In February, the former Michigan opera theater announced they would be operating under a new name and logo to usher in a new era for the city icon. Now known as the Detroit Opera, the brand is welcomed in its new moniker in the return to the opera stage with the premiere of La Bohème.
The show features a new role portrayed by George Shirley, the first Black tenor and the second Black man to perform a leading role at the Metropolitan Opera. Along with a new name, Detroit Opera is pushing the boundaries of art to foster a sense of community, innovative, creative vision, and transformation.
As the theater opens after a two-year hiatus caused by the pandemic, artistic director Yuval Sharon will present La Bohème in reverse order. Beginning with Act IV, audiences will be taken on a melodic ride through Act I and witness a love story that still has relevance today.
“The music that begins Act I and Act IV is almost identical,” says Sharon, “and even in its normal chronology, La bohème isn’t a connected linear narrative, but a collection of short episodic narratives. So a reverse chronology comes more easily than you might expect. But the effect is profound: suddenly, La bohème, this classic, archetypal opera, becomes a bit of a mystery. We know there’s a darkness to it, we watch the death and tragedy unfold. But where does it start? As we move through the world of memory, we witness a resurrection, and a new love blooming. When the audience leaves the theater, they won’t be left with the heaviness of inevitability. Instead, they’ll be left with a notion that the pain was worth the fleeting moments of joy. We move backward, so our audience can move forward.”
A new element will be added to the production with the introduction of the character The Wanderer. Played by George Shirley, The Wanderer will give a spoken intro for each act to help move audiences through the reverse order of the show and provide a critical narration throughout the production.
“The Wanderer is someone who, a character who comments on these events before they happen. At certain points during the opera asks questions such as ‘what would have happened if he had kept going or had not dropped her key,” says Shirley. “Describing the scene that is coming up; Paris 1850, Latin Quarter. He’s sort of a faithful figure that might be a reincarnation of Rodolfo himself.”
A native Detroiter, George Shirley’s career began at an early age and has spanned several decades of success. Touring internationally across England, Italy, Austria, Japan, and many more, his humble roots began in Detroit as the first Black high school vocal teacher in Detroit Public Schools and the first Black member of the United States Army Chorus.
La Bohème tells the story of love, passion, and tragedy. Sharon and the Detroit opera takes elements of the classic and helps breathe new life into the production.
“Theater is about innovation. It’s about breathing fresh life into works as well as creating new works,” says Shirley. “This is something that is sort of, I think this is patterned after what happens in film; stories that start at the end and go to the beginning. It will be interesting to see how the audience responds to it.”
Those who are fans of the original adaptation will witness the classic in a new light; those who will see it for the first time will fall in love with characters whose story is as rich as the play itself.
“It’s a beautiful story of love and loss and it’s about two bohemians; one is a writer and one is a painter, who share a space in Paris with two other fellows; one is a musician, one is a philosopher and upstairs in this tenement building, there is a young woman who is a seamstress,” says Shirley.
The opera is not typically featured in inner-city neighborhoods or is being reimagined to include more stories that represent all. La Bohème will play at the Detroit opera on April 2, 6, and 10.
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