Cape Town Opera will gladden the hearts of opera-lovers with two fully-staged productions of works by Puccini in November 2021 – La bohème and La rondine.
A judicious blend of the well-known and the less familiar, the operas will be presented at Artscape Theatre. La bohème, directed by Magdalene Minnaar (pictured left), and utilising a small but hugely effective chamber orchestration, has already enjoyed a rousing reception during its recent tour of the Eastern Cape and Klein Karoo. La rondine, to be performed with the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra under Marvin Kernelle, has been entrusted to Christine Crouse’s direction and is scheduled to start rehearsals from mid-October.
The two operas have more features in common than might be expected, given that the latter was originally more akin to operetta. Their female leads are equally vulnerable due to their need for love, fulfilment and a sense of direction, none of which comes their way. Both works are stamped with Puccini’s signature amalgam of poignancy and comic relief, and both explore the complexities of romance in a specific social milieu. Both were originally set in Paris, although La rondine also takes us to the French Riviera at one point in the action.
For directors Minnaar and Crouse, a common denominator in their approach to directing Puccini’s work is an awareness of the need for verisimilitude. Minnaar comments that “La bohème has a relatable storyline told with all the attention to detail you usually find only in films…the characters are paramount, so vibrant.”
For Crouse, making the story “real” is essential “so the audience can relate to characters and situations. There are shades of Downton Abbey in this tale of love in the cosmopolitan Paris of the 1920s. Not for nothing are those pleasure-seeking, directionless people of the post-WW1 era referred to as ‘the lost generation’.”
What: La bohème and La rondine
Where and when: Artscape
La rondine: 16, 18, 20 November 2021
La bohème: 25, 27, 28 November 2021
Tickets: Computicket
WS
