Calleja, Mkhitaryan make a charming, complementary duo in Met’s “Bohème”
La Bohème is back at the Metropolitan Opera for its third of four installments this season. For performances this month, Mimi and Rodolfo are Kristina Mkhitaryan and Joseph Calleja, while Brittany Renee is Musetta and Luca Micheletti is Marcello, in his Met debut.
Calleja has ample experience in this role and is a perfect Rodolfo. His tenor is full, rounded, and colorful—sounding like the personification of a dreamy poet in the throes of youth and love. There was high artistry in his singing too, a beautiful clarity to the way he set out each phrase, unfussy and unmannered in a way one rarely hears in opera, and a deep pleasure. The one exception to this was the way he and conductor Alexander Soddy pushed the climax of “Che gelida manina,” piling mannerism on what had been a flowing performance.
Mkhitaryan took a little longer to open up. Her soprano made a fine pairing with Calleja, her darker color set against the shine of his. She was a little too careful in Act I, and nearly overwhelmed by Calleja in “O soave fanciulla.” In Act III, though, everything about her was stronger and more compelling, from her vocal project to her dramatic presence on stage. In the latter duets she sang with an easy power and the fullness of her sound throughout her range was marvelous.
Like Mkhitaryan, Micheletti seemed not fully there at the beginning. His singing was fine but one wanted a little more oomph to go with the energy in the opening music and Calleja’s example. And like the soprano, the more placid, resonant duet of Act III with Mimi gave him a change to expand his vocal and stage presence, to be a character, not just a singer.
Renee’s big entrance as Musetta in Act II collided with the one problem with the performance, which came out of the pit. The music-making was energetic in the sense of caffeine jitters, moving forward but wildly and in tangential directions. Both Soddy and the singers teased at the contour and proportion of phrases, but in competing ways, each taking their own approach to the many tempo changes.
This was especially acute with Renee, who frequently swallowed her vocal lines. The energy of the crowds and comedy was fine, but the music-making was messy. But there was nothing wrong with the voice, and she—like Soddy and everything else—were part of the pattern of everything getting more coordinated, relaxed, and flowing in Act III. Her singing was ravishing in Act IV.
The bohemian gang was solid through and through, with baritone Gihoon Kim as Schaunard and baritone Donald Maxwell as both Benoit and Alcindoro returning from the fall performances.
Kim’s singing was even better than one remembered from November, with extra verve and resonance, and he’s a confident, expressive performer in this role. The same goes for bass-baritone Nicolas Testé as Colline, who had a full voice and an easy manner with the music.
La Bohème continues through March 21, then returns May 25-June 6 with a new cast. metopera.org
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