Benedikt von Peter's La Boheme - Theater Bremen

© Stadttheater Bremen

And it finally happened : I always had some kind of absurd, if not obscene perception in light of ever more expensive scenery and costumes in any new La Boheme production where ever the opera had been performed. How much money can an opera company possibly afford to spend faking the atmosphere of poverty and misery ? And what remains from a perfectly sung performance today ? A little bit of kitsch and a group of immaculately singing stars, possibly a sensitive orchestra sound ? Could I explain to peers why I attended such a performance after all ?

Not so in Bremen ! Benedikt von Peter, director-in-chief and one of the most creative opera interpreters in Germany is able to shed new light (and meaning) to the old repertory horse. It’s the quartetto of the four friends who almost exclusively dominate the stage. It’s their self-centered, selfish, weak, and always so afraid-of-real-life attitude that creates an atmosphere of irresponsible childishness and infantility, so self-obsessed that an encounter with the female characters (Mimi and Musetta) does practically not happen. It is avoided by a self-centered attitude of the men, possibly their fears to approach real life or their cluelessness of life. There is no real life – it’s all playing, joking, laughing, and… complete ignorance….-  quite a reflection of an actual general sociological phenomenon these days.

Fascinating how the approach works and convinces despite the unusual interpretation and setting (actually practically without any set). It’s also surprising how the fragmented character of major parts of the score do immediately fit into such an interpretation and also astounding to read in the program articles that already by the time of Murger’s novel the social and economic situation of the boheme in Paris shown in the opera had socially been outdated, definitely at the time of the opera’s creation (1896).      

The cast of singers, in particular the men, are wisely chosen – perfect team, however, I want to stress Raymond Ayers’ highly sensitive role interpretation of Marcello – here lonelyness and – finally – suffering can be observed first and most touching among the friends. Nadine Lehner as Mimi and Marysol Schalit (Musette) gave impressive performances, not the least suffering from the fact that they hardly could be seen on stage (as reflection of the men’s ignorance), so strong was their singing.  

Of course (as usual when generally accepted and for-a-long-time-used standards suddenly would not be there any more), there has been some booing at the end, several people leaving the theater banging doors and so on, but for the great majority of the audience had no doubt that we have been confronted with a new and unexpected perspective for this opera – in a way extreme, but surprisingly enough immediately convincing and touching in effect like the old plot, however, transferred in a new time zone (our own time zone, indeed) - no wonder many more younger people could be observed in the audience then in bigger and more ‘conventional’ (speak bigger budgets) opera houses  – it seems Bremen made it again, that is to stay on top of the German theater scene with this avant-garde director, for the opera at least.  

After other overwhelming interpretations like Intolleranza 1960, La Traviata by von Peter there will a new Don Giovanni at the Hannover State Opera in May this year and hopefully many more productions to come from this most gifted artist of the German opera theater. 

Achim Dombrowski - Hamburg