La Bohème At Metropolitan Opera: Came for Luisotti, Stayed for Frengo, Gheorghiu Was, Um, There, Too

One of the more detached Bohèmes that OC has been to, with every eye in the house bone dry and tissues unused by the time Ramón Vargas uttered, "Che vuol dire quell'andare e venire...", though not all fault of the tenor. The chemistry between the Ceauşescu-ian ice princess and our Mexican lyric-of-many-scarves was not terribly convincing, and Gheorghiu was detached, while Vargas remained aloof when scenes called for them to converge. Both singers acted independently well enough, but a sense of platonic buddies pervaded their scenes together. Gheorgs couldn't wait for her death scene to be over, squirming uncomfortably and stroking her jaw, while Teh Fargster kept hovering over her and kept like 3-inches away at all times.

The best performance was by Italian Maestro Nicola Luisotti, who guided the tipsy, capsizable ship of Puccini's La Bohème to the safe shores. Angela Gheorghiu was at the helm of S.S. Unprepared, struggling to match obvious and egregious orchestral cues, at one point transposing notes at the end of a passage that was waiting for her measures ahead, and giving Maestro Luisotti the best workout he's had in years. Things got so precarious at one moment that Luisotti abandoned his orchestra and began furiously guiding the short-of-sight Gheorghiu through one of her simpler, later act songs with gigantic and florid flutters of his hand, matching her swells with the ebbs of the orchestra. Gheorghiu hasn't been doing her homework, and bombed the oral quiz. Vargas was more or less on point and the house clearly loves him. His Che gelida manina! wasn't anywhere close to perfection, but he received a wall of spontaneous bravi from the crowds, despite the fact that his voice at the higher notes was pinched, and he strangled a passage.

When Gheorgs wasn't singing to the beat of her own drummer that mysteriously thumped away inside her own head, or searching for the proper facial expression instead of her dependable fallback knotted brows, or beginning her scenes in a timid, inaudible voice that grew in confidence and volume as the act gelled, what did emit from her was a gorgeous, tender, well controlled voice. Act I was a mess for her entrances, while Act III had her struggling once again against the orchesetra. More insulting than her sloppiness was the male leader of the local Gheorghiu fan club, who screamed encouragement from the Family Circle at the end of an early aria "BRAVO". FAIL! U FAIL @ LIFE!

The perfect sound coaxed by Maestro Luisotti from the Metropolitan Orchestra was at moments heavenly. His mastery of Puccini's well-known score was a stellar interpretation, his idiosyncrasies insanely sexay and elegantly succinct, picking-up passages that can easily delve into sentimentality and sappiness. Afterall, it was Italian Maestro Nicola Luisotti's grandpappy that duck hunted with Puccini himself, so we expected a lot from the legacy of Puccini's circle of friends.

One of the highlights of the night was the presentation of two plaques to Mistah Franco Frengo Zeffirelli, who toddled onstage at the end of Act II's immense and unforgettable Cafe Momus scene before the first intermission to speak a few words. Gelb came out and elaborated that they were putting up two commemorative plaques on the stage walls. Frengo then thanked everyone, and personally thanked Mirella Freni, Carlos Kleiber, and Luciano Pavarotti. And Opera Chic. And his legions of silk and cashmere scarves. We <3 u Frengo!

There were a few opening night issues that have to be worked out, such as when Vargas and Gheorghiu remained in shadowed darkness during Act III's "Donde lieta usci". But more on that tomorrow, cuz this OC without sleep thing is about to get ugly.

Comments

[deadtenors]

ok OC, maybe ramon's big aria wasn't perfect, but gotta give him props for changing the opening line to "che solcata la fronte". who will interview angela for the live broadcast? Dessay was hilarious backstage at grimes. as was Patricia Racette's "suspension of disbelief" line. these high defs have been great for giving the chorus a chance to show-off their acting abilities. and nice bling on the principal flautist. no doubt, she was playing for some praise on this site. go ahead, OC, make her day. sorry, WE downunder get the live broadcasts much much later!

[jpcd]

Doesn't sound like a stellar performance, all things considered, except the orchestra and chorus. AG really is a soprano for the uninformed and unknowledgeable, it seems.

But, I'm sure the nice voice broke through once in awhile. as you say.....

I would love to hear the opera, but doubt if I will listen to anything AG is in ever again. I am not sure that I disagree with the member of the local fan club, but am surprised at such an outburst, since those fan clubs usually consist of young girls obsessed with her costumes, and adoring and uncritical gay fellows. I sure it matters not one iota to AG, since the performances are usually sold out, and her main concern is with the $$ - I can't believe such a performance from someone like her, who's only sung it 300+ times!! Was it really lack of preparation???

[flipstinger]

i think the role is getting too "played out" for her....maybe she needs to work in something else or better yet, add a new role to her repertoire...(dunno which one to be exact!) but i can only imagine if one has to do the same role gazzilion times in a year - can be very boring!

[jpcd]

That's not a very pursuasive argument. Musicians in general tend to produce different and more subtle and interesting variations of the same piece, _especially_ after many performances. The effect of a full and watchful, if not adoring, audience, is often cited by the musician, as well - see Rubinsteins's autobiographies for variations on this theme... there simply is no excuse for anything less than a stunning performance after 300+ previous performances. (And, its exactly analogous to a multi-million $ salaried major league infielder muffing a slow ground ball!)

[MicheleAngelini]

Dear OC...

I LOVE you! S.S. Unprepared? GENIUS!! The Met needs to give you an award.

A friend of mine attended the prima as well - he's an aspiring stage director (and works with some pretty important names) and is an amateur classically trained singer himself - he said that he adored the production. I only got as far as the lobby and gift shop to see some friends - I declined to join my director friend to see the opera. According to him, it was the first time he ever saw an opera where all the singers were great and he apparently loved AG. I expressed to him my many doubts - all of which your report seems to have confirmed. I am a fan of Vargas, however, and I'm sorry to hear that he had some difficulties, but I wish him all the best for the future performances.

Nice to hear that you're in my neck of the woods, OC! How long are you staying here?

[Elaine Simpson-Long]

each time I see AG in the flesh, I am surprised at how small her voice is. I have seen her do Boheme and detached is the only word to describe her; in 2006 I saw her do Tosca with Terfel and, again, tiny voice. I had treated myself to seats in the stalls as I am a huge BT fan and could hear her but comments from friends of mine up in the amphi said she was barely audible. Tefel is back as Scarpia in 2009 and this time he has Deborah Voigt as his Tosca. Now THAT is somehing to look forward to...