Ah, Mimi
Her name is Lucia, but they call her Mimi. She doesn't know why. Neither did I. That was the over-arching theme of my first visit to the opera in Arizona. Jean Jennings took me to The Marriage of Figaro in Detroit last year; that was my first opera since childhood. With characters rushing all over, with intricate staging, with performers who acted along with the singing, it was a charming and lighthearted musical romp. La Boheme, Pucini's walk on the wild-side, is darker and starker. The set was minimal, the lighting dim, and our seats were very very very high up at The Music Hall. Perhaps, had we been closer to the stage, I might have seen a facial expression or two. Perhaps, had I remembered the lorgnette I bought for G'ma in the 1970's and rescued from the pod castle when she died, I would have experienced more of the emotional tugs and pulls. As it was, from up in the rafters all I could feel was the distance. Miss Vicki says that oper...