The Met celebrates opera with a free performance of ‘La Bohème’ at Buccleuch Park.
By: Anthony Stoeckert
The sopranos are coming back to New Jersey, along with some tenors, baritones and bass baritones.
The Metropolitan Opera will perform Giacomo Puccini’s La Bohème in New Brunswick June 23 as part of its Met in the Parks program. In its 41st season, Met in the Parks is a summer tradition for opera lovers throughout the five boroughs of New York City and the surrounding areas.
Gareth Morrell, who will conduct La Bohème, calls the series "a community to the service," and says one of its main goals is to give people unfamiliar with opera an opportunity to see a world-class performance free of charge.
"That’s one of our chief aims," Mr. Morrell says of drawing in opera lovers of the future. "Of course we do get a lot of (people) who do come to the opera, but one of the big aims is to introduce it to people who wouldn’t be able to go otherwise."
Cost is one factor that might keep someone from taking in an opera, but the atmosphere at the park performances is also significantly different from the norm. Lawn chairs and shorts make for a more relaxing evening than formalwear at the opera house.
Performing outdoors in a park also creates a different dynamic for the artists.
"The biggest difference for us is the huge change of acoustics from performing it in an enclosed theater to performing it out of doors, even though we have a band shell," Mr. Morell says. "It’s harder for the orchestra to hear the singers and the singers to hear the orchestra, and it’s more difficult for me to hear… because there’s less acoustic feedback."
That creates a challenge, but there are rewards for the singers and musicians as well.
"As far as the performers, it seems like a much more relaxed and informal thing," Mr. Morrell says. "I think the singers really just have a lot of fun seeing the audience sitting on the grass, having a great time, and not being uptight about being in a professional theater. The whole thing is really enjoyable for everybody. It’s a celebratory time, and a lot of fun."
It is, in essence, a party. And in this instance, there’s no better party music than La Bohème’s. In trying to spread the word about opera, Mr. Morrell says Puccini’s love story is a good choice because of its tuneful music, comic scenes and well-written libretto.
In the opera, Rodolfo (tenor Roberto Aronica) and Marcello (baritone Dwayne Croft) are in their Paris apartment on Christmas Eve trying to keep warm. Rodolfo, a writer, offers to burn pages from his play to strengthen their fire. They’re soon joined by roommates Colline (bass Andrew Gangestad) and Schaunard (baritone Sebastian Catana). Schaunard, a musician, has earned some cash by giving music lessons. He brings home firewood, food, and offers to take everyone out. They’re soon interrupted by their landlord, Benoit (bass Paul Plishka), who demands the three months’ rent he’s owed. After distracting Benoit, the gang heads out. Rodolfo stays behind to write.
The author is soon visited by Mimi (soprano Hei-Kyung Hong), a neighbor who is sick with tuberculosis. They quickly fall in love and head out to join Rodolfo’s friends. Meanwhile, Marcello is reunited with his old girlfriend, Musetta (Mary Dunleavy). By Act 3, Rodolfo is convinced his poverty will worsen Mimi’s condition. He fakes jealousy in order to push Mimi away, knowing his girlfriend is too weak to entertain other men. Mimi overhears his confession, and they say goodbye in tears. After a few months, the four friends are back in their apartment, talking old times. They are soon joined by Musetta and the dying Mimi, who wants to spend her last hours with Rodolfo.
"The story is a surefire tearjerker at the end," Mr. Morrell says. "It’s really written from the point of view of the music and drama to really (give the audience) everything, comedy and real deep emotion. It’s a masterpiece."
It’s also a story most people can relate to. Who hasn’t fallen in love or had trouble paying the rent? Puccini and many of his contemporaries placed an emphasis on common people and their troubles. Mr. Morrell says that up until the end of the 19th century, most operas were about royalty or aristocratic people, though there were exceptions.
"Puccini and the people who were writing operas in Italy (at that time), really started to get into (writing about) normal, ordinary people in the street dealing with ordinary feelings in a big way," Mr. Morrell says.
La Bohème is the basis for the Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning musical Rent. The 1987 movie Moonstruck also put it to good use when Cher’s character attended a performance at the Met.
Another advantage to La Bohème is its length. Although it consists of four acts, the performance is about two hours and 15 minutes long, including an intermission without any abridging.
Mr. Morrell has been a conductor with the Met since 1995. The operas he’s conducted include Lucia di Lammermoor, Fidelio, Don Giovanni and Aida. He has recently conducted Tristan und Isolde in Puerto Rico and Turandot in Naples, Fla.
He’s conducted La Bohème only a few times. "For me, it’s not stale, and that’s a good thing." But he has a definite idea of how the music should be played from seeing and working in many productions through the years.
"I have it so deep inside me, I don’t think I’m ever going to change the way I think I should conduct the piece," he says. "But I do find little details in the orchestration and the text and the vocal, I find things I’ve missed from before. There’s always something new to learn, but I’m not going to change my basic approach to it at this point."
Following the action of La Bohème shouldn’t be too difficult. Programs featuring a synopsis will be handed out, and the conductor believes the music itself tells the story.
"With ‘La Bohème,’ even if you don’t understand all the words, the music is so compelling, and it paints a picture of the emotional drama what’s (happening) on the stage so well that you can’t really not understand the basic outline of it," he says.
It’s music with a universal appeal. "I don’t know anybody who’s heard the music who doesn’t love it," he says, adding that the style isn’t drastically different from what movie lovers would hear in a John Williams score. Indeed, Mr. Morrell remembers playing the score of La Bohème for a cousin (whose primary music interest is country and western) who said the music reminded him of Star Wars.
"The great thing about ‘La Bohème’ this time is that we have a cast of people who are really top-notch, all of whom have sung their particular roles of the production before," Mr. Morrell says. "This really is an international-level cast. In terms of the voices, they’re getting the real deal."
La Bohème will be performed by the Metropolitan Opera at Buccleuch Park, New Brunswick, June 23, 8 p.m. Admission is free, no tickets required; 212-362-6000; www.metoperafamily.org

