Los Angeles Production News Articles
Revitalizing
'La Bohème'
Art Priromprintr, Daily Trojan Online
22 January 2004
Baz Luhrmann works to make Italian opera relevant to a modern audience.
Director Baz Luhrmann has an energy that would have most people guessing he is much younger than his 41 years. With scruffy hair and wearing an old-looking blue T-shirt with gray pants, Luhrmann seemed almost giddy while talking about the ins and outs of his career to a crowd of 130 USC film students early last week.
Through most of the discussion, he sat straight up in his chair, sometimes moving to the edge of it as he excitedly answered questions. And he was constantly apologizing to the discussion's amused moderator as Luhrmann strayed over and under the intended topics.
"I don't think of myself as a filmmaker or a theater person," Luhrmann told students. "My currency is the act of telling stories, whatever that medium happens to be."
Luhrmann was in Los Angeles directing his stage production of "La Bohème" when he stopped by USC's campus briefly to give a discussion as part of the School of Cinema-Television's Zaki Gordon Speaker Series. While he spoke mostly about his film projects, much of what Luhrmann said was directly applicable to his work on "La Bohème."
In the case of "Bohème," the medium in question is opera. Luhrmann has made a name for himself directing movies such as the independent hit "Strictly Ballroom," as well as a contemporary adaptation of "Romeo and Juliet" starring Leonardo DiCaprio and the movie-musical "Moulin Rouge." But with his storytelling philosophy in mind, Luhrmann approached "La Bohème" the same way he would any movie: through the story.
Luhrmann's production of "Bohème," which officially opened Sunday at the Ahmanson Theatre downtown, originated as a project with the Australian Opera in 1990 — before his first major film, "Strictly Ballroom." At the time, he was running a small, experimental theater company in Australia that had a division devoted to opera.
"I had interest in all kinds of theater," Luhrmann said, in an interview after last week's discussion at USC. "I also did sort of experimental operas, and at a certain point, the head of the Australian Opera came to me and said, 'Look, we are literally losing our audience and we need to address the idea of younger, newer audiences. Why don't you take "La Bohème" and sort of reinvestigate it — as if it were being done for the first time?'"
So Luhrmann mounted a production that placed heavy emphasis on the dramatic story line and had a bold, visual concept. The sets were contemporary and completely unlike "traditional" opera fare, and the cast of singers was younger than those who would normally sing the roles. (The production being seen in Los Angeles comes down directly from the Australian production.)
"We spent a good six months investigating, and eventually coming to this revelation that when Puccini wrote 'La Bohème,' opera wasn't even the film of its time, it was the television — it was that popular," Luhrmann said.
"So our mission became ... how then to take it away from this kind of distant, hallowed, highly-revered art form back to what it was, which was something sort of like cinema, just very popular and broad and able to connect with all kinds of audiences."
Luhrmann remained true to the original text and musical foundation of "La Bohème" (written by Giacomo Puccini in 1896), to the point of keeping the opera in its original Italian. What has been adapted to appeal to contemporary audiences is some of the more surface elements.
The surtitles (translations of the text projected onto screens above the stage) have not been translated literally; rather, they keep the spirit of the original lyrics and use more contemporary, colloquial terms (for example, a character exclaims, "Listen up, cats! I've just cleaned out the Bank of France!" on the screens, decidedly not a strict translation of the original Italian).
The time period was moved from 1840 to 1957 Paris, and the visual production was designed to reflect something that contemporary audiences could relate to. The visuals include bright colors and giant neon signs, as well as a huge red "L'amour" sign that would later appear in "Moulin Rouge."
All the while, it kept true to the spirit of the opera's written text. The adapted elements make the opera "a little more accessible, without actually changing the text, but revealing the text," Luhrmann said.
Luhrmann further cast singers in their 20s and 30s for the principal roles. (Normally, "La Bohème" is sung by older singers with mature voices.)
"That allows them to be closer to character, even though they're not big older voices," Luhrmann said. "What you get there, though, is a credibility of character and a commitment to the acting, which is something that Puccini was deeply passionate about anyway."
Acting out opera
The acting was a major part of the production's focus, especially when the production was remounted for Broadway in fall 2002. The singers spent two months in rehearsal preparing their roles. (The normal rehearsal period for most opera productions lasts two to three weeks, much of it in musical preparation.)
"The first two weeks we spent entirely speaking the opera in English, and doing it as if it were a play so that you really get the emotion," said soprano Chloe Wright, who assumes the role of Musetta. "We worked and worked and worked on that, and when we were finally allowed to sing or do it in Italian, whenever the acting became too 'operatic' (or exaggerated in style), Baz would say, 'Back into English.'"
The dramatic coaching had the effect of creating a very believable and accessible environment for the audience.
Said tenor David Miller, who plays Rodolfo, "We've created such a realistic sense of relationships, with every moment-by-moment truth, and the audience can watch that."
"And even, I've talked to a lot of people (who have seen the show) and they're so drawn into our relationships," Miller said. "It's so clearly established through the acting and whatever that they understand what's going on, even though they don't speak in Italian and they don't need to read the (surtitles)."
Puccini on Broadway
The production that is playing in Los Angeles comes directly from Broadway, where it closed in June after 228 performances. Its performance schedule is somewhat unconventional for opera. As it did in New York, it will play an eight-shows-per-week schedule in Los Angeles, with four rotating casts of principals to allow for vocal rest.
The physical production was expanded and a full-time orchestra was hired for the run, making the production expensive and risky. Luhrmann went ahead with it anyway.
"Artistically, yes, it was a bit of a crazy idea (to do it on Broadway)," Luhrmann said. "But we had a calculation by our Broadway producers that at X number of months, we could pay the bills. And I never really imagined that it was going to be the most highly profitable thing in the universe, but we thought we could get out."
The production's ticket sales, however, took a hit and the show ultimately closed without making a profit when the United States went to war in Iraq, SARS stifled tourism and Broadway musicians went on strike for a period in March 2003. But making a profit wasn't entirely the point, Luhrmann said.
"There's no doubt — and we have factual evidence (from exit surveys) — that many, many people who have never been to an opera before were excited and exalted by the experience," Luhrmann said.
Luhrmann smiled, then continued, "So that's been a bit useful."
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"La Bohème" is playing at the Ahmanson Theatre, 135 N. Grand Ave., Los Angeles, through March 7. Performances are Tuesday through Friday, 8 p.m., Saturday, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Sunday, 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $35 to $100. For more information, call (213) 628-2772 or visit www.taperahmanson.com.
Copyright 2004 by the Daily Trojan. All rights reserved.
This article was published in Vol. 151, No. 06 (Thursday, January 22, 2004), beginning on page 7 and ending on page 10.
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'La
Boheme' at the Ahmanson Theatre
New University, Charmaine Firme
22 January 2004
There is no better example of modern contemporary opera than Baz Luhrmann’s production of Giacomo Puccini’s La Boheme at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles. From now till March 7, amazing actors and singers will grace the stage to bring a classic opera back to life.
Set in the Left Bank world of Paris in 1957, the streets were filled with jazz clubs and cafes. It was also a time in which tuberculosis was still a real threat. In a rooftop garret is where the love story of Rodolfo and Mimi began after a blackout brought them together. They swore to love each other forever.
Months went by and, due to the guilt of Mimi’s conditions were getting worse, Rodolfo leaves her because he thinks his poverty is to blame. After a heated discussion, they decided to part when spring comes.
Summer arrives and Mimi is dying. She returns to Rodolfo for her dying words. They reminisce about happier times, but nothing could save her.
The demanding vocal performances require four couples to play Rodolfo and Mimi, each doing no more than three performances per week. The singers not only display outstanding vocal abilities, they also reveal the struggles of the characters they portray through exceptional acting.
The stage was fashioned with rotating sets as they come together to revive the Latin Quarter of Paris during the late 1950’s.
The vastly contrasting moods of the production would not have been possible without the spectacular lighting both on stage and around the theater to appropriately suit every act.
Boheme was written in Italian and for the sake of the quaility and tone of the production, it is essential for the opera to be performed in Italian as well. Luckily, the Ahmanson Theatre has a large, scrolling marquee of easy-to-follow English supertitles projected above the stage.
Whether you are a Puccini enthusiast, attending an opera for the first time, just a sucker for love, the story of Rodolfo and Mimi will capture your every breath.
Tickets for the Baz Lurhmann’s production of La Boheme can run anywhere from $30 - 120 depending on the day of the performance and the location of the seats.
Performance days and times until March 7 are as follows: Tue. - Fri. at 8 p.m., Thur. at 2:00 p.m. (and select Thur. matinees), Sat. at 2:00 p.m. and 8 p.m., Sun. at 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. (as well as select Sun. eventings).
La Boheme runs two-hours and ten-minutes with a single intermission.
For more information on this production of La Boheme, including ticket information, call (213) 628-2772 or visit www.taperahmanson.com
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USC alum now stars as Mimi in
'Bohème'
Art Priromprintr, Daily Trojan Online
22 January 2004
Vocal arts student was given principal role when original singer dropped out
Anya Matanovic, 23, finished her undergraduate studies in vocal arts at USC's Thornton School of Music only last semester. Then, on Jan. 11, she debuted in Baz Luhrmann's high profile production of "La Bohème" as Mimi — a principal role and one of the operatic repertoire's most famous roles.
"It's kind of gone really quickly," Matanovic said, speaking by phone from the theater last week, before a rehearsal. "It doesn't even seem real to me, to be honest."
When Matanovic first auditioned for Luhrmann's production, it wasn't for the role of Mimi. Casting directors initially looked at her for the role of Musetta, then ultimately cast her in the ensemble and as a cover. However, in early December, one of the originally cast Mimis dropped out, so the casting directors offered the role to Matanovic.
"I found out just about a week before rehearsals started here," Matanovic said. "So I had about a week of craziness working with my teacher and everything, and trying to learn the role really, really quickly."
Matanovic is now one of the production's four Mimis (the principal roles are being rotated through four casts to let the singers rest vocally). So far, she has assumed the role three times.
Singing has been a part of Matanovic's life from an early age. When she was five, she began singing with her family, who were folk singers. Her sister, though, had a bigger voice than she did, so her parents sent her to take voice lessons at the age of 12.
"My parents wanted me to match her strength, so I went to a classical voice teacher," Matanovic said. "And I told her, 'I don't want to sound like an opera singer.'"
That sentiment eventually changed, however.
For her 16th birthday, her mother gave her a CD featuring singing by famous soprano Maria Callas.
The gift was a turning point for Matanovic.
"I just fell in love with it," Matanovic said, "and from then on, I was like, 'This is what I want to do — I just want to sing opera."
Elizabeth Hynes, her vocal instructor at USC, characterizes Matanovic as a student with incredible determination.
"Anya started at USC as a freshman, so it has been remarkable to see her journey from a very, very young singer and go through this growth process," Hynes said. "When we saw her last Sunday, all I could think of was that last semester she was a senior, and now she's up there singing with a professional company."
Matanovic's progress has been impressive, Hynes said, but not surprising considering how hard she worked when she was a student.
"Anya's the one who, this fall with (the USC Opera's production of) 'Hansel and Gretel,' turned up at first rehearsal with everything learned and ready to go," Hynes said. "So she had this understanding and determination to prepare herself as a professional — and that's remarkable for a student. And as a teacher, that's a wonderful thing to behold."
Hynes was initially concerned that jumping straight into a major role would be difficult for Matanovic.
Opera singers are usually cautious in their early years because classical singing can take years to build on.
"She (has) been very smart about it though, and the company has treated her extremely well. She has really risen to the challenge," Hynes said.
For now, Matanovic is taking the experience day by day. Her mother flew down from Washington for her first performance, and the rest of the family is planning a trip to see her in mid-February for her father's birthday.
Says Matanovic: "(Being in 'Bohème') has really been a great opportunity because everyone here has been really supportive and great, from the directing staff to the other singers. I've made great friends in the cast and they're really supportive of my being young, and it being my first time doing this role."
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Matanovic performs the role of Mimi in "La Bohème" on a rotating schedule. For a schedule of exact performances, call the Ahmanson Theatre box office at (213) 628-2772 or visit www.taperahmanson.com.
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La Boheme spectacularly designed, staged and performed
By John Farrell, San Bernardino Sun
21 January 2004
"LA BOHEME" IS probably the best-loved opera in the repertory, performed more often than almost any other, always selling out.
So when Australian-born director Baz Luhrmann designed an especially theatrical production for the Sydney Opera House in 1990, it was even more popular than an opera production might have otherwise been.
Luhrmann made a couple of movies after that triumph, including "Moulin Rouge," ' and then, in 1996, created a revised and revamped version of "Boheme" ' for Broadway, a production that earned Tony Awards and provoked some to say that opera could be entertaining and popular, after all.
On Sunday, after more than a week of previews, that production was formally introduced to a celebrity-filled Hollywood, er, Los Angeles audience at the Ahmanson Theatre. Every detail was considered, including the clothes of the audience, who were asked (critics included) to attend in black tie, to give the event, on a Sunday afternoon, the right aura.
Los Angeles audiences had, in some measure, already discovered opera, as the success of the Los Angeles Opera, just across the plaza from the Ahmanson, attests. And those who have been attending opera locally for the past few years had already come to the conclusion that using lively young singers to portray the young Parisian lovers in "La Boheme" ' is an effective theatrical device. Two years ago a production at Opera Pacific in Orange County that updated the story to more recent times was hugely popular because it did just that.
So, despite all the hype, the "Boheme" ' that opened Sunday is not really a very new idea. That said, it is a first-rate production in many ways, remarkably theatrical, emotionally effective and featuring a rotating cast of young singers who, at least on Sunday, were lively and energetic embodiments of 20-somethings living on the edge in Paris. They sang well enough (though some seemed a bit harsh in voice production -- they are still young) and gave, despite all Lurhmann's fancy trappings, more-than-credible performances that were affecting and moving.
But the big story in this production must be the production. Luhrmann has created a setting that moves and shifts as the scenes do, with the help of stage hands who are seen throughout the performance -- holding spotlights, moving sets, building new scenes out of the old. Their movements are a fascinating part of the production, just in case Puccini's music and the book by Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica aren't enough.
The first scene takes place in a garret at the top of a building in Paris, as depressing and cold a place to live as you can imagine. The set turns to reveal a huge electric sign that advertises a product called "L" Amour,'' a clever reference to the opera's principle plot, about the loves of two young couples who come together and split up against the background of the poor side of the City of Light.
Luhrmann moved the setting of the opera from the original 1840s to 1950s Paris, and the text, sung in the original Italian but with titles projected cleverly in several places around the set, has been altered to reflect the modern world. Because the opera is presented musical-style, with seven or eight performances a week, Luhrmann has cast four singers to rotate in the principle roles (Rodolfo and Mimi), since opera singers need to rest their voices.
Sunday David Miller was Rodolfo, the impoverished poet who meets the tubercular Mimi (Kelly Kaduce in this performance) when she knocks on his door after her candle goes out in the draft, and then promptly faints. They fall quickly in love in one of the most famous duets in opera, each trying to prolong their brief contact because of their mutual attraction. The music is among the best-loved in opera, and these two young voices, Miller perhaps a little rough in the high notes, made believers of those in the audience.
The choice role for an acting soprano in "Boheme" ' is Musetta (Chloe Wright), the beautiful, fun-loving girl who is loved by the painter Marcelo (Ben Davis). Musetta's second act entrance, during a Christmas Eve Celebration outdoors at the Cafe Momus, is always one of the highlights of the opera, a showpiece featuring crowds of musicians, soldiers, children and even an on-stage band. This is the big set-piece of the opera, and Luhrmann makes it perhaps a little too big. He handles all the elements with ease, and uses lights and moving scenery to create a great set-piece, one that was so over-the-top spectacular that all of Wright's considerable charm, and all the talents of the performers on stage, were overshadowed by the spectacle.
The final scenes, outside a cafe in a cold Parisian winter, are hardly as spectacular, and leave the cast plenty of room to remind everyone that this is a tragedy of people who can't quite understand their emotions. When Mimi dies in the final act, after returning for one more visit to Rodolfo, it is a moment of great despair, and you believe Rodolfo's cries of agonized grief.
The rest of the cast are energetic singing actors who make even the smallest roles into star turns. Daniel Webb makes Colline, the philosopher, a wry comic turn. Daniel Okultich's Schaunard is a believable young jazz musician. Dan Entriken makes the small part of Parpignol a delight, as does Tim Jerome as the landlord Benoit.
Though this is a production where the drama comes first, conductor Constantine Kitsopoulos gets a reasonably rich and effective sound from his small pit orchestra. It isn't the big, delicious sound one might usually get in an operatic performance of "Boheme," ' but is better than you might expect, balanced and professional.
There will be other performances of "Boheme" ' down the road, (L.A. Opera has one scheduled for next season,) but it is hard to imagine that you'll see one this spectacularly designed and staged, one this richly imagined and performed. Luhrmann has created an exciting, eye-filling spectacle from a beloved opera, and while purists may find the music not to the highest standards, anyone who loves theater, anyone who loves a good story well-told, will love this production.
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Chic
'La Bohème' an opera for all
By Art Priromprintr, Daily Trojan Online
21 January 2004
There's a satisfying, completely engaging evening to be had at the Baz Luhrmann-directed production of "La Bohème" — and that's saying something for a show that is being sung entirely in Italian.
Granted, translations are projected onto screens above and around the stage. But even so, we're talking about "La Bohème" here — an opera. Yes, opera, that bastion of high culture that includes fat ladies singing and an audience full of well-dressed couples and sleeping husbands.
But forget opera's stereotypes. This "La Bohème" is younger, sexier and hipper than standard opera fare. From the eye-grabbing visual production to the conviction of the talented young cast, this is a production that truly draws the audience in, no matter what the language.
Luhrmann's "Bohème," which is playing through March 7 at the Ahmanson Theatre downtown, doesn't do anything drastically different in its approach to opera. Rather, it simply puts together everything that can be great and engaging about it, wraps it all up in a visually and aurally stunning package, then markets it to a much broader — and younger — audience than would normally attend.
Luhrmann and company treat "Bohème" as a living dramatic text, which increases the opera's accessibility. "La Bohème" is about young Bohemian artists struggling to get by while living and loving life to the fullest extent possible. The painter Marcello and Musetta are old lovers, but Musetta is flirty and Marcello's patience has worn thin. The poet Rodolfo and the seamstress Mimi meet and fall in love, but in their starving artist conditions, Mimi has contracted tuberculosis and is dying.
The performers, despite the fact that they are walking around hitting high C's, act out the opera like they are performing a play. They don't just stand and deliver their vocal moments out to the audience, but rather, sing naturalistically, as though they were simply talking to each other. The method makes it seem like you aren't just watching opera. It has more in common with a Broadway musical in delivery, but it makes a more direct connection to the audience.
The principal singers in this production are in their 20s or early 30s, so they actually look like the characters they are portraying. In traditional opera house productions, older singers stand in for what should be a pair of young lovers, the maturity of their classical voices compensating for the disparity between their actual ages and those of their characters.
The younger singers' vocal chops aren't academically perfect (opera purists might be outraged), but their voices have character and vitality that perfectly fit the action. In Sunday's opening night cast (the principal singers rotate through four alternating casts to let the singers cope with the roles' vocal demands), Kelly Kaduce and David Miller were an especially endearing Mimi and Rodolfo, and Ben Davis a buoyant Marcello. Chloe Wright was problematic with the dynamics of her voice but was convincing in her characterization of the flirtatious Musetta.
The extravagant and appealing sets and costumes, designed by Catherine Martin, are familiar in style to anyone who has seen Luhrmann's films ("William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet" and "Moulin Rouge") with bold colors, modernistic design elements, and a large red "L'amour" sign written out in flowing cursive text. The set immerses the audience in the action, literally spilling into the audience, with strings of Christmas lights extending up into the upper balcony.
The designs, the acting and the music all add up to make the whole affair completely accessible and entertaining. The only thing keeping this "Bohème" from being completely accessible is the huge, opera-house-sized ticket prices ($100 for most of the seats downstairs). At least the Ahmanson Theatre is more intimate than most opera houses, so the cheapest seats in the upper balcony — $35 on a weeknight — aren't too bad. But bring your binoculars.
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"La Bohème" is playing at the Ahmanson Theatre, Music Center, 135 N. Grand Ave., Los Angeles, through March 7. Performances are Tuesday through Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m and 8 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $35 to $100. Public rush tickets are available for $12 on weekday performances through Feb. 13. For more information, call (213) 628-2772 or visit www.taperahmanson.com.
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Theater Review: La Boheme
Jay Reiner, Reuters
and Hollywood
Reporter
19 January 2004
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Even Baz Luhrmann can't keep Mimi from dying tragically at the end of Puccini's "La Boheme."
What Luhrmann does do, however, in this revitalized Broadway version of the opera, is pump new life through its sclerotic veins. Best of all, he accomplishes the feat without sacrificing the opera's poetic feel or heart-wrenching emotion.
One shouldn't expect to see a variation of Luhrmann's splashy and flashy remake of the film "Moulin Rouge" either. His "La Boheme" is very well-behaved by comparison. The material and medium don't lend themselves to the sort of spinningly surreal style that marked the film. Wisely, Luhrmann never lets the stagecraft overwhelm the story or the music.
Visually, the piece looks grand. Catherine Martin's vivid production design blends a pop art style with a romantic vision that yields surprisingly warm and lyrical results. The eye is never bored as unexpected colors and energies flare up and flame out without disturbing the essential narrative drive of the evening.
We know we're not in Kansas anymore when the opera opens on Rodolfo's (David Miller) friend Marcello (Ben Davis) squirting paint on a canvas like a Jackson Pollock acolyte. The period of the opera has been moved to 1957 and it's not long before Rodolfo and his other friends are throwing around such terms as "Daddy-O" and "Listen up, cat," not to mention displaying the ever-popular middle digit to each other. Fortunately, when Mimi (Kelly Kaduce) enters, a new tone enters with her. Dressed in a becoming trench coat and pink beret, she immediately sparks up the drab surroundings (although nothing is really drab when Luhrmann or Martin get through with it), and it's not long before both she and Rodolfo are smitten with each other.
On opening night, Miller and Kaduce played the two doomed lovers (three other pairs of singers rotate the parts during the run). The pairing worked splendidly as both are young, attractive, fine actors and vocally well-matched. The love story plays out with the sensual realism of a film, making the ending all the more heartbreaking. Kaduce sings beautifully, with a clarity and melting delicacy in her upper register that is hard to resist, while Miller's tenor is vibrant and virile.
Act II's Cafe Momus scene is spectacular. All the hot energy of Parisian bohemian nightlife pours across the stage, love is in the air for Rodolfo and Mimi and sexual tension too as party girl Musetta (Chloe Wright) and jealous Marcello (Davis) begin their mating dance with each other. The humor and high spirits in this and other scenes enliven the evening considerably.
But the best thing by far about Luhrmann's "La Boheme" is that as much as it excites us, it never forgets to move us.
Presented by Center Theater Group/Ahmanson Theater
Cast: Rodolfo: David Miller; Mimi: Kelly Kaduce; Marcello: Ben Davis; Musetta: Chloe Wright; Colline: Daniel C. Webb; Schaunard: Daniel Okulitch; Benoit: Tim Jerome; Parpignol: Dan Entriken; Customs officer: Sean Cooper; Sergeant: Jean-Pascal Heynemand.
Music: Giacomo Puccini; Libretto: Giuseppe Giacosa, Luigi Illica; Director: Baz Luhrmann; Production design: Catherine Martin; Musical director/principal conductor: Constantine Kitsopoulos; Light designer: Nigel Levings; Costume designers: Catherine Martin, Angus Strathie; Sound design: Acme Sound Partners; Orchestrations: Nicholas Kitsopoulos; Associate director: David Crooks.
La Boheme (Ahmanson Theater, Los Angeles; through March 7)
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