La Bohème, Clapham Opera Festival

Founded by Marie Soulier in 2013, the Clapham Opera Festival has already become a fixture of the South London cultural calendar. With the aim to broaden the audience for opera while promoting the finest young talent, it provides a chance to see excellent productions outside the West End, in the atmospheric early twentieth century Church of the Holy Spirit of Abbeville Road.
This year’s festival climaxes with Giacomo Puccini’s La Bohème, one of the most popular works in the repertoire. First performed in 1896, it tracks the whirlwind romance between poet Rodolfo and the sickly seamstress Mimi. Along the way, Puccini tracks the quotidian of Parisian bohemian life, with raucous drinking sessions, lively street markets and a risqué restaurant trip. Puccini matches this new realism with the rhythms of everyday speech, conveyed in some of opera's most exquisite melodies.
Following the festival’s mission to engage all the senses, performances will include make-up from MAC Cosmetics, scent from Belgravia perfumery Les Senteurs, and edible treats from free range butchers Ginger Pig.
The creative team is led by artistic director Marie Soulier herself, with Juliane Gallant as music director. Nina Brazier – declared “one of Britain’s leading young directors of opera” by The Observer – is the Stage Director. Her production of Monteverdi’s The Coronation of Poppea at the Ryedale Festival 2014 was critically feted, so it will be intriguing to see what she brings to Puccini. The cast draws together five of opera’s most promising young singers, including tenor Alberto Sousa, sopranos Alice Privett and Katherine Blumenthal, baritone Ricardo Panela and bass Simon Grange. This is an opportunity to see catch the stars of tomorrow, both on stage and behind it.