La Bohème

Giacomo Puccini La Bohème opera to libretto by Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica. Directed 2006 by Giancarlo del Monaco at the Madrid Teatro Real. Stars Inva Mula, Aquiles Machado, Laura Giordano, Fabio Maria Capitanucci, David Menéndez, Felipe Bou, Gonzalo Fernández de Terán, Juan Tomás Martínez, Alfredo Mariotti, Federico Gallar, Mario Villoria, and Francisco Pardo. Jesús López Cobos conducts the Chorus and Orchestra of the Teatro Real (Chorus Master Jordi Casas Bayer) and the Children's Chorus of the Comunidad de Madrid (Chorus Master José de Felipe).  Design of set and costumes by Michael Scott; lighting by Wolfgang von Zoubek. This Blu-ray product was released in 2008 and effectively replaced the HD DVD version that was released earlier. Disc has 5.0 PCM sound. Grade: A

Inva Mula does a impassioned job of acting someone half her age. She manages to look young, pretty, and sick, which is a tough assignment. Aquiles Machado is border-line obese. This is a problem since there is no such thing as a fat starving artist. But he has a sweet voice and he can act. He makes you care about Rodolfo and Mimi. All the supporting singers are excellent. The design is impressive and expensive-looking. Del Monaco's transition between Act 1 and the street seen at Cafe Momus is awesome. The directing is movie-slick with fine acting touches. I especially like Act Three where the traditional snow banks are replaced by a more detailed street scene showing the futility of the lives of our carefree friends. But the one that chokes me up is when Felipe Bou leaves the garret in Act IV. When he backs out the door, I know that Doom is moving in. In 2008, I liked this production better than the Met Zefferelli version I saw in HD at the movie house or anything I had seen on DVD. It also easily beats the Dornhelm movie version and the John Copley production at the Royal Opera House which came out later. The L'OperaDou jury gave this title a "B+." I gave it an "A" before that, and we will stick with the higher of the two grades.