Renowned director/designer group Renaud Doucet and André Barbe return to Scottish Opera this autumn with their acclaimed manufacturing of Giacomo Puccini’s ravishing traditional, La bohème.
Opening on 11 October at Theatre Royal Glasgow, the manufacturing excursions to Aberdeen, Inverness and Edinburgh and options an progressive dual-time idea that strikes between the flea markets of Twenties Paris and the modern-day French capital. It takes inspiration from the Jazz Age of Josephine Baker, the American dancer, singer, actress, spy and civil rights activist.
This Barbe & Doucet present is stuffed with their trademark color, character and elegance, and tells the story of 4 struggling bohemians, reimagined as a part of the ‘Lost Generation’, the gathering of writers and artists drawn to Paris after World War I, whose lives are modified after they meet a seamstress referred to as Mimì. A blossoming romance turns into short-lived after they uncover that Mimì is unwell. Struggling to outlive in the lavish but unforgiving metropolis, these charismatic characters are met with the tough realities of poverty and fortune.
The design emphasises the distinction between the colorful carnival ambiance and the ravenous artists’ lives, making a manufacturing that balances sentimentality with the bustling vitality of Paris throughout completely different eras.
Scottish Opera Music Director, Stuart Stratford, who’s celebrating ten years with the Company, conducts Hye-Youn Lee (La traviata 2024) as Mimì, a task she originated within the 2017 manufacturing of La bohème.
Also within the forged are Mario Chang as Rodolfo in his Scottish Opera debut, Roland Wood (The Strauss Collection 2025) as Marcello, Rhian Lois (The Merry Widow 2025) as Musetta, Callum Thorpe (Oedipus Rex 2024) as Colline, Emerging Artist Edward Jowle (Trial by Jury & A Matter of Misconduct! 2025) as Schaunard and Jamie MacDougall (Trial by Jury & A Matter of Misconduct! 2025) as Alcindoro / Benoît.
Barbe & Doucet, who final labored with Scottish Opera on the 2024 manufacturing of Donizetti’s Don Pasquale mentioned: ‘The story of La bohème is one we can all relate to. It seemed important to us to explore the theme of illness since, as a society, we are all under the weather at the moment and in need of healing. The flea market setting represents a little bit of what we are up against today – we seem to live life too fast, and, through antiques, people get a sense of going back to a less hectic time. This opera is not about nostalgia –La bohème is not a museum piece – the story is timeless. Along with meeting new artists, we look forward very much to revisiting the production with Hye-Youn Lee with whom we had so much pleasure collaborating on the original staging.’
With tickets ranging from simply £23-£26.50, and 40% of all seats priced underneath £50, Scottish Opera ensures world-class opera stays accessible to everybody throughout Scotland. In addition, £15 tickets can be found for under-26s and college students at each efficiency. Over 800 free tickets have been offered to colleges since 2022, typically introducing pupils to stay opera for the primary time, and over 1,600 free tickets have been distributed to New Scots communities throughout Glasgow, Aberdeen, Inverness and Edinburgh. Free tickets are additionally out there for colleges, faculties, and neighborhood teams, with journey subsidies the place wanted.
To carry much more opera to Scottish audiences, La bohème is offered alongside the double invoice of Maurice Ravel’s L’heure espagnole and William Walton’s The Bear. These live performance stagings of two caustic comedies of infidelity are carried out on the La bohème set and carried out by French opera skilled Alexandra Cravero (Thérèse 2022). The director is Jacopo Spirei, and designs are by Kenneth MacLeod. Opening on 18 October in Glasgow earlier than touring to Edinburgh, these reveals characteristic a forged that features present and former Emerging Artists.
Specially created Access performances of La bohème run alongside the mainstage productions in Glasgow and Edinburgh. With Dementia Friendly values at their core, Afternoon Access performances are for many who take pleasure in a extra relaxed opera expertise. Tickets are priced at simply £12.50 (free for carers), and these performances are open to all, together with those that could also be dwelling with dementia or Long COVID, extra snug at a shorter present, struggling to get to night performances, or would merely profit from the extra relaxed ambiance.
Those who want to uncover extra about how La bohème was created can attend Pre-show Talks in all 4 cities on the tour, which delve into the element of the opera. Tickets are free however ought to be booked prematurely. Audience members with a visible impairment can benefit from the full opera expertise at Audio-described performances, which have a stay commentary describing the motion on stage with out compromising the music. At these performances, there are additionally free Touch Tours of the set, and a stay audio introduction earlier than the beginning of the efficiency.
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