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One of the most beloved classics in the operatic canon has officially taken the stage at the Centennial Concert Hall.
Giacomo Puccini’s La bohème has dazzled audiences all over the world for over a century, and this production presented by Manitoba Opera is no exception with an all-Canadian cast in the leading roles.
“The music is phenomenal from beginning to end,” says bass-baritone Hugo LaPorte on why the opera has been so beloved for so long. “Everything works so very well. There’s no waiting moments – action is always going on from top to the end.”
The Quebec City native plays the painter Marcello in the story, which centers around four friends living in Paris, struggling to make ends meet as artists. The show also contains a full chorus, children’s chorus and the composer’s penchant for the quality of verismo, the Italian operatic style that emphasizes the struggles and emotions of real life.
For LaPorte, all of these elements make La bohème the perfect opera for someone who has never encountered the genre before. “A lot of people that haven’t had the chance to see opera are young people,” he explains about the opera’s relatability for newer audiences. “It’s really a story about young people – students or people who have just finished school, are having trouble living in the expensive world.”
The fact that La bohème tells the story of emerging artists is highlighted in Manitoba Opera’s production by the fact that the all-Canadian cast on stage are largely emerging artists themselves. Many of them have just emerged from training programs in the last few years, and the majority of them are making their Manitoba Opera debuts.
“I think for some of us, it’s really relatable as to when your next gig is coming or how are you going to budget for the next year,” says soprano Charlotte Siegel, who plays Marcello’s on-again, off-again girlfriend, the singer Musetta. “Because it’s a young Canadian cast, a lot of us knew each other already, so I think that we have that kind of chemistry of friendship as a base, and that’s been a really, really beautiful thing.”
The symbolism of an all-Canadian cast in the face of economic uncertainties and threats to national sovereignty is not lost on the cast in this performance. This outside context adds extra poignancy to the passions and struggles that the characters in La bohème experience and, for Siegel, makes the story even more relatable for audiences.
“With all of the struggle – I mean, we are watching the world burn – I think that the most important thing in our lives is our relationships and our connections to people and how you can have very little and still have a beautiful, meaningful life,” says Siegel. “That existed when Puccini wrote the opera and still exists today.”
Manitoba Opera’s La bohème is on stage for two more performances on April 9 and 11. Tickets and more information can be found at Manitoba Opera’s website.
