Baz Luhrmann's brilliant production of La Boheme by Puccini, set in 1967, is a truly spectacular spectacle. The inspired design by Catherine Martin and lighting by Nigel Levings take the physical production of opera into a new, flashy, eye-filling dimension. The beautiful young people in the show, with their magnificent voices, make this powerfully-directed opera, with exciting, imaginative physical action in the staging, a great theatrical experience. They have two or three people cast in each role, and alternate performances, but it would be hard to beat the ones I saw: Jesus Garcia, Lisa Hopkins, Mark Womack and Chloe Wright. Each beautifully fulfills, and goes beyond our expectations, in their perfectly cast roles. Want to see where Jonathan Larson got his inspiration for Rent?" Go see this original, which travels far, far beyond the hapless contemporaries.
