Rehearsal of POC's La Boheme.

La Boheme is the greatest love story ever sung. So I was told.

Got to watch Philippine Opera Company's rehearsal of La Boheme yesterday evening, courtesy of Lorna Lopez. She and Karla Gutierrez invited bloggers to watch yesterday's rehearsal and in return, we get to post our reviews and reactions. Sounds like a pretty good publicity deal, haha.

We were told that the run would begin at 8pm, but I arrived pretty early to hang out in the lobby. Good thing for that, because I found Sundee and Santi, and they told me that the run would begin at 6pm. Immediately joined them in the house a few moments before the curtain rose to begin the first act.

Of course, it didn't really help that Sundee was sitting next to me and kept commenting and comparing each scene to a scene in Rent, harharhar. Santi was pretty much quiet, simply saying at the beginning of the show that he doesn't understand the entire Italian libretto and admitted that he hasn't seen Rent.

Anyway, with the direction of Floy Quintos and music by the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of international conductor Helen Quach, this version takes us to modern-day Manila, instead of the usual 19th-century Paris. The first act takes place in a penthouse owned by 4 friends--Marcello, Rodolfo, Colline and Schaunard. Of course, if you knew the entire story of Rent, you'd know that these 4 people could also be Mark, Roger, Collins, and Angel, respectively. Anyway, I actually loved how the set was designed. It really showed the condition of the penthouse, right on up to the roof. A projector from behind the scrim projected an image of a Manila skyline, complete with the moon and clouds moving from time to time. When another character, Benoit, comes in, Rentheads would automatically assume that it's Benny, and yes, he's there to collect the rent. To compare this to the musical, I actually liked how the four friends first welcomed Benoit, letting him drink beer/wine (that Schaunard had brought in earlier in the act) before throwing him out without paying the rent.

Of course, when Marcello, Colline and Schaunard go out and leave Rodolfo in the apartment, sure enough, Mimi enters the scene with a candle. Sir Floy had mentioned that this situation is very familiar to Pinoys, considering we still have blackouts and he even joked that we're most likely the only country that still uses candles, hahaha!

On to Act 2, which seems to take place in some public marketplace. I assumed that it was a nightspot somewhere in Malate. Harold, who was in that scene along with the huge chorus, had said later that the scene was along Manila Bay. Close enough, hehe. One thing that upset me in this act is that there were too many people. The place was too crowded and it felt like the crowd was pouring out of the stage. Given that, we could hardly find the lead characters in the scene because there was too much going on. Well, what did help a little was that the entire chorus was in black in white, leaving the lead cast decked in their colorful costumes and highlighted by follow-spots. Yet, the crowd was really too distracting. Maybe if they moved a little slower, it could help highlight the actors.

The third act was Sir Floy's favorite act, according to him. I did, too, haha. Taking place in an abandoned carnival where prostitutes and tambays hang out, the scene/act was about love that you can't live with and can't live without. I love the quartet of Mimi, Rodolfo, Musetta (yep, you got it--Maureen) and Marcello. One couple reconciles, while the other quarrels. As the scene progressed, I remember Bobby once mentioning that in musical theater, time is warped. Even though this is an opera, I do believe this is a pretty good example, because Rodolfo and Mimi bid each other farewell for the entire second half of the act.

We return to the penthouse for the 4th act. Again, Sundee inputs that this is the part where Collins manages to break into an ATM with Angel's help near the end of Rent, because Colline and Schaunard enter once again with food. Of course, that was before Rodolfo and Marcello lament over their lost loves. As the four friends goof around, there we go, Musetta enters with an ill Mimi.

This is where Sundee keeps complaining as to why Rodolfo and Mimi are smiling, when everyone knows that the latter is dying. Harold sort-of paitently explains that maybe they were remembering something good between them in the past, which is exactly what I was also thinking. Goes to show that you should do more research, Sundee, haha. You said that you've been listening to this opera since you were still in the Navy.

Anyway, this doesn't have an ideal ending as opposed to Rent, because Mimi actually dies. I do believe that the last words in this opera was Mimi's name, cried out by Rodolfo. And after she dies, our attention is suddenly turned to the backdrop, as all of the billboards in the skyline had changed to photos of the actress/singer playing Mimi.

One thing I have to say, I love how opera singers can project their voice. All throughout the run, I overheard Santi and Lorna, on separate occasions, say that since what we had seen was just a run, they still don't have their lapel microphones on. But upon hearing those voices, who needs them? I already knew that they won't be using any mics, and they're performing in the CCP Main Theater. Huwaw. May this be a good example to actors who get too dependent on their microphones, hahaha. I remember Miss Tess endlessly getting us to project inside the Little Theater during our acting workshop.

Considering that this is only a run-through, the orchestra was stopped several times by Helen Quach. Haha, so it's not perfect yet, but I have to applaud everyone who was involved in this production, especially Sir Floy. Thanks to you, Sir, for taking the time to talk to us right after the run.