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La Boheme

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By KURT LOFT | The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 15, 2007

So you're flat broke, cold and hungry, and the one person you love is dying of tuberculosis.

Why not break into song?

Well, that's pretty much what happens in "La Boheme," Giacomo Puccini's operatic masterpiece and one of the more compelling tales ever set to music. If the word "opera" intimidates you, if you flee at the sight of spear-wielding women wearing horned helmets, "Boheme" is your ticket.

Why? Because there may not be a better introduction to the glorious and garrulous world of opera. This is tear-jerking, blue-collar stuff, a story well-suited to anyone who has paid his or her dues and knows the meaning of love. It's also an ideal first opera for newcomers to the art form, says Anton Coppola, who conducts the Opera Tampa production this weekend.

"People come up to me and say they've never been to an opera, and ask what they should see," he says. "Without question, I tell them, 'La Boheme.'"

Coppola knows something about "Boheme." He conducted it for his professional debut in 1946 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music and waved the stick in Opera Tampa's first "Boheme" production in 1998.

The passionate story of struggling bohemians in 19th century Paris is irresistible, he says, no matter how many times he hears it. The rapturous love duets between Rodolfo and Mimi are among the most loved moments in music.

"It cannot fail to affect you," he says. "It's highly personal and tugs at the heartstrings. And once young people are exposed to 'Boheme,' they will want to see more opera."

Puccini wasn't interested in fairy tales or Nordic gods. He wrote the music for "Boheme" as breath drawn and expelled by real people. Its characters are sentimental, feeling and flawed, and audiences relate to their foibles, says baritone Keith Jurosko, who appeared in last weekend's production of "H.M.S. Pinafore" at the Mahaffey Theater.

"It's absolutely one of the operas I would choose to go see first," he says. "The sweeping melodies are gorgeous, and it's so beautifully drawn and painted that you really can't miss."

The popularity of "Boheme" can be found at the box office of most any professional opera company. It ranks No. 1 at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, with nearly 1,200 performances, followed by "Aida," "Carmen" and "La Traviata."

Opera Tampa chose it to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Puccini's birth and will follow in April with the composer's darker "Tosca."

"These works, along with 'Aida' and 'Madama Butterfly,' are the ABCs of opera," says Judith Lisi, president of the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center and founder of Opera Tampa. "So we felt it was time to bring 'Boheme' back after nearly 10 years."

Coppola doesn't mind bringing it back, either. Even at age 90, he continues to discover something new in every opera he conducts: "It's not a question of having fun, it's love. I'm passionately drawn to these works, and having to perform them is like a renewed romance."

First-time opera goers should note that "Boheme" will be sung in Italian, with English translations projected above the stage. So when Mimi sings "Sie il mio amor ... e tutta la mia vita," the audience can read the words "I love you ... you're my whole life," and follow the plot.

Reporter Kurt Loft can be reached at (813) 259-7570 or kloft@tampatrib.com.

OPERA

PREVIEW

La Boheme

WHAT: Opera Tampa production of Puccini's classic

WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Sunday

WHERE: Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, 1010 N. MacInnes Place, Tampa

HOW MUCH: $59.50 to $99.50; (813) 229-7827

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