We had a special interest in these two performances of scenes from La Bohème because not only are two performers, Mattia and Michelle, good friends of ours but their performance on Sunday 14th December will be their last for LuccaOperaFestival until Spring next year as the very next day they were off to Australia and have at least one planned performance in February 2015 in New Zealand.

A week before the performance Mattia had invited me to his home for a coffee around midday. After chatting for a while Michelle returned from a ‘driving lesson’ and kindly asked me to stay as they had planned some rehearsals. Their pianist arrived along with an old friend and voice coach Dano Franchetti who was a famous tenor from Lucca now retired. His tenor voice was still beautiful and powerful and his knowledge of Puccini’s opera was that of an expert musician. I made myself invisible, like a ‘fly on the wall’ and was treated to over two hours of up-close intense listening.  

The weekend performances on the 13th and 14th December at the small intimate and very beautiful Oratorio Degli Angeli Custodi were a sheer pleasure and were greeted with standing ovations from a delighted audience. With simple settings of the studio garret and the Café Momus enhanced by some brilliant acting, in particular Mimi portrayed by Michelle, and with the very accomplished Jonathan Brandani on pianoforte the whole performance was authentic, believable and Puccini’s tragic ending was its usual tear-jerker. Bravissimo!

I strongly recommend checking their website www.lucaoperafestival.com so as not to miss future performances.