La Boheme – Puccini – ENO – Alexandra Palace Drive-In

Oh Sceptical Me.  With my holier than thou values of opera viewing, going to see a drive-in opera left me foreshadowing a car crash of immense proportions.  If this is what I was expecting then I was sorely disappointed.  It turned out to be a fabulous night.  ENO’s immensely talented Casting Director Michelle Williams had put together two mainly home grown, but exciting casts over nine nights.

ENO’s Music Director Martin Brabbins conducted a great cast on the opening night with David Butt Philip as the Rodolfo, Natalya Romaniw as Mimi, Soraya Mafi as Musetta, Roderick Williams as Marcello, William Thomas as Colline and Benson Wilson as Schaunard and there were exceptional reviews for this performance.  I saw the second cast - although perhaps the first cast! - with David Junghoon Kim as Rodolfo, Nardus Williams as Mimi, Matthew Durkan as Marcello, Jonathan Lemalu as Colline, Ross Ramgobin as Schaunard, with the Head of Music Martin Fitzpatrick as the Conductor and what a cracking performance it was.

To explain further, it was a real drive-in live movie with over a hundred cars shepherded into a rectangular shaped car park with a huge covered stage on three levels and two film screens on either side.  The two upper parts of the stage housed the Conductor and Orchestra, with the stage level for the performers and their own vehicles.  It was a real night of invention and fun with those on bicycles – did they really climb the steep hill to Alexandra Palace – clapping and motorists flashing their lights in applause. 

This production has moved the action to 2019 London with camper vans and Deliveroo cyclists at the heart.  The Café Momus scene is in fact a mobile ice cream parlour and the music is brilliantly cut and converted into Act 2 recognisable Boheme rap.  I really do think ENO have hit on a new number one single!  It was all on point and wonderfully interpreted.

Puccini’s score, however beautiful, is difficult to conduct and perhaps in Act 1 with Mimi and Rodolfo’s arias you would have hoped for slightly more pace, but Martin Fitzpatrick did outstandingly well overall and held the evening together with his singers, all of whom were on great form.  Perhaps this was not surprising as there is currently a dastardly lack of performances anywhere and lots of singers are desperate to sing!

Kim’s voice is portrayed beautifully as Rodolfo and the British soprano Nardus Williams was vocally exquisite as Mimi.  She is a current Harewood Artist.  Perhaps the voice of the night was Matthew Durkan’s sonorous Marcello.  Jonathan Lemalu sang beautifully to his coat and Ross Ramgobin was a great Master of Ceremonies in his role. 

The American soprano Sydney Mancasola was a lively and amusing Musetta and her suffering boyfriend was a rewarding Barnaby Rea.  The ENO Harewood Artist Graeme Lauren was a striking Parpignol.

The Director PJ Harris’s contemporary interpretation of a socially distanced La Boheme was imaginary.  He has already said that ‘By reducing the action packed narrative to 90 minutes the drama becomes even more fast paced’, but he had to get so much right and indeed did so with a great team under his control. 

The Set Designer was Chloe Lamford, the Costumer Designer Camilla Clarke, the Lighting Designer Natasha Chivers and the Sound Designer Ian Dearden, all working in harmony.  But perhaps the most exciting collaboration was with the hip hop artist Mikey J and his dance collective Scanner’s Inc.  This collaboration really did stretch the boundaries of opera and I was singing the rap music of Act 2’s Café Momus scene all the way home. 

The car radio easily picked up the music and singing and clearly added to a Covid secure operatic evening.  Certainly not for purists, but for 99% of the rest of the audience it was magical and a grand worthwhile effort by ENO.