Fully Satisfying- sometimes Spectacular
I am not a dyed in the wool opera fan, but rather a fan of live musical theater. With that said, this production fuly met all my hopes and expectations.
The sense of being at a live performance in a beautiful venue was great, from the audience shots to the sweat on the tenor's brow. You are there!
The audio was excellent. Good sense of direction, good balance between the orchestra, soloists and chorus. Could not ask for better.
Perhaps the most astonishing technical aspect was the "onstage" scene change in the first act from Mimi and Rudolpho's spotlighted duet on a dark stage, to, with literally a flash of a street photographer's camera, to a fully populated strreet scene outside the Momus Cafe, in freeze frame, with jugglers, high wire, stilt walkers, geese and duck and chicks for all I know! And as an encore to that, the "Cafe" part of the set slides further onstage as the crowd all forces its way inside for Musetta's big number.
A real treat. GO!