One of my dreams has been to see a live production of La Boheme. I thought it would be at the Met with Pavrotti filling the theater. Well, that didn't happen. When my brother and his wife, who are regulars at ON, invited me to see La Boheme, I was thrilled.
Never in my wildest dreams did I expect such an amazing, professional and truly moving experience as opening night. It was one of the best nights of my life. I was transformed for 3 hours. Experiencing tears, chills and wonder at the purity of the young voices as they captured the essence of Puccini.
The orchestra, conductor Burkot and Stage Director Ozawa were unbelievable. Just wonderful. A special thank you to Pamela Pantos for "putting it all together".
As I cannot begin to mention all the performers, let me single out a few. It was too bad that the scheduled Rodolfo was ill. I thank my lucky stars that I got to hear Jeffrey Gwaltney fill in, as he is magnificient. A joy to listen to. Inna Dukach, as Mimi, gave a stunning performance. She truly has the voice of an angel.
Thank you for bringing these wonderful operas to us all. We are truly in your debt. I look forward to my visit next year. "
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Maribeth Oakes, Greenfield, MA
I agree with the critics...only more so. This was a truly great production, all the singers were great singers, but also compelling actors.The Argus critic said it best, they were ALL so assured and CENTERED in their roles, and yet played extremely well as an ensemble...everyone shown to advantage and playing well off each other.
Louis B never fails with the orchestra...in fact, he always astounds me because he never gets over or ahead of the singers. His ability as an opera conductor is wonderful!
Special comment on set and lighting. I am a HUGE fan of SIMPLE sets, and the sets in this production were wonderfully simple, and totally effective.....greatly helped by the LIGHTING. Lighting the backdrop with deep tones and different colors/shades was so perfect...it set off the actors, just thrusting them out. You could see every character totally and well, and got every subtlty, nuance, expression.
Jeff Gwaltney really was great, and I sincerely hope he will be coming back as a Principal in future. What a great thing for him!!
PS I have been coming to ON for better than 25 years. This year is singular in both productions.
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Catherine Losik, Bow, NH
We LOVED La Boheme Sunday!!!!!!!!!!!! We are sure that ON offers thrill for thrill as the Met and others. You are an amazing compnay. We can't wait for DG Thursday!!!!
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Valerie Cowart, Nashua, NH
