[ALBSA-Info] Inva Mula

[Agron Alibali]

Daily Variety, December 1, 2000 

Daily Variety 


December 1, 2000 

Pg. 10 

La Boheme 

ALAN RICH 


(Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Performing Arts Center of
Los Angeles County; 3,098 seats; $ 148 top) 

A Los Angeles Opera presentation of Giacomo Puccini's
four-act opera. Libretto by Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi
Illica, based on Henry Murger's "Scenes From Bohemian
Life." Revival of the 1993 production by Herbert Ross.
Stage director, Christopher Harlan; conductor, William
Vendice, with the L.A. Opera Orchestra, Chorus and
Children's Chorus; sets by Gerard Howland, costumes by
Peter J. Hall. Opened and reviewed, Nov. 29, 2000;
closes Dec. 21. Running time: 2 HOURS, 25 MIN. 

Rodolpho.....Aquiles Machado 

Mimi.....Valentina Vaduva 

Marcello.....Earle Patriarco 

Musetta.....Inva Mula 

Schaunard.....Malcolm MacKenzie 

Colline.....Eric Owens 

With: Jamie Offenbach, Bruce Sledge, Jason Housman,
Kevin Hafenstein, Mark Kelley, Frank Strnad 

Third time around, the youthful ingenuity of Herbert
Ross' 1993 reinvention of Puccini's evergreen weeper
seemed to have lost something along the way. A less
than top-notch cast bore some of the blame, although
the utter believability of "La Boheme's" mix of high
jinks and gloom has been known to surmount similar
merely earnest efforts in the past. A trustworthy
litmus test for a successful "Boheme" is an audience's
collective tear ducts in the last act; this time, from
a well-located seat, nary a sniffle could be heard. 

The charm of the Ross production --- the first
directorial incursion into the L.A. Opera from
neighboring Hollywood --- was its infectious
humanness. Its characters were immensely recognizable.


Even the anachronisms seemed part of an agreeable
joke: the unfinished Eiffel Tower in
turn-of-the-century Paris vs. a vintage car from at
least 35 years later; Rodolfo and Marcello arriving on
bicycles. This time Marcello rode but Rodolfo merely
pushed in Christopher Harlan's routine restaging. 

There was a fair amount of pushing in the vocal
department as well. As Rodolfo in his company debut,
Venezuelan tenor Aquiles Machado displayed a set of
impressively loud pipes but a tendency toward
shrillness. The Mimi of Romanian soprano Valentina
Vaduva had all the right notes but little of the vocal
color in a role that can make strong men weak. 

Not until late in act two, when the splendid Albanian
soprano Inva Mula, the evening's one true star,
launched into Musetta's flamboyant waltz-tune was
there much evidence of respect for the grand lyric
line that makes Italian opera what it is. As fellow
bohemians, baritone Earle Patriarco (in his company
debut) and company stalwarts Malcolm MacKenzie and
Eric Owens were merely OK. 

Conductor William Vendice led an unexceptionable
performance; his boss, Placido Domingo, an old
"Boheme" hand, will take the podium for two
performances, Dec. 13 and 16. 

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