Opera Reviews

2005-06 Season

Norma

La Boheme

Aida

Cinderella

Salome

LA BOHEME November 2005
« back to La Boheme

Recalling the Met tours
John Hudson - Ypsilanti

I have resumed my subscription this year, and I am glad I did, especially with these front row seats. I had some health problems this year and I told myself, before I die I must see Boheme from the front row. I have seen it at least six or seven times but always from the back. Well, it was so incredible, so well acted, and well sung.

I read the reviews; the Freep was more generous than the News but I think Dr. Dave must know that any time you do something like this the inevitable comparisons to Bjoerling, Pavarotti, Caruso, etc., come up, so it becomes a stretch to label any incarnation as perfect. The truth is, for those of us who used to see the Met when it was in town, those performances were never perfect, especially here, because they often would not send their best casts. When we saw Pavarotti in Tosca, the woman playing Tosca was 63 and had no voice at all. Once, we saw Corelli and could not hear him; we came to find out that his voice was gone but he was there anyway.

I recount all this because there were some problems hearing the tenor, although less of a problem for us front row folks, I am sure. But he has a good voice, and certainly looks the part, and you cannot go back to the days of the 400-pound star who just stands there. I would not want to see that from the front row.

Thank you again for this wonderful year, Norma was dynamite as well.

This was the first opera that I have ever attended and I did not know what to expect. But now I'm hooked! I was absolutely amazed at the powerful, beautiful singing and the wonderful sets. The emotion of the performers came across so strongly that I didn't really need the subtitles to follow the story. Liping Zhang was absolutely amazing as Mimi. Thank you for a wonderful evening.

I was thrilled to arrive at the Opera House last evening and find that Liping Zhang was singing Mimi. I remembered her from Madama Butterfly several years ago and recalled her glorious voice. Once again, she, and the rest of the superb cast, brought pure beauty to Detroit.

Bravo, Brava and Bravi to one and all!

Veristic
Jennifer B. - Grosse Pointe

I was astounded by the strength of Friday night's (Nov. 12) performance. The interaction between the performers was wonderful. I could easily imagine them as best friends.

The scene at the Cafe Momus was so realistic; it seemed like one could walk on stage and order a drink. The singing here is my favorite of the whole performance. I loved Musetta.

But the most moving part is after Mimi dies and all the characters are on stage. They stand in silence as the orchestra crescendoes. I cried then. Bravo to the orchestra.

Also something has to be said for the sets. They were so gorgeous. One could actually believe it was a garret on the top of Paris. The lighting was placed so well with the windows.

The opera was lovely. The characters were strong and the acting very realistic. The sets beautiful and the singing superb.

We were thrilled with last night's production of La Boheme. Everyone was wonderful and the production was especially gratifying for one of our favorite operas.

P.S. Is there a regular emailing of events, etc.? If so, please add us to it.

"Bravissimo" is the email newsletter of the Detroit Opera House. The link, Newsletter, appears near the bottom of our web pages. —Ed.

I think La Boheme last night was quite an accomplishment. Jaho (Mimi) made a wonderful US debut. I hope we'll have a chance to see her more often in the future.

Opening night of La Boheme was another triumph for Michigan Opera Theatre. I'm only sad to know we'll have to wait until April for the company's next great production.

I loved the cast of La Boheme, and thought the staging was great! The subtle humor of the production crossed the language barrier easily, and tragedy of Mimi's death was piercing. The efficient sets were quite realistic, much like last season's Tosca, and the Cafe Momus was so inviting that I thought about stopping for a drink after the show.

And enough could not be said for the incredible performance of Musetta—very easy on the eyes and enchanting to the ears.

Bravo, Bravo!

When I've sat in the upper balcony area of the DOH, the voices come across to my ears as being electronically amplified. I've been told that this is not the case; does anyone know for sure? I suspect it may be an acoustical trick caused by proximity to the ceiling.

Our operas are not amplified. We do indeed mic both the singers and the orchestra. However, the orchestra sound is fed to monitor speakers onstage while the singer's voices are sent to monitors in the orchestra pit. Both orchestra and stage feeds are sent to the dressing room and other backstage areas where monitoring is necessary. What the audience hears is electrically amplified only rarely, and not at all this season.

The ceilings and walls in the opera house were specifically designed to move sound from the stage throughout the auditorium. Depending on the listener's location, proximity to the reflective areas of the ceiling may certainly achieve an "amplified" effect.

—Dan Brinker, Michigan Opera Theatre Technical Director

Read other comments from the 2005-06 season
Norma | La Boheme | Aida | Cinderella | Salome

Photos by John Grigaitis