in all its joy and tragedy as the story takes place in 1940’s Paris. La Boheme, as presented by the Anchorage Opera on the evening of February 17th, 2011 primarily tells the tale of the ill-fated love of the penniless painter, Marcello (played by Barry Johnson,) and the embroidering artist Mimi (played by Veronica Mitina.) It should be noted that this production was designed, produced, and performed by the Anchorage Opera using all local talent, including that of the Alaska Children’s Choir, which comprised the Children’s Choir that was featured playfully in Acts II and III.
This opera is filled with all the ups and downs associated with being in love, and ultimately as any good opera does, ends in tragedy. Mitina and Johnson portray the cycle of the relationship between Mimi and Marcello with great emotion. The opera had a prompter with English subtitles playing above the stage, however, all of the players portrayed their roles with such passion, translation was really not necessary.
Conductor Pablo Zinger along with the orchestra literally didn’t skip a beat with matching both the singer’s performance and the mood of the piece. There’s a reason this show was sold out for the first performance several days before the performance was to begin. Set design by Arnulfo Aldonado was captivating, the lighting along with the falling “snow” in the III Act really set the mood as a chilling pre-cursor to the tragic end to this opera.
“The paper will turn to ash and my genius will soar back to heaven…” the words uttered by Marcello to his fellow artist friends as he burned one of his literary works in the stove to provide heat is an example of the eloquence displayed in this opera. If you are new to operas or thoroughly enjoy them, The Anchorage Opera’s presentation of La Boheme has enough interest and romance to keep audiences captivated throughout all four Acts.
Student Dress Rehearsal of La BohemeAnchorage Opera
Thursday, February 17, 2011 @7pm
Discovery Theatre
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