Il Trovatore in the morning, La Boheme in the evening—life is so rich! Where to go from here, except to see the same opera morning and evening?
This La Boheme had the same sets reviewed earlier; the difference was the singers. Opera San Jose presents eight performances of each opera, with four performances by each of two casts, and we arrange to see both casts. This evening we saw:
Marcello: Krassen Karagiozov
Rodolfo: Christopher Bengochea
Colline: Silas Elash
Schaunard: Daniel Cilli
Benoit: Paul Murray
Mimi: Jouvanca Jean-Baptiste
Musetta: Jillian Boye
Alcindoro: Stephen Boisvert
Parpignol: Lee Steward
Conductor: David Rohrbaugh
Director: Timothy Near
The standout this time was Silas Elash. I’m a sucker for the beautiful bass tones that he produced in “Vecchia zimarra,” otherwise known as the overcoat aria. I was wondering how they were going to make him up, make a person of his age appear to fit with the other Bohemians, but they did very well. They gave him a mass of shoulder-length, wavy red hair, and a big bushy red beard to match—it was hard to find the “mature” gentleman underneath.
But again, just like Thursday night, I did not manage to get emotionally involved with Mimi, and the eyes barely moistened. A bit better than a gamma.
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