Opera North: La Bohème Review | The Lowry | Manchester

Opera North offers a moody revival of Giacomo Puccini’s gritty story, which asks if an abundance of love can overcome an absence of money and status.

Puccini’s romantic opera plunges the Lowry audience into an all-consuming love story of the youthful, destitute bohemians of Paris as we follow a group of struggling artists, freezing in a garret on Christmas Eve.

In the group’s faded and dusty attic, painter Marcello (Yuriy Yurchuk), poet Rodolfo (Anthony Ciaramitaro) and philosopher Colline (Han Kim) work on burning Rodolfo’s words for warmth. Revival director, James Hurley’s laid-back, shadowy staging highlights the optimistic artist's work against their streaked walls and faded lighting which reflects the precarious lives of the creatives. But a candlelit evening is also the perfect time to fall in love and Rodolfo stumbles into the arms of embroider Mimi (Isabela Diaz), who is also in need of some warmth.

Hurley’s revival puts Warhol and Monroe references amongst the cast's casual clothes and winter mittens, but there are only a few levels of modernity added to the story. Being broke is still hard work and Puccini’s 1896 opera remains as powerful and relevant as when it first premiered. With music that encapsulates the raw beauty of love, the story is set against the cracked and decaying world the group live in, where the men grapple with a lack of opportunities and the women a lack of prospects. Torn between flower embroidery or finding a wealthy husband, Diaz brings a wealth of emotions to Mimi, a woman who balances her quiet strength with an exuberance of love. The gorgeous Act 1 arias, Che gelida manina and Si, with Ciaramitaro offer a sweet-toned rollercoaster of emotions before the show swiftly moves between lighthearted camaraderie to the devastating reality of poverty.

Countering the lovebirds are Marcello and his ex-Musetta (Elin Pritchard), a singer who is the life of the party, knows her worth and is unwilling to compromise love for a fabulously lavish life. Between Pritchard’s bold presentation and Jeremy Peaker’s Marilyn Monroe styling, there is plenty of comic relief and scene-stealing performances. Also adding to the group's optimism and Yurchuk’s passionate frustrations is Phyllida Lloyd and revival director Hurley’s cheerful Christmas scenery. Selling the audience a dream of a better life with a chorus of choreographed children and saxophone-playing Santas, the impressive ensemble brings a sweet sense of love and intimacy to their overcrowded and weathered living arrangements.

Conductor Garry Walker delivers the passion and heightens the intensity of Opera North’s production, making La Bohème the perfect entry point for anyone interested in testing the opera waters. Puccini draws you in with an honest and timeless tale of loss and youth, but Opera North’s engrossing cast made it a beautiful farewell to love.

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Tickets are available via the Lowry link