Classical & Jazz - Paris opera, Puccini’s La Bohème in a pint-sized pub
It’s the most unusual hit of the season: opera in a Kilburn pub. Yet demand has been so strong that the run of Puccini’s La Bohème at the Cock Tavern in Kilburn High Road has been extended yet again.
Originally, it was due to finish at the end of this month, then at the end of next month, then at the end of March.
Now, the run is being been extended until late-April.
It’s not surprising that OperaUpClose’s first production at the Cock is selling out. Relocation from bohemian Paris in the late 19th century to the Kilburn melting pot of today works well.
Most of the production takes place upstairs at the Cock, the set being a small sitting-room that could so easily be a garret in Paris; the odd siren wails past outside.
The second act, traditionally set in a Paris café, takes place downstairs in the pub itself, singers enjoying a drink along with the regulars.
At one moment, you’re chatting to others at your table; the next, they are members of the chorus, bursting into ribald song.
As the singers could so easily be pub regulars, you really do get the feeling of looking in on soap opera about the life in Kilburn yuppiedom.
Adding to the intimacy, the orchestra is replaced by a piano. Although you lose Puccini’s magnificent orchestral writing, you get more direct voice-contact with singers.
That’s good because you get to hear most of the words in an excellent new translation by Robin North-Hale, with witty references to some of Kilburn’s notable features.
Singers are young professionals on the cusp of their careers – different singers on different nights.
Although singing quality was mixed on the night I attended, Annabel Mountford delighted as Musetta doing a bit of pole-dancing.
The show was carried by Anthony Flaum as a dramatic Rodolfo strongly aided by Rosie Coad as a charming Mimi, she with her tiny frozen hand on a freezing night in Kilburn.
Their love duets were intoxicating and the final love-death scene was just as tear-jerking as any in a grand opera house.
SEBASTIAN TAYLOR