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The idea of student opera is not one guaranteed to fill you with confidence.
Cacophonous sounds of underpowered voices and ill-tuned orchestras instantly
spring to mind - perhaps coupled with wooden direction and shaky sets.
Add to this image La Bohème, without doubt one of the best loved
operas ever written, and you could be forgiven for thinking it might be
best to steer clear of Oxford City Opera’s ambitious project.
To do so would be to make a grave error. Though there are some problems
with this production, it is intensely enjoyable and a rare treat in Oxford
drama. Few can fail to know the plot, especially after Moulin Rouge; it’s
essentially a double love-story with a bit of despair, drunkenness and
divorce thrown in (not to mention consumption, but that doesn’t come
until the end). In this production, at least, there can be no chance of
missing the plot, since it’s delivered in newly translated “modern”
surtitles (with some decidedly odd, but entertaining, phraseology).
Above all, in Puccini, it’s the music that counts, and this is done
good service by Tagbo Ilozue, his cast and orchestra. Admittedly there
are weak points amongst the male leads, but the two female protagonists
were impressively strong, and the vocal ensemble work was slick and well
tuned. The orchestra were, for a first night performance, well on top
of things and quite capable of making a luscious sound when needed. Odd
intonation and ensemble issues were lost in the sweeping flow of those
wonderful melodies, and the passion from all involved carried things along
very convincingly. Add to this a good set and evidently assured direction,
and the effect was more than convincing.
Well worth seeing, then, must be the message from this performance. Don’t
go expecting Covent Garden, but with the right expectations this production
cannot fail to impress. In fact, as these things always get better with
every performance, I think you can look forward to even better things
than Wednesday produced. If that’s the case, then I suggest you don’t
miss it.
Greg Sanderson, 6.3.3
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