La Bohème, The Village Underground | reviews, news & interviews
La Bohème, The Village Underground
La Bohème, The Village Underground
Immersive opera at its best
Thursday, 28 July 2011
Vignette Productions' 'Boheme': 'The opening scene was about as far from your standard opera house as it would be possible to achieve'
Vignette Productions is a bit of a one-off in the operatic world. It was established three years ago by the rising young British tenor Andrew Staples, his mission to create operas that were more exciting and told better stories than those generally on offer. Staples directs rather than sings; his casts are made up of young unknown singers, and the productions to date certainly fulfil the original aim. Last year, their summer production of Cosi fan tutte had the audience sitting in deckchairs atop of six tons of sand and ended with a beach party. With that in mind, a bit of youthful wackiness was absolutely to be expected, nay joyfully anticipated, from La bohème this week. Wacky it was too, and in a very good way.
Vignette Productions is a bit of a one-off in the operatic world. It was established three years ago by the rising young British tenor Andrew Staples, his mission to create operas that were more exciting and told better stories than those generally on offer. Staples directs rather than sings; his casts are made up of young unknown singers, and the productions to date certainly fulfil the original aim. Last year, their summer production of Cosi fan tutte had the audience sitting in deckchairs atop of six tons of sand and ended with a beach party. With that in mind, a bit of youthful wackiness was absolutely to be expected, nay joyfully anticipated, from La bohème this week. Wacky it was too, and in a very good way.
more Opera
Gazzaniga's Don Giovanni, Royal College of Music review - a modest one-acter overloaded
Good young singers get more opportunities than the actual work offers
Jephtha, Royal Opera review - uncomfortable sacrifice oratorio not seismic enough
Sobriety and darkness eclipse Handel's dramatic vividness, despite strong performances
theartsdesk at Wexford Festival Opera - four operas and a recital in one crazy day
Youth takes the comedy award in fringe delights alongside a well-done schlocky rarity
theartsdesk in Ukraine - Stankovych's 'Psalms of War' at the Lviv National Opera
A powerful new work written in blood from the inside
Un ballo in maschera, Chelsea Opera Group, Cadogan Hall review - Italianate vitality, if not much finesse
Broad brush strokes, but here was a world-class Verdi heroine in the making
La Rondine, Opera North review - rehabilitation for a Puccini damp squib?
The romantic nostalgia of a world that vanished forever
Masque of Might, Opera North review - a tale of ecological virtue
Pountney plunders Purcell to make the greenest show in a green season
Iolanthe, English National Opera review - still gorgeous but ever so slightly less funny than before
Not all the cast changes are gains in revival of Cal McCrystal's funny and beautiful G&S
Faust, Irish National Opera review - world-class singing turns the musical-dramatic screw
Fabulous principals and some good ideas to elevate Gounod's old-fashioned melodrama
Falstaff, Opera North review - going green and having fun
Verdi’s comic masterpiece with a retro feel of its own
First Person: Director Sir David Pountney on creating a new 'Masque of Might' from the music of Purcell
Launching Opera North’s Green Season with a climate sceptic as villain
La Traviata, Welsh National Opera review - memorable revival, unforgettable lead
Stacey Alleaume has an astonishing feeling for the stage, her Violetta one in a thousand
Add comment