Opera in the Park: La Boheme

PRESENTS

CITY OF PERTH OPERA IN THE PARK

LA BOHÈME PUCCINI’S

SUPPORTED BY LOTTERYWEST AND ACT-BELONG-COMMIT

8pm | Saturday 3 February

Supreme Court Gardens

Proud to be supporting West Australian Opera

perth.wa.gov.au

CITY OF PERTH OPERA IN THE PARK The Right Honourable the Lord Mayor, Lisa-M. Scaffidi City of Perth

The City of Perth is proud to be a major sponsor of Opera in the Park. This popular annual summer event is celebrating 27 years of live opera under the stars, nestled in the picturesque Supreme Court Gardens.

Opera in the Park’s outdoor setting offers an accessible platform to experience opera of an international standard. This year the company presents Puccini’s masterpiece La Bohème a beautiful story of love and loss with some of the most glorious music in the popular operatic canon.

Principal singers are joined by the West Australian Opera Chorus and the West Australian Symphony Orchestra conducted by Brad Cohen.

On behalf of the City of Perth, I acknowledge the artists and volunteers for their dedication to this important cultural event. Thank you to Lotterywest and the Community Resource Network for extending the experience to regional Western Australia via simulcast.

Please enjoy this operatic experience.

Carolyn Chard Executive Director West Australian Opera

Opera makes your heart beat; faster, louder and stronger. The power of the unamplified human voice speaks to our emotions and our hearts beat for love and break for loss.

Tonight’s performance of La Bohème is a powerful and beautiful story that will touch your heart and stir your soul. Thank you to the City of Perth for continuing to support this event, allowing thousands of West Australians to access opera each year, and thank you to Lotterywest who have enabled live regional broadcasts of this event since 2010.

I acknowledge our Principal Partner Wesfarmers Arts and our local, state and federal Government Partners including the City of Perth, Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries and the Australia Council. I acknowledge Healthway who support this event with the message ActBelong-Commit.

Please continue the heartfelt journey of opera by joining us at a performance of The Cunning Little Vixen, Carmen and Don Giovanni in the beautiful His Majesty’s Theatre.

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ACT I Christmas Eve. Rodolfo, a poet, and Marcello, a painter, are freezing in their studio. Colline, a philosopher, arrives followed by Schaunard, a musician. Marcello, Colline and Schaunard go off to join the celebrations at the Café Momus.

Promising to join them soon, Rodolfo settles down to finish an article he is writing. There is another knock. This time it is a neighbour, Mimì, holding a key and an unlit candle. She begs a light and Rodolfo obliges. Mimì drops her key. Together they search for the key, and their hands touch. They tell each other about themselves and Rodolfo passionately declares his love.

ACT II The Square outside Café Momus, bustling with shoppers and hawkers. Marcello’s ex, Musetta, appears with her new admirer, Alcindoro. To attract Marcello’s attention, Musetta sings a waltz song. Marcello responds and Musetta, pretending that her shoe is pinching, sends Alcindoro to a cobbler. She joins in the revelry with Marcello and his friends.

CAST AND CREW Conductor Director Guest Chorus Master Rodolfo Mimi Marcello Musetta Schaunard Colline Benoît Alcindoro Parpignol Customs Officer Fruit Vendor

Production Manager Mandy Farmer Site Manager Matthew Nankivell Lighting Designer Sean McKernan Sound Engineer James Hewgill Stage Manager Karen Farmer

Brad Cohen Stuart Maunder Francis Greep Paul O’Neill Elena Perroni James Clayton Rachelle Durkin Mark Alderson Paull-Anthony Keightley Matthew Lester Mark Hurst Matthew Ward Thomas Friberg Perry Joyce

Deputy Stage Manager Josh Marsland Head of Wardrobe Sue Kerr Hair Virginia Hawdon Makeup Sharon Krywood Repetiteur Tommaso Pollio

ACT III Mimì emerges looking for Marcello, who is at a nearby inn where he and Musetta have been living for the past month. She tells him Rodolfo’s jealousy has made their life together impossible. Rodolfo suddenly appears and Mimì hides. He declares to Marcello that Mimì is unfaithful, but that she is also very ill. Rodolfo blames himself for her plight.

A quarrel erupts between Marcello and Musetta.

Mimì and Rodolfo decide to stay together until spring returns.

LA BOHÈME SYNOPSIS

ACT IV The garret, some months later. Both pairs of lovers have now parted. Mimì and Musetta have found wealthy admirers. Rodolfo and Marcello feign indifference, but neither can forget the memory of love. Musetta rushes in with the news that Mimì is desperately ill, and has asked to be brought back to Rodolfo. Alone for a short time, Mimì and Rodolfo recall the past, reliving their short spell of happiness together. Mimì, seized by a coughing fit, falls back, exhausted. When the others return, she weakly thanks them for their kindness and falls asleep…

West Australian Opera Chorus Dudley Allitt Alex Bak Jonathan Brain Fleuranne Brockway Priscilla Cornelius Callen Dellar Leilah Fox Yann Kee Chelsea Kluga Jason Kroll Nola Formentin Rob Littlewood Lucy Mervik Anne Millar David Penco Prudence Sanders Nathan Stark Executive Director Carolyn Chard Development Manager Coralie Bishop Marketing Manager Danielle Ierace Artistic Administrator Rebecca Kais Education Manager Terasa Letizia

La Boheme Children’s Chorus Ryan Buckeridge Allegra Concanen Thomas Denver Hugh Fellows-Smith Bella Freeman Lily Macliver Edward Mirco Matilda Wilson

Accountant Debbie Liebgott Financial Accountant Sue Hobson Office Coordinator Marion O’Connor Marketing Consultant Daniele Foti-Cuzzola Regional Project Manager Melanie Timms

Surtitles Allison Fyfe Publicity Lynne Burford Sales Consultant Rachel Sait

WASO

ON STAGE TONIGHT VIOLIN Laurence Jackson Concertmaster Semra Lee-Smith A/Assoc Concertmaster Rebecca Glorie A/Principal 1st Violin Zak Rowntree* Principal 2nd Violin Kate Sullivan Assist Principal 2nd Violin Sarah Blackman Fleur Challen Stephanie Dean Beth Hebert Sunmi Jung Christina Katsimbardis Ellie Lawrence Akiko Miyazawa Melanie Pearn Ken Peeler Louise Sandercock Jolanta Schenk

Jane Serrangeli Baodi Tang Cerys Tooby Alexandra Isted David Yeh Kate Sullivan David Yeh VIOLA Alex Brogan A/Principal Viola Benjamin Caddy Kierstan Arkleysmith Nik Babic Chair partnered by Lesley &Peter Davies

Alison Hall Rachael Kirk Allan McLean Elliot O’Brien CELLO Louise McKay

Chair partnered by Penrhos College

Shigeru Komatsu Oliver McAslan Nicholas Metcalfe Tim South Xiao Le Wu DOUBLE BASS Mark Tooby Louise Elaerts Christine Reitzenstein Andrew Tait FLUTE Andrew Nicholson Mary-Anne Blades PICCOLO Michael Waye OBOE Elizabeth Chee Sandy Xu° COR ANGLAIS Leanne Glover CLARINET Allan Meyer Lorna Cook

BASS CLARINET Alexander Millier BASSOON Jane Kircher-Lindner Adam Mikulicz Chair partnered by Sue & Ron Wooller

HORN David Evans Robert Gladstones Principal 3rd Horn Julia Brooke Francesco Lo Surdo TRUMPET Brent Grapes Evan Cromie Peter Miller TROMBONE Joshua Davis Liam O’Malley BASS TROMBONE Philip Holdsworth

TUBA Cameron Brook TIMPANI Alex Timcke PERCUSSION Brian Maloney Chair partnered by Stott Hoare

Robyn Gray^ Paul Tanner^

HARP Sarah Bowman

WEST AUSTRALIAN OPERA THANKS

Principal Partner

Tonight’s performance is simulcast to: • Albany Entertainment Centre • Sun Pictures Broome • New Lyric Theatre Bunbury • Weld Theatre Busselton • Carnarvon Civic Centre • Esperance Civic Centre • Queens Park Theatre Geraldton • Goldfields Arts Centre Kalgoorlie • Margaret River Cultural Centre • Cummins Theatre Merredin • Matt Dann Theatre and Cinema, Port Hedland • Community Resource Centres throughout the state.

Taryn Fiebig, Soprano