La Bohème in Manila

I didn’t know the first thing about opera—aside from what I picked up from Pretty Woman, as said by Richard Gere’s character, Edward Lewis: “People’s reactions to opera the first time they see it is very dramatic; they either love it or they hate it. If they love it, they will always love it. If they don’t, they may learn to appreciate it, but it will never become part of their soul.”

First, a disclaimer: Before this weekend, I’d never watched an opera in my entire life, for understandable reasons: as far as I know, a full-length production had never been staged here in my lifetime and I didn’t think I could appreciate operatic singing—and in Italian, to boot!

I didn’t know the first thing about opera—aside from what I picked up from Pretty Woman, as said by Richard Gere’s character, Edward Lewis: “People’s reactions to opera the first time they see it is very dramatic; they either love it or they hate it. If they love it, they will always love it. If they don’t, they may learn to appreciate it, but it will never become part of their soul.”

When my graduate school friends broached the idea of taking our cultural exposure to a higher level by watching La Bohème, I jumped at the idea, never mind that the price of our Balcony 1 ticket was almost the same price as near-front row tickets to stage musicals. It helped my decision-making to be told that La Bohème was only going to be staged for three days (October 3, 4 and 5.) That, and I’m a huge fan of Rent, which is a stage musical, updated version of La Bohème.

Some basic facts: La Bohème is the work of musical genius Giacomo Puccini. It premiered in Turin in 1896. This year is Puccini’s 150th birth year. It’s the first full-length opera production of the Philippine Opera Company, which was founded in 1990. This Philippine version is set in modern-day Manila, featuring young independent artists. Rodolfo, originally a poet, is an indie film director. Mimi, originally a seamstress, makes silk flowers. Alcindoro, originally a state councilor, is more of a dirty old man. The other characters are pretty much modernized versions of their original selves: Marcello is still a painter; his lover Musetta is still a sexy singer; Colline is still a philosopher, and Schaunard is still a musician (but looks more like a rocker).

My reaction: I couldn’t get into the “indie” feel of things (I have a feeling the set was partly to blame; more on this later) and fell asleep in the first act (the sound quality was spotty from where I was seated at some point); was thoroughly delighted by the second act (it was visually spectacular, with colorful props and a full chorus); felt a tug at my heartstrings in the third act (I’m not quite sure, but I think I resonated with the break-up, make-up factor); and, yes, discreetly shed some tears while watching Rodolfo and Mimi’s long goodbye in the fourth act. I wouldn’t go as far as saying opera is now part of my soul; it wasn’t love at first sight, unlike when I watched my first musical.

My only real beef with the production involved the costume and the set. I’m aware that opera operates within its own logic and realities, but those two factors (costume and set design) are what would best transpose the Italian singing to the Manila indie scene and, judging by its effect on me as a viewer, it wasn’t so successful. In fact, it presented some distractions.

The set made use of a lot of neon and bright colors. When I think “indie Manila,” I think of grit and beer bottles and cigarettes and dark, damp places and stale coffee, not brightly spray-painted words like “Sining, Pag-ibig, at Ka22hanan” spray-painted in bright neon on the apartment walls and artists wearingly brightly colored scarves and bonnets. That would spell “pretentious” for me. Which is probably why at some point, I felt their tragedy to be corny. The singing, however, always pulled me back to the characters’ true emotions.

I’m thinking, though, that I should have been a more responsible viewer and looked up a better synopsis before watching the show. I had only relied on my knowledge of Rent. I did buy the program, but its synopsis only explained the actions and wasn’t much help in explaining what they were saying in their songs.

Now that I know better, I’ll do better next time. It’s rather a pity that we are not exposed to the full spectrum of the talents Filipino singers have. All the singers in La Bohème were incredible. And of course, there was the always impressive Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra, led by Helen Quach.

I sincerely hope there will be a next time. Madama Butterfly or La traviata, hopefully, for my and the Philippine audience’s continuing education on the opera. Opera or not, music is definitely in our soul.

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