It took a while — until after intermission, in fact — but the San Francisco Lyric Opera's new production of La Bohème, unveiled on Friday night at the Cowell Theater at Fort Mason, finally gelled into a strong performance. The singers eventually gave themselves over to Puccini’s score, but the first half had some rough moments as everyone was trying too hard to “act.”
We saw Rodolfo (Vincent Chambers) full of artistic angst, Mimì (Darynn Zimmer) simpering, and Musetta (Shawnette Sulker) soubretting about. The notable exception was Marcello (Nathaniel Hackmann) with his glorious voice and boyishly exuberant acting. The opening scene between Marcello and Rodolfo had a nice bit of comic business, the two of them struggling to keep warm under a thin tablecloth.
The musical high point of Act 1, Rodolfo and Mimì’s arias introducing themselves to each other, had about as much heat as Rodolfo’s ill-fed stove. Lighting designer David Ransom made a poor choice to dim the stage lights and put a spotlight only on Rodolfo during his aria and Mimi during hers. While the two arias serve as a sketch of each of the lovers in turn, this is also the moment when the two become instantly enamored with each other. Downplaying the other character’s reactions, as they listen onstage, robs the the audience of the chance to see the attraction take hold.
The kindling did not ignite until the duet after the arias. The vocal demands of Puccini’s score at this point will not allow acting, so all the two could do was to sing their hearts out. This was the point they began to be believably in love with each other, and we in the audience began to love them.
Sulker has a lovely, flexible voice, though her singing could benefit from a more fluid, legato line. Again the acting got in the way of the character. The staging for Musetta’s waltz in Act 2 is overdone and repetitive. A piece of advice to every Carmen and Musetta out there: Be a wily seductress, not a leg-flashing, lap-dancer. It seemed as though she and director Heather Carolo had borrowed from Anna Netrebko’s champagne-bottle-slinging, party-girl-at-dawn characterization in the Los Angeles Opera’s La Traviata. If so, it was a good move.