Giacomo Puccini’s world-famous La Bohème returns to Bolshoi Theatre

25 апреля 2018

By Daria Tarasova: Giacomo Puccini’s world-famous La Bohème is staged at the Bolshoi Theatre in Minsk again. The opera is directed by the People's Artist of Russia and four-time winner of the Golden Mask National theatre prize Alexander Titel.

In the new edition of the world’s most commercially successful opera, Chagall and Soutine – both were born in Belarus – meet on stage for the first time. This is the directorial work of Titel. This is the third time the maestro works with Giacomo Puccini’s opera. The Minsk production is different – beginning with the script ending with the technical content of the production. The events unfold in Paris – a city of free artists. All of them, despite poverty, are obsessed with one thing – art. In La Bohème, Titel changed the time of action. The was the beginning of the 20th century is now the present time.

On the Minsk stage, La Bohème is performed in the original. The language of the libretto is Italian. Soloists studied not only the musical material, but also the ideal vocal pronunciation.

The aesthetics of the scenery is dozens of art objects of the modern era. Installations for the performance in the Bolshoi Theater were developed for 6 months.

The stage also features a large live painting. Working with La Bohème were not only stage designers, but also experts in video content. One of the main scenery of the opera is a screen cloth, and the video is projected onto it based on animated sketches. The visuals of graphic paintings are created based on the paintings of artists of the beginning of the century.

Vincent van Gogh, Salvador Dali, Amedeo Modigliani, and Gustav Klimt are on the stage. The production team created a very precise image for each of the characters. Not only the make-up, but also the clothes and mannerisms had to be perfect. A female choir is a muse of the modernists. The singers’ costumes are actually copies of paintings by eminent masters of art.

The first Belarusian premiere for Alexander Titel will not be his last production in Belarus. Negotiations are under way about new joint projects of the Belarusian Bolshoi Theatre and the famous theatre director.