As the consumptive Mimi took her last breath Saturday night, the hushed, poignant moment was immediately shattered by a rude horn blat in the first ominous death chord.
That jarring lapse was doubly unfortunate for it was Elizabeth Caballero, as a touching, resplendently sung Mimi, who provided the finest vocalism and fleeting bright moments in Florida Grand Opera's lackluster production of La bohème , which opened Saturday night at the Ziff Ballet Opera House.
Puccini's beloved tale of love, heartbreak and tuberculosis among the young artists of 1830s Paris is the ideal operatic jukebox musical with its wall-to-wall fount of hit arias and tightly woven mix of high-spirited comedy, romance and tragedy set to Puccini's soaring melodies.
It's welcome news that Florida Grand Opera is finally upgrading its orchestra by hiring a new contractor to field its pit musicians next season. Yet this tired bohème proved an exemplar of other recurring problems that stem from FGO's ongoing void in artistic leadership: an uninspired supporting cast, dismal stage direction, and a lack of sufficient rehearsal time, evident in rough-hewn musical direction and repeated production glitches.
On the positive side, Caballero, a former FGO Young Artist, has clearly grown into a major talent. The University of Miami alum -- who has lost considerable weight since her 2003 turn as Musetta -- makes a pretty and touching seamstress, consistently graceful and credible in her stage movements. She also possesses a glorious soprano voice, gleaming, flexible and evenly produced throughout her range. Caballero's diction was not always distinct, but the Miami native consistently outshone the rest of the cast, soaring in her Act 1 aria, refined and affecting in Donde lieta usci, and bringing sensitivity and subtle acting to Mimi's final moments.
An impressive Edgardo in FGO's Lucia di Lammermoor five years ago, James Valenti offered mixed rewards as Mimi's lover. Tall and dashing, Valenti possesses the requisite stage presence for the poet Rodolfo and a worthy lyric tenor, well displayed in a warmly molded Che gelida manina. But his tone seems to tighten under pressure, and Valenti seemed less comfortable with the comedy than in the dramatic moments. Still, like Caballero, the tenor was best in the latter scenes, singing with emotion and providing apt anguish at Mimi's demise.
The second couple proved less inspired. Troy Cook made a vigorous Marcello but consistently forced his lightweight, throaty baritone in strenuous fashion. Conversely, Jill Gardner has an attractive soprano voice, but her Musetta was limited to striking poses and mugging. Cavorting with the Café Momus waiters, one half-expected Gardner to break into Hello, Dolly.
Tom Corbeil made little of Colline's farewell to his overcoat but didn't have much of a chance at conductor Alberto Veronesi's fleet tempo. Corey Crider was an anodyne Schaunard and Stefan Szkafarowsky miles over the top in the usual duo turn as Benoit/Alcindoro.
Following Catherine Malfitano's intense and illuminating staging of Tosca, Nicola Bowie's hapless direction seemed even more disappointing. Bowie fell into the usual traps, overplaying the Act 1 comedy in knockabout fashion. Despite a stage filled with people, Bowie seemed lost in the Café Momus scene, which was awkwardly blocked with little energy or characterization, chorus members mostly standing around. When your direction is reduced to having the children's chorus sitting at the front of the stage waving flags, you got a problem.
Production lapses abounded from Musetta's belated entrance and Rodolfo's candle being extinguished before he blows it out, to the maladroit lighting that illuminated the shorn-off tops of Michael Yeargan's aged sets and made the Act 3 snowfall look even phonier than usual.
Despite his hyperkinetic gestures, guest conductor Veronesi often appeared at odds with the singers on stage -- dragging tempos, late entrances, and lack of weight and richness in the orchestra's strings consistently shorted Puccini's climaxes.
