Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London. One of the biggest and most famous scene of opera in the world, on the same "level" with Teatro alla Scala from Milan, Staatsoper from Vienna or Metropolitan from New York. But, above all, a second "home" for Angela Gheorghiu.

The Romanian soprano debuted at the Royal Opera House in London in 1992, here knowing her first great success. Than she sang on all of the world’s great scenes, including those listed above, but London, as she said in an interview, is like a second home for her. For this reason, besides that "La Bohème" is a work which I started liking only after I saw Angela Gheorghiu in the role of "Mimi" (Munich 2012), I wanted very much to see this show, especially as it was programmed to two years without a day from that wonderful evening in Munich, when I became a fan "with full rights", meaning with autograph. :-)

On the 19th of July, 2014, "La Bohème" took place on the London Opera stage twice, in different distributions, once from 2 pm but also at 7.30 pm. I wanted to see and I have seen both shows for fun, to make a comparison, but also simply because I could :-) ), so I bought tickets also for the show of 2 pm. (Initially it sounded very good the initiative, because the first show of the day was set early, I had to come up with the first possible train from Penzance, at 500 km, without managing in the "Tosca" evening in English to solve with accommodation in Cornwall, this is why I was kind of tired that day in London. On the other hand, it was interesting, with three performances seen within 26 hours in those two days, "Penzance+London").

Knowing the style of the Opera in London, of whose productions I’ve seen four, two there and two at the cinema, I was expecting a modern unwanted production. I met a sweet classic mount, with an attic that in years when the subject was placed - perhaps the space a little too large, with a small staircase, with a stove and a bed looking old, then with handlamps on the street in front of the famous tavern "Momus", a pool table in there, an atmosphere of the 19th century.

The London audience, as rident as it was at Penzance. :-) Laughters were heard at any scene somewhat funny, scattered or louder. Act 1, "Non son solo, siamo due! ", a scarf came accross by mistake, the white peppery dog with which appears Musetta in act 2, Benoit’s carriage, the beginning of act 3, seen by the director with a guard who was "riding" a fat woman, the classical frolics from act 4 before Mimi came into the scene, they were all reasons to laugh for Brits.

As in matter of voices, there was a big difference between the "matinal" distribution and the evening. The sets were identical, the moves the same, as they could be, but Angela Gheorghiu was divine, and Vittorio Gricolo the same. To note that Musetta had Romanian blood in both distributions, at noon she was played by Simona Mihai, and in the evening by the Moldavian Irina Lungu.

The finale, however, was sad for me. Not just because Mimi died for the second time in the same day - there was no progress made in medicine from 2 pm to 7.30 pm. :-) ) but one of my goals was the flag of Romania to be seen in London, as I previsously succeeded in Munich, Milan and Vienna. But to the applauses, only the artists were enlightened, no lights were lit throughout the duration of the cheering, so Angela has not seen the flag, although it had been there.

This is my aim for the next time! ;)

Distributions:

2 pm
Mimi: Ermonela Jaho
Rodolfo: Charles Castronovo
Marcello: Markus Werba
Musetta: Simona Mihai
Schaunard: Daniel Grice
Colline: Jongmin Park
Benoît: Jeremy White
Alcindoro: Donald Maxwell
Chorus: Royal Opera Chorus

7.30 pm
Mimi: Angela Gheorghiu
Rodolfo: Vittorio Grigolo
Marcello: Massimo Cavalletti
Musetta: Irina Lungu
Schaunard: Lauri Vasar
Colline: Gábor Bretz
Benoît: Jeremy White
Alcindoro: Donald Maxwell
Chorus: Royal Opera Chorus

Directing: John Copley
Costumes: Julia Trevelyan Oman
Lights : John Charlton
Conductor: Cornelius Meister
Orchestra of the Royal Opera in London

Nota actuala: 9 (din 1 note acordate) - Acorda o nota!

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