Opera Australia’s strong summer program opens with Gale Edwards’ adored production of La Bohème, a revival that sees Puccini’s classic bohemian love story presented against the backdrop of 1930s Berlin.
Opening on New Year’s Eve at the Sydney Opera House, audiences will enjoy the nine o’clock fireworks during intermission and afterwards join the midnight celebrations at the best harbourside location in the city.
Opera Australia’s Artistic Director Lyndon Terracini is thrilled to be presenting such a universally loved production to summer audiences.
“La Bohème is one of the emotional touchstones of opera – it delivers on so many levels and is one of the greatest operas ever written. It’s visually rich in detail, heartfelt, and it has the most beautiful music. Every year we stage it to great success because the themes are timeless,” he said.
La Bohème boasts an incredible cast including Australian-Chinese tenor Kang Wang who has found immense success internationally and now returns home to make his Opera Australia debut in the role of lovelorn poet Rodolfo. South Korean Ji-Min Park shares the role in his return to the Joan Sutherland Theatre stage.
South Korean star soprano Karah Son who wowed audiences in 2019 with her moving portrayal of Cio Cio San in Graeme Murphy’s production of Madama Butterfly, described by the Sydney Morning Herald as singing with “a pure sound of rounded beauty”, will take the stage as leading lady Mimi. She shares the role with Italian soprano Valeria Sepe making her company debut.
Julie Lea Goodwin and Samuel Dundas reprise the roles of passionate lovers Musetta and Marcello. They perform under the baton of award-winning Italian conductor Carlo Goldstein, who leads an ensemble cast including Opera Australia favourites Richard Anderson, Graeme Macfarlane and Benjamin Rasheed. Michael Lampard makes his Opera Australia debut in the role of Schaunard.
Staged against beautifully detailed sets and costumes, this perennial favourite tells the story of ordinary people living passionate lives. It is true to Puccini’s signature verismo genre, which focuses on stories about real people rather than fable and mythology.
Source: Opera Australia