BWW Reviews: ENGLISH TOURING OPERA - LA BOHEME, Hackney Empire, March 13 2015

At the start of English Touring Opera's ten-day sojourn at the Hackney Empire, the season was introduced with a "Well, everyone has seen La Bohème of course, but everyone wants to see it again." Well, I can vouch for that!

Four lads live the life of struggling artists in 19th century Paris, short of money but with that energy and cameraderie that lads of that age find easily. They don't find women quite so easily though, so when Mimi comes across the landing to borrow a candle, Rodolfo is smitten. But the Green-Eyed Monster soon looms between them and things aren't much better for Rodolfo's best pal Marcello and his spirited on-off girlfriend Musetta - then Mimi gets ill and perspectives change.

If, if, you can turn enough of a blind eye to Puccini's view of women, you're rewarded with some of the greatest music in opera, here given full value by Michael Rosewell's orchestra. The music's intertwining with the performances is what sets live opera apart from recorded versions, the impact heightened as voices and strings, brass and woodwind swirl around this grand old theatre - it's quite the sensory overload.

The singers' job is to keep up with the music and drama and then enhance the experience bringing their characters' emotional turmoil to the fore. Ilona Domnich (Mimi) and David Butt Philip (Rodolfo) complement each other beautifully, Domnich's soprano never overpowering and Butt Philip's tenor crystal-clear. With the support cast (and local kids in full costume for the chorus in the Latin Quartier scene is a nice touch) all predictably excellent, the standout is Sky Ingram as Musetta, a strutting, sexy soprano with a heart of gold - albeit one she is prepared to give away rather too quickly for Marcello's liking.

Sung in Italian with surtitles (if you need them, as many will know what's happening) this is a full operatic experience. It comes in at two hours with an interval, but that is about as much as one can take of such passions as these. The company are, as they do every year, zig-zagging across the country with this show - a remarkable undertaking - so it'll come somewhere near everyone in the UK. And when it does - try it!

English Touring Opera - La Bohème is on tour.

Photo Bill Knight.

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