Giacomo Puccini - La Bohème / Barker, Hobson, Luhrmann
by Geoffrey Nottage, Baz Luhrmann
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Cheryl Barker, Christine Douglas, David Hobson, Gary Rowley, Roger LemkeDirector: Baz Luhrmann, Geoffrey Nottage
Brand: Kultur
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); Italian (Original Language); English (Original Language)
Format: Classical, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 112 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-07-25
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Kultur Video
Movie Reviews of Giacomo Puccini - La Bohème / Barker, Hobson, Luhrmann
Movie Review: Overall, the best La Boheme I have seen
Summary: 5 Stars
Like many others, my favorite opera is Puccini's La Boheme. I have seen several performances and heard even more recordings and excerpts. By far my favorite performance and by far the one I have played the most is the 1993 Australian Opera performance with Cheryl Barker and David Hobson.
Are Barker, Hobson, and the rest of the Australians as good musically as the likes of Freni, Pavarotti, and Von Karajan? No. If I want to hear the most wonderful singing and orchestral work, the 1972 studio recording with Von Karajan is superior. However, for me, the Australians do the opera as a whole better. The music making of both major and minor characters closely and consistently fits the story line. For example, when Hobson's Rodolfo sings Che Gelida Manina, the aria in which his lighter voice is most exposed, he sounds (and looks) more like a guy trying to hit on a girl than an opera singer trying to earn applause. Other factors also make a difference. Barker's Mimi understands a stage whisper. When she sings softly, you still hear and understand her. Freni, my all-time favorite Mimi, along with many other Mimi's, sometimes reduces the volume so low in soft sections that she can be quite difficult to hear. Finally, but not least, the acting and sets work much better for me than other versions.
After seeing the Australians, I understand La Boheme in ways I had never done before. In particular, I understand that the Rodolfo has character flaws that are as important to the story as Mimi's illness. In the libretto, Rodolfo is not only beset by jealousy, he lies frequently. His biggest deception is not telling Mimi that he thinks she is fatally ill and that the living conditions he provides are contributing to her illness. Instead, he tells her that "You are not for me" and to find another boyfriend. Until, she overhears him in the third act, she never learns that he thinks another man might provide conditions that could save her life. When you watch or hear virtually all other versions, Rodolfo is played as a heroic person, not one who has hidden critical and vital information from his lover in order to preserve his own image.
The libretto of La Boheme is distinguished by its many observations of human behavior and human nature. The Australians consistently illustrate what is happening in the libretto in detail and depth where typical performances tend to be hit and miss, sometimes glossing over the meaning of what is occurring while still singing all the words and playing all the notes. This attention extends beyond the words a principle sings to actions and behaviors not explicit in the libretto. Notice how Hobson's Rodolfo is overly fond of wine, sneaking a drink even as he first meets Mimi. Also note how the characters of Schaunard and Colline are developed beyond the libretto. In the Australians' production, they are clearly very good friends and are often seen conversing in the background. While Schaunard is flamboyant in his yellow suit, Colline is a prankster. See how he appropriates Schaunard's scarf at the beginning of the second act and later takes the place of the kid imitating Musetta's walk.
The total result feels more like watching a movie than an opera. This feeling is enhanced by camera angles that one seldom sees when watching opera. The turning set lets you experience both the outside as well as the inside of Rodolfo's garret. When Mimi steps outside to see Rodolfo's friends, you can see her looking over rooftops after first glancing down. In the last act, note the view of Mimi from the side, i.e. from Rodolfo's viewpoint. The movie-like experience is so strong for me that I have to shut off the picture to really listen to the singing. When the picture is present, the orchestra actually fades into the background so much I have difficulty noticing it.
In looking at several amateur reviews of the Australians' performance, I think others have also been seduced by the visual show into not really attending to the music making. A surprising minority of persons seem to think the Australians only look great and do not perform well musically, just as a surprising number believe that Anna Netrebko is all charisma and sex appeal and cannot really sing. In fact, both the Australians and Netrebko actually sing very, very well. Those who think the singing is poor or that the conducting is flabby should listen again without watching the picture. (If you have little time or patience, just compare the last half of Act 4 with your favorite version.) If I had to keep just one production of the opera, I would keep the Australian. While I would dearly miss the voices of Freni and Pavarotti, I prefer the totality of the experience provided by the Australians. Their version of La Boheme is the one to which I return the most.
Summary of Giacomo Puccini - La Bohème / Barker, Hobson, Luhrmann
Puccini's heart-rending love story tells of high-spirited young bohemians who are strapped for cash but draw strength from each other, and the poet Rodolfo's deep love for the young seamstress, Mimì."This is surely one of the most engagingly inventive, thoughtfully witty and vital productions ever to enliven the Australian operatic stage." Sun Herald
"Tenor David Hobson and Soprano Cheryl Barker bring the lead roles thrillingly to life, playing on audience's heartstrings with their sweet duets and convincing acting." Telegraph Mirror
Featuring: Cheryl Barker Mimì; David Hobson Rodolfo; Roger Lemke Marcello; Christine Douglas Musetta; Gary Rowley Collin; David Lemke Schaunard. Conductor Julian Smith, Director Baz Luhrman ,Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra. Recorded live at the Sydney Opera House, February 25, 1993.
It might be possible to know this La Bohème and not love it, but I have never met anyone who felt that way. "Oh yes," said a friend, "that's the good one where everybody is the right age." The youth and freshness of the singers are, in fact, major assets in this production. Youthful high spirits and vulnerability are delicately portrayed, with sharp contrasts between the Parisian bohemians' abject poverty and their carefree lifestyle. On DVD, La Bohème is the work where the competition is strongest. Solid arguments can be made for the staging of the Metropolitan Opera production or the vocal quality of the San Francisco production, but the Australian Opera offers the closest identification of performers with the characters they represent. The effect is usually touching, sometimes downright electrifying.
For this production, the story is moved up to Paris in the 1950s. A veneer of existentialism, a sense of the absurd, can be detected in the young men's lifestyle, but the implicit message is that, even with electricity (e.g., a massive neon sign celebrating "L'Amour"), bohemian life in the 1950s was essentially unchanged from the 1830s. There are good performances throughout, particularly by David Hobson (Rodolfo) and Cheryl Barker (Mimi), and the direction of Baz Luhrmann (Strictly Ballroom, Moulin Rouge) is outstanding. --Joe McLellan
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