"Ditching the penguin suits and picnic hampers for affordable tickets and a smart-casual elegance, Glyndebourne's autumn season opened with Floris Visser's stylish La Boheme. Seamlessly revived by Rachael Hewer, it not only looks good, it does full justice to Puccini's classic weepy while finding novel ways to raise the odd goosebump. Dieuweke van Reij's set a metaphorical highway to heaven serves for all four acts with more than a nod to Brassai's noirish photos of 1930s Paris."
"Whenever Aida Pascu's spook-haunted seamstress appears, he's there, a pallid man in black, sitting and staring. Rodolfo senses him, perhaps, but Mimi increasingly sees and fears him. It's a chillingly effective conceit, played with consummate stillness by Christopher Lemmings. He pops up again as the toy-maker Parpignol, this time grasping an ominous bunch of blood-red balloons. When the lovers declare they will not part until the flowers return in springtime, he draws back a tarpaulin to reveal them already in bloom."
"Mimi's final, agonsed cry of Come here, my love is delivered not to Rodolfo but to Death himself. Visser paints precise and visually alluring stage pictures. His endearing students engage in spirited horseplay that for once is tightly crafted and easy to follow. The street scene crackles with energy; Cafe Momus does a fine line in comedy waiters; crooked policemen turn more than a blind eye to the activities of the local sex workers."
Floris Visser's La Bohème at Glyndebourne reimagines Puccini's opera with smart-casual elegance and affordable accessibility. Dieuweke van Reij's set functions as a metaphorical highway to heaven across all four acts, evoking Brassai's noirish 1930s Paris. Alex Brok's lighting and Jon Morrell's monochrome costumes create glistening cobblestones, foggy twilight streets, and couture aesthetic. A pallid, silent Death stalks the action, portrayed by Christopher Lemmings, appearing as a seamstress's haunt and later as Parpignol with blood-red balloons. Visser stages tightly crafted student ensembles and energetic street scenes. Musical standards are high under conductor Adam Hickox, supporting strong vocal performances.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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