WNO’s ‘La bohème’ Review: The Crying Game

metroweekly.com:

La bohème (★★★★☆) is a notorious gateway drug. Many a lifelong addiction to the operatic hard stuff started with a night among La bohème’s star-crossed Parisian lovers.

As well as being swooningly melodic and accessible, the music is enduringly complex and full of marvels. There is always something to savor or discover, even if you feel you know it like the back of your cold little hand.And when it comes to emotional touchstones, this is a story that asks questions that (literally) never grow old: “What is it to fall madly in love when death is at hand?” and “Who would you run to in your last moments?” And, if you really like a gut punch: “How can one endure the truth that even the greatest love can’t cheat death?” When it comes to tear-jerkers, this one really has it all.Of course, being wildly beloved, expectations are high and perhaps it’s this pressure that brings a somewhat tentative feel to the start of this season’s production (a revival of the one seen at WNO in 2014), despite the steady hand of conductor Alevtina Ioffe.Choreographed fun isn’t easy to pull off at the best of times and here the opening-scene antics of Rodolfo and his friends in their artist’s garret feel a tad forced.