La Boheme UT opera company production.
OH we had such a good time at the opera. WAY exceeded my expectations. Wilma was also ENTHUSED.
The Carousel theater is a small round theater next to the big theater on the UT campus. It was a full house, but I think I heard there were 150 seats. That means it was INTIMATE theater. The actors exited and entered from the aisles as well as from back stage. And the stage was extended to a semi circle on the floor, so sometimes someone was singing 5 feet from me. (I was in the second row--there were only, I don't know, 6 rows).
The staging was minimal, and as in the play we went to, the actors came out and moved the props between scenes. The setting was supposed to be post apopaclypse Paris (the original La Boheme would have been late 19th century Paris. I think it was written 1896. The kids had a good time styling their hair and shopping the thrift shops for exotic clothes. They were quite colorful.
A vocal coach for the university sat beside us, and gave us some background on the production. It was neat to see her enthusiasm. The entire production was high energy. Funny when it could be. I think the kids carried off humor better than drama. Since we were so close, the actors could use body language effectively. And their voices filled the theater. BIG voices. I loved the lead tenor's voice. Next week I go to the big Atlanta production of Carmen, and I'm thinking, sitting up in the first balcony, I will be missing the intimacy and enthusiasm of this student production. Since I'm not an expert, the singing was great to me, the acting was delightful.
