HERBERT ROSS’S BOHÈME RETURNS

Beauty polished, questions still lingering

Puccini’s tale may be endlessly familiar, yet the recent Los Angeles staging shows how even the most well-trodden path can still feel unsettled and full of open questions. For those new to the work, the opera traces two parallel romances among struggling artists in 1830s Paris. Rodolfo, a poet, meets his fragile neighbor Mimì on Christmas Eve when she knocks at his garret door to light her candle. Their attraction is immediate. The action then shifts to the bustling Café Momus in the Latin Quarter, where Rodolfo’s painter friend Marcello reconnects with his former flame Musetta, whose entrance stops traffic. Both couples seem poised for happiness, though cracks already appear in the first act.

Clockwise from bottom: William Guanbo Su (Colline), Oreste Cosimo (Rodolfo),
Gihoon Kim (Marcello), and Emmett O'Hanlon (Schaunard)

The libretto’s ambiguities have not aged into clarity. The lives of Rodolfo, Mimì, Marcello, and Musetta unfold with an innocence that keeps slipping into uncertainty. What exactly is driving these affairs toward their gentle beginnings and their drawn-out unraveling? Are Mimì and Musetta sex workers scrambling for security? Are the men bristling at needs they cannot meet? The opera never claims to resolve any of this, leaving the first two acts swirling with light and laughter while the final scenes sink into a quiet ache.

The Act Two finale

The late Herbert Ross’s production, now in its eighth LA Opera outing, leans into a vision of Paris belonging partly to David Lean-like epic imagination and partly to the softer palette of old Disney animation. Starlit skies stretch above long boulevards. Street scenes bustle with energy. A flapping tricolore presides over the whole spectacle. It’s a Hollywood-movie portrait of the city, dense with visual incident that makes Puccini’s music glow.

This lush world suits the cast, led by Janai Brugger and Oreste Cosimo. Brugger’s Mimì carries a warmth that never falters. She sings with assurance rather than fragility, shaping “Sì, mi chiamano Mimì” as a clear and confident statement of self. In the closing moments of the first act she hints at someone weighing her own caution against a new tenderness. The pull of romance is present, though not easily embraced.

Janai Brugger as Mimi and Oreste Cosimo as Rodolfo

Cosimo answers her with a Rodolfo balancing outward bravado with an undertow of melancholy. His upper notes gleam, and in “Che gelida manina” he offers something close to delight. Yet woven into that brightness is a sense of foreknowledge, as though love already feels compromised by its likely end. Does this Rodolfo see self-protection as the wiser path?

The only substantial limitation in the staging comes from the high placement of the garret, which makes the first act’s most intimate singing difficult to hear in the wide and unpredictable acoustics of the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. Once the singers return downstage in the later acts, their voices steady and the sound gathers proper weight.

Janai Brugger (Mimì) and Oreste Cosimo (Rodolfo)

Gihoon Kim’s Marcello radiates warmth through a resonant baritone and an amiable spirit. William Guanbo Su brings gravity to Colline, and Emmett O’Hanlon offers an alert and sympathetic Schaunard. Erica Petrocelli’s Musetta creates the most striking impression beyond the central pair. Her celebrated Act II waltz blazes with flirtatious bite; later, her prayer in Act IV arrives with disarming stillness, revealing a span of vocal color that briefly shifts the entire atmosphere of the hall. Rod Gilfry, an LA Opera veteran, turns both Benoit and Alcindoro into studies in affectionate humor. Nathan Bowles gives Parpignol a lively physical spark that helps anchor the carefree bustle of the Latin Quarter before the shadows of the later acts settle in.

In the pit, Lina González-Granados guides the orchestra with firm attention to structure while allowing the score to exhale naturally. Woodwinds trace delicate conversational shapes. Strings rise and recede with emotional nuance. Brass steps forward without threatening the intimacy of the scenes.

Gihoon Kim (Marcello)

This is a production that embraces romance while quietly interrogating it. Every element aims to honor Puccini’s generous spirit, yet the lingering doubts within the story are allowed to breathe. Faithfulness here comes not through reverence alone but through a willingness to let beauty and uncertainty coexist. Newcomers will find themselves caught up in Puccini’s melodies and the tragic arc of young love, while those who know the work already will discover there’s still something to see and hear.

Rod Gilfry as Alcindoro and Erica Petrocelli as Musetta

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photos by Cory Weaver

La Bohème
LA Opera at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
ends on December 14, 2025
for tickets, visit LA Opera

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