The last time I was at the Metropolitan Opera was during my Sophomore year of high school. I even remember that my seats then were just as bad as my seats were this time. But, Lincoln Center is such a beautiful venue, the fountain outside was stunning and theater was just as extraordinary as I remember. I think taking a bunch of pictures outside was the fun part of the evening.
During the second intermission, I couldn’t bear with the tight space in the seats so I walked around to stretch my legs. I got into a conversation with another ITF during one of the intermissions about how Mimi and Rodolfo fell in love after five minutes of knowing each other. We talked about how this wasn’t very realistic in this modern age because people are afraid to come right out about their feelings. It also isn’t very safe or smart to fall in love with someone you met for five minutes because that requires commitment and you can never be too sure about how the person really is. The relationship that developed in La Bohème was very unrealistic and very unrelatable.
I felt that the acts went by very quickly and that the intermissions were very long. The plot went by very quickly, and I felt like the musical we watched in class lasted a lot longer. There were also a lot more details in the story than in the opera. I really liked the scenery and all the props that were used, I thought all the props and backgrounds were very intricate. My favorite set was the set of act two, the scene where all the characters are eating in a restaurant. I thought the town was set up beautifully and all the background actors really made the scene look lively, especially the children.
The orchestra performed exceptionally well, each piece was performed with such precision and I could tell that each performer was very talented. It would take a lot of talent to be able to play in Lincoln Center. I think the orchestra deserves a lot of recognition – as much as the actors because they have a big as role as the actors. Without the orchestra, La Bohème would not be La Bohème.
yxiang
November 14, 2017 — 1:37 pm
I agree with your perception of Mimi and Rodolfo’s relationship. It happened too fast and ended too quickly. Furthermore, the progression of the relationship was not that shown on stage at all. I was sort of disappointed due to the lack of onstage time of them together. However, it was a fantastic opera overall.