The further splitting of the Café to a street at the end of this scene to reveal the marching soldiers did not quite work, but was an interesting idea to the perennial problem of how to deal with the stage room required during the Café scene for the marching soldiers and the principles exit from the Café. It is show in a Burlington Arcade type of effect and the arcade sets move during the scene to provide space for the Café. The Café scene is splendidly designed by Stewart Laing and beautifully lit by Mimi Jordan Sherin. It is intimate, albeit slightly claustrophobic at times. He very cleverly sets the first and last acts front of stage in an open loft accommodation. Things that did not work on the first night - such as the street lights in the Café Momus scene - will undoubtedly come good, but overall there isn’t anything major to complain about. The production is not perfect, but as it matures in the years to come there will undoubtedly be subtle changes made. This was the first new production of La Boheme at the Royal Opera House for more than 40 years and Richard Jones had a very hard act to follow. What is a banker in operatic terms? This is not a financial question! Stand up Richard Jones for producing a La Boheme banker for the Royal Opera House, which will undoubtedly be performed for many years to come, but I imagine not as much as the wonderful old production by John Copley.
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