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| Costume Design Mimi Act II transition by Julie Lynch |
Although the air conditioning is up as high as it will go the singers are not feeling the chill of their Berlin garret. They are melting in their heavy overcoats in Sydney’s humidity while pretending to shiver. Out of sympathy for them, Gale suggests we should all be wearing more layers. And gloves.
Today she is in her element: you only have to look at how her face dimples with pleasure as she jumps up to choreograph the most minute piece of stage business. No detail is too small. This morning she is working on the Act 1 scene in which the starving young artists enjoy an unexpected feast thanks to Schaunard’s generosity. Out of a paper bag comes bread, sausage and a pie. The order in which these things are packed into the bag before the scene begins, how they emerge and are laid out occupies her totally, as does the setting of the makeshift table, the safe placing and shifting of candlesticks, and how the scene explores the dynamics between the four friends in high spirits.
The general consensus? "We need a bigger bag". No sooner said than done. One materialises within minutes. Easy to understand the temptation of staying in the rehearsal room forever, where wishes become reality on request.
"Aren’t they adorable ?" she says, watching her cast with what sounds like maternal pride. "I could eat them for breakfast. They are so funny and talented, you feel as if nothing could go wrong for these kids - and then of course, it does."
"I love the mechanics of stagecraft," she says with relish. "When it works, it is so beautiful."
The cast seem able to absorb two sets of instructions at once. They get music notes from Maestro Badea while being directed by Gale and don’t seem to get flustered or lose their place. Takesha is so relaxed she even chews gum while she sings!
As Rodolfo and Mimi meet and sing their first great duet, the temperature in the room goes up a few degrees. When they finish, spontaneous applause erupts from the production team and I realise I’ve got goosebumps.
"Adorable!" purrs Gale.
Like an unstable weather pattern, the mood in the room is volatile and shifts suddenly. One minute the singers are acting out high-spirits and horseplay, the next we are in to full tragic mode in Act Four, with the entrance of Taryn Fiebig as Musetta, distressed at having found Mimi on the street, abandoned by her aristocratic lover, weak and failing from living rough. I sit with Takesha’s mother, who accompanies her daughter on most of her engagements, watching the scene unfold. As the intensity builds and Mimi comes in and is laid on the bed, Taryn is so overcome that she starts to cry and has to take a break. She is not the only one. I spot Andrew/Marcello wiping a few tears away. Later he tells me "I did thirty performances as Schaunard and lost it every time. Those chords just do it."
Minutes later on Elizabeth Street I am confronted by a junkie screaming at a man on the sidewalk. "That was the last of my money you bastard, the last of it!" Mimi is alive, if only just, in Sydney today.
Read the next installment of 'Backstage with the Bohemians', or skip to part 1, 2...4, 5, 6.
Book tickets to see La bohème at the Sydney Opera House, from 31 December 2012.
Read the next installment of 'Backstage with the Bohemians', or skip to part 1, 2...4, 5, 6.
Book tickets to see La bohème at the Sydney Opera House, from 31 December 2012.
And I thought all they had to do was get the singing right...Everything is always so polished in their performance on the night, it's fascinating to see how much work goes into the little things. Hope they don't expire in their overcoats.
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to experience Boheme performed in the wonderful setting of the worlds most unique venue.
ReplyDeleteFrom previous visits,we know the presentation will be memorable. Many thanks in advance, Opera Australia.