The children’s chorus in Act II is suitably adorable. Mvula makes for a vivacious Schaunard, while Bowes’s Colline is thoughtful and intelligent – the ideal philosopher. But we also see her goodness when she brings Mimì to the garret in the final scene she clearly cares for the dying woman and her love for Marcello feels real. In fact both the female roles in this production feel like they have more agency than is often granted to women in opera. In her scenes with Marcello she’s a force to be reckoned with. Koyejo-Audiger’s Musetta is by turns coy and coquettish and sexy and in control. The opening aria of Scene II – ‘Mi chiamano Mimì’ (‘They Call Me Mimì’) – is particularly arresting, and Sides is expressive throughout the whole production. This counterpoint between humour and tenderness is also prevalent in Act IV, when we go from a highly amusing dance featuring the four friends to the tragedy of Mimì’s death.īoth Elwin’s and Sides’s voices are stunning. The contrast with Rodolfo and Mimì’s first scene together couldn’t be greater.

The scene between our four bohemians and their landlord Benoît (sung with verve and vigour by Scottish tenor Matthew McKinney) is boisterous and laugh-out-loud funny. Canadian bass Trevor Elliot Bowes as Colline and Zambian-born baritone Themba Mvula as Schaunard round out the main cast. The night we went, British tenor Thomas Elwin was singing Rodolfo, Brazilian baritone Michel de Souza was Marcello, the part of Mimì was played by American soprano Paula Sides and Musetta was sung by British soprano April Koyejo-Audiger. The four main roles are shared between two singers. This version sticks closely to the original story of the opera to create a production that is both classic and beautiful. La bohème is one of the world’s best-known operas there are several new and revived productions being staged this year and it has been reinterpreted many times. I saw the former at Cambridge’s Arts Theatre on Saturday night (23 April). English Touring Opera is currently visiting venues across England with two productions: a revival of James Conway’s 2015 version of Puccini’s La bohème ( The Bohemians, 1896) and a new production of Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Golden Cockerel (1909).

La boheme opera length