La Bohème – Ellen Kent Opera International

From the opening tom-foolery through to its painfully anguished ending, this production grips the audience, and many of them were not regular opera goers. The Mimi and Musetta are perhaps too robust at the beginning but as Mimi weakens both their performances refine and become much sweeter. The men make a thoroughly reliable ensemble. Their rich young voices are very expressive in the comedy and tragedy alike. This is all held together by the excellent orchestra, which is small in number but both very musical and resourceful, bringing out the best in Puccini’s score. Altogether a splendid introduction to opera-going.

Theatre Royal, 23 January 2017

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