Cory Weaver/San Francisco Opera

San Francisco Opera bet on the familiar as it returned to its most frequently performed opera, Giacomo Puccini’s sparkling La bohème, to open its Summer Season on Tuesday 3 June, in the second revival of John Caird’s production, this time directed by Katherine M. Carter. Last performed in 2017, this presentation is scheduled for a staggering nine performances, the most of any opera this season, and features two different casts in the four main roles.

Long regarded as one of the best operas for newcomers, La bohème is well-known for its emotional intensity and, particularly, its realistic presentation of the impoverished Bohemians of 1830 Paris. It presents an almost idealistic point of view where love and friendship are seen as overcoming life’s obstacles. Everybody is good-natured and poverty itself is the only real villain of the piece. Set against the current time, when layoffs are a daily occurrence and everybody worries about the prices of eggs and gas, I questioned whether the opera is still a great escape from the world we live in, which probably explained my decreased enjoyment of the current mounting.

Caird’s staging, with production designby David Farley and lighting by Michael Clark, was first presented at the War Memorial stage in 2014 and revived in 2017. (A planned revival in Fall 2020 with a starry cast was canceled due to Covid-19.) A co-production with Houston Grand Opera and Canadian Opera Company, it was inspired by the pictorial world of Belle Époque artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (who was immortalized in Baz Luhrmann’s 2001 Moulin Rouge! and the Broadway musical), where a collage of paintings constitute the backdrop of the staging, including the walls of the garret where the Bohemians live. The side walls also rotated into the Latin Quarter, allowing for swift transitions between the Acts, a solid advantage for a quick-moving opera like La bohème.

Carter’s greatest strength was in the way she directed the movement of the people. There was a greater sense of playfulness and camaraderie among the principals, making the production feel livelier and even funnier this time around. Combined with the youthful cast who acted well, it was pretty much a perfect presentation of the idealistic Bohemians who live for love and friendship.

On the musical side, things were murkier, especially in the first half. Perhaps it was opening night jitters or something, but there was something decidedly low-wattage musically on stage. The singers took a long time to warm up, especially from where I sat on the aisle of house left. Even more problematic was Ramón Tebar’s conducting which was excessively loud, drowning out the singers without allowing the score to breathe and thereby robbing it of its ability to soar. Take the famous love duet “O soave fanciulla” that closed Act I, for example; it came and went without much impact, and the audience’s tepid applause after confirmed that fact further.

Luckily, things improved for in the second half as Tebar finally found his footing and Puccini’s sparkling score began to find its shape. The last Act was truly the best; while the tempo was still relatively brisk, the cast collectively worked together harmoniously and Mimi’s death scene was beautifully executed.

Cory Weaver/San Francisco Opera

Bay Area favorite Pene Pati was a big selling point for this revival, and on Tuesday he sang Rodolfo earnestly and with good spirit. However, I missed the ringing top that he had previously demonstrated as Roméo in 2019’s Roméo et Juliette. His “Che gelida manina” didn’t take off as I imagined it would and was rather lackluster. Nevertheless, he maintained a good rapport with Karen Chia-ling Ho’s Mimi. Ho has a lyrical voice that sufficiently displayed Mimi’s frailty throughout the opera, blossoming into a fuller sound in the latter Acts. Her death scene was devastating to watch.

Even more exciting to watch were the secondary couple, Lucas Meachem’s Marcello and debuting soprano Andrea Carroll’s Musetta. Their on-again, off-again banter provided many of the lighter moments, and their interactions gave the production a more realistic portrayal of a loving couple struggling to make ends meet. Meachem’s booming voice and Carroll’s bright yet icy tone contrasted handsomely. Their resolution in the final Act offered a satisfying closure to the state of their relationship and it was elegantly depicted.

Second-year Adler Fellow Samuel Kidd and debuting bass Bogdan Talos rounded out the cast with mesmerizing turns as Schaunard and Colline, the final two in the Bohemian quartet. Kidd’s is definitely a voice to watch in the future, especially following his memorable roles as Steersman in last fall’s Tristan und Isolde and Moralès in Carmen. Veteran bass-baritone Dale Travis assumed the dual roles of Benoit and Alcindoro with glee. The combined forces of the San Francisco Opera Chorus and members of the San Francisco Girls’ and Boys’ Choruses brightened the stage for the Latin Quarter scene.

I have high hopes that the musical aspects will improve considerably with future performances, particularly as this production is as good as it gets. The opera will be livestreamed this evening and the second cast will begin on Friday, June 13 with tenor Evan LeRoy Johnson, soprano Nicole Car, baritone Will Liverman, and soprano Brittany Renee in the four central parts.