{"id":60408,"date":"2019-05-06T17:32:14","date_gmt":"2019-05-06T21:32:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=60408"},"modified":"2019-05-06T21:05:05","modified_gmt":"2019-05-07T01:05:05","slug":"scrutiny-coc-la-bohemes-alternate-cast-is-every-bit-as-good","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2019\/05\/06\/scrutiny-coc-la-bohemes-alternate-cast-is-every-bit-as-good\/","title":{"rendered":"SCRUTINY | COC La boh\u00e8me\u2019s Alternate Cast Is Every Bit As Good"},"content":{"rendered":"

It would be a mistake to think of the Canadian Opera Company’s alternate cast for La boh\u00e8me as second-best. This cast shines!<\/span><\/h3>\n
\"La
Miriam Khalil as Mim\u00ec and Joshua Guerrero as Rodolfo in the Canadian Opera Company\u2019s production of\u00a0La Boh\u00e8me<\/em>, 2019(Photo: Michael Cooper)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Puccini: La boh<\/em>\u00e8me. Miriam Khalil (Mimi), Danika Lor<\/em>\u00e8n (Musetta), Joshua Guerrero (Rodolfo), Andrzej Filonczyk (Marcello), <\/em>\u00d6nay K\u00f6se (Colline); Joel Allison (Schaunard); Donato Di Stefano (Benoit\/Alcindoro). COC Orchestra and Chorus, Paolo Carignani, conductor. Four Seasons Centre, May 5, 2019.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Opera audiences never seem to get tired of La boh\u00e8me. <\/em>Puccini\u2019s most popular opera based on performance statistics from seasons 2004 to 2018, it\u2019s ranked fourth\u00a0in the world out of a total of 2000+ works. \u00a0The story of young love never goes out of fashion, and when it\u2019s set to such glorious music, with a seemingly endless supply of hummable tunes, what\u2019s not to love?<\/p>\n

Last staged by the Canadian Opera Company in 2013, it\u2019s now back for another run of ten performances, with all the principal roles double-cast. The opening night cast<\/a> received terrific notices, and based on the second performance, I couldn\u2019t agree more. I was also curious about the alternate cast, which is often referred to as \u201cthe second cast.\u201d \u00a0It conjures up the image that it\u2019s \u201csecond best.\u201d But is it?\u00a0 I decided to find out.<\/p>\n

The first of three alternate cast performances started yesterday, sung by homegrown talent as well as visiting artists new to the Company. The two leads are well known to COC audiences. Canadian soprano Miriam Khalil (Mimi) is a graduate of the COC Ensemble Studio a decade or so ago. She is partnered by the Rodolfo of American tenor Joshua Guerrero, who was the Duke of Mantua in last season\u2019s Rigoletto<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\"La
A scene from the Canadian Opera Company\u2019s production of La Boh\u00e8me, 2019. (Photo: Michael Cooper)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The second pair of lovers is headed by yet another former Ensemble artist, the recently graduated soprano Danika Lor\u00e8n (Musetta). Her Marcello is Polish baritone Andrzej Filonczyk, making his COC debut. Completing the list of Bohemians are current Ensemble bass-baritone Joel Allison (Schaunard) and Turkish bass \u00d6nay K\u00f6se (Colline).\u00a0 Everything else stays the same. Given the current production has already been reviewed, I will be brief and focus my comments on the alternate cast.<\/p>\n

La boh\u00e8me<\/em> is first and foremost an ensemble piece, populated by finely drawn characters. The cast this afternoon not only sounded great but looked like young struggling artists. At the risk of sounding ageist, this is one opera that requires youthful energy and dramatic verisimilitude, and this cast has it in spades. After his excellent Duke last season, tenor Joshua Guerrero makes a welcome return, his bright, clarion tenor with its Italianate timbre never sounded better. I also liked his heart-on-sleeve stage persona, perfect for the poet. An early highlight was supplied by his mellifluous \u201cChe gelida manina,\u201d complete with a nice high C.<\/p>\n

He was an excellent partner for the luminous Mimi of Miriam Khalil, back with the company in a role tailormade for her. It\u2019s a warm lyric soprano, at its best in the middle register, where her gleaming sound is much in evidence. \u00a0Her \u201cAddio, senza rancor\u201d was lovely. She and Rodolfo are physically a good match, and their voices blend beautifully. I know it\u2019s optional, but it\u2019s always exciting when the tenor sings the high option in \u201cO suave fanciulla,\u201d joining Mimi in a high C \u2014 hey, when you\u2019ve got it, flaunt it!<\/p>\n

\"La
A scene from the Canadian Opera Company\u2019s production of La Boh\u00e8me, 2019. (Photo: Michael Cooper)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As Marcello, Polish lyric baritone Andrzej Filonczyk\u2019s fresh, warm sound was a pleasure. (Now I really look forward to hearing his Fritz in Die Tote Stadt<\/em> in Munich next season!) \u00a0In terms of sheer volume of sound, nobody can beat Lucas Meachem in the other cast, but Filonczyk held his own. His painter isn\u2019t all macho bluster, but a sensitive and vulnerable guy, as evidenced at the end of Act 3. As Musetta, soprano Danika Loren\u2019s gleaming top was lovely in \u201cQuando m\u2019en vo.\u201d Dramatically, her Musetta has just the right mix of flirtatiousness and the requisite heart of gold \u2014 well done.<\/p>\n

I was also impressed by the Schaunard of ensemble bass-baritone Joel Allison, who sang with plenty of voice and a strong stage presence \u2013 this singer will go far. Turkish bass \u00d6nay K\u00f6se, a voice new to me, sang a fine Coat Song, but sadly \u2014 and undeservedly \u2014 he received no applause.\u00a0 If only the COC audience would stop sitting on their hands and wake up when they hear good singing\u2026<\/p>\n

Unlike the old, clunky Skalici production with its three intermissions, this Boh\u00e8me<\/em> is super-efficient. With a simple set on two small turntables, it took less than 60 seconds. Combined with a brisk tempo adopted by conductor Paolo Carignani, La boh\u00e8me<\/em> never seemed so short! In my recent Berlin trip, Act 3 Die Meistersinger<\/em> alone lasted longer than anything Puccini composed \u2014 I guess I\u2019m accustomed to marathons.<\/p>\n

Four more performances to May 22 at the Four Seasons Centre. Details, here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

LUDWIG VAN TORONTO<\/i>
\n<\/b><\/h3>\n

Want more updates on classical music and opera news and reviews? Follow us on\u00a0<\/i>Facebook<\/span>,<\/i><\/a><\/strong>\u00a0Instagram<\/a><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0or\u00a0<\/i>Twitter<\/i><\/a><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>for all the latest.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It would be a mistake to think of the Canadian Opera Company’s alternate cast for La boh\u00e8me as second-best. This cast shines!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":60410,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[25164,43,52,63],"tags":[628,3964],"yst_prominent_words":[6885,8540,8545,28551,28549,29002,29006,16877,28553,29004,29005,8550,28548,6911,28554,26526,28550,16557,29007,29003],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/05\/COC-boheme-1.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9bakr-fIk","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60408"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60408"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60408\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":60420,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60408\/revisions\/60420"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60410"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60408"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60408"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60408"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=60408"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}