‘La Boheme’ delivers drama to MAC stage

The Musical Arts Center was packed to the brim Saturday, with fans of all ages anticipating the spectacle of “La Boheme” to take the stage.

With Jeffrey Buchman as assistant stage director and David Effron as maestro, “La Boheme’s” second appearance at IU was a roller coaster of emotions centered on the lives of four poor bohemians.

The IU production of Giacomo Puccini’s work highlighted the mirth and misery of struggling artists in France through this four-act opera.

David C. Higgins’s detail-oriented sets brought innovation to Puccini’s renowned opera and elicited gasps of wonder from the audience as the sets spun around and off stage.
 
“I was actually a member of the chorus the last time we did this production, and I was in awe of the beauty of the set as well as all of the technical aspects of it,” said Shelly Ploss, who plays Mimi in the show.  “We have a world-class group of people working backstage at the MAC. They know how to fix every problem and make things run so smoothly.”

The extravagant sets stunned so much that during both the intermissions, the lobby was abuzz in praise of Higgins’s efforts.

Freshman Sebastian Wocial had never seen the opera before and he said this production had exceeded all his expectations.

“The sets were jaw-dropping,” he said. “I didn’t even think there was enough room on stage for the sets to move around like that.”

This was the second time since 2007 that Stage Director Tito Capobianco’s larger-than-life production of the 1830s Parisian show took to the stage at IU.

At 8 p.m., a red, tattered flag with the words “Paris L’amour” was raised, unveiling Rodolfo, a poet, and Marcello, a painter, attempting to keep warm in their apartment.

“La Boheme” began comically as the artists playfully lit Rodolfo’s rejected poems on fire to heat the room. Snow fell on the stage. Smoke puffed out of chimneys and the spectacular three-dimensional sets rotated on wheels as the plot changed from the apartment to the street cafe.

The long practice hours and dedication that the performers put forth was recognized and appreciated by the crowd, which awarded each act with praise.

“We began musical rehearsals about six weeks ago, and we staged the opera in four weeks,” Ploss said. “I think the fact that IU Opera Theater is run like a professional company helps. It really shows you how life down the road can be.”

Effron’s secure conducting led the orchestra effortlessly through emotionally charged romantic scenes between Rodolfo and Mimi, with the jubilant merry-making score of “Viva Parpignol” culminating in the sorrowful crescendos of “Che ora sia.” 

Marcelo Ferreira, who played the role of Marcello, said he values being part of the performance for the theatrical breadth it allows him to practice.

“My favorite part of the opera as a singer is probably the duet between Marcello and Rodolfo that opens act IV,” he said. “It has great emotional range, going from playful recitative to heart-breaking asides of suffering for lost love.”

The duets between lovers and ecstatic choral overtures hit all the right notes with the crowd.

“It’s so hard to believe that these performers are just students,” senior Jessamyn Anderson said. “They are so professional.”

Two hours and 45 minutes after the red flag first flew, “La Boheme” merged music, performance and visuals in a tear-jerking finish.

It provided the audience with spectacular fodder, raising the bar high for future performances.

“I hope that audiences will take with them the passion, beauty and vibrancy of living that ‘La Boheme’ imbues,” Buchman said before the opera took to the stage.

The full house and standing ovations were proof of success for this year’s opera production.

“The response from the audience was the best possible, and it makes our life much easier when we feel we’re sharing those moments with the audience,” Ferreira said. “You can almost feel the electricity in the air in a sold-out house.”