Petaluma ARGUS-COURIER| From the Kremlin to Cinnabar for a relatable ‘La Boheme’

BEULAH VEGA

FOR THE ARGUS-COURIER

June 19, 2024

Opera in America has an image problem.

Unless it’s being sung by a rabbit in a dress, our society tends to see it as inaccessible.

But the stories are often highly relatable.

Puccini’s famous opera “La Boheme,” for instance, starts with four young roommates ‒a poet, a painter, a philosopher, and a musician ‒ trying to figure out how to pay rent and buy food at the same time. This is, after all, the story on which the hit Broadway show “Rent” was based.

If low pay, high rent, and even higher food prices aren’t relatable, it begs the question, can opera be brought to the American people in a way that makes these stories seem accessible (without rabbits)?

San Francisco’s Pocket Opera and Petaluma’s own Cinnabar Theater certainly think so.

They have teamed up to coproduce an original English-language translation of “La Boheme.” Directed by Cinnabar Artistic Director Emeritus Elly Lichenstein it stars international operatic soprano Diana Skavronskaya as Mimi.

Originally from Uzbekistan, trained in Russia, and now living in San Francisco, Skavronskaya has performed worldwide, including at the Kremlin Palace and twice at Carnegie Hall. Her love for opera overall and “La Boheme” specifically is contagious, as is her conviction that “Opera is really something special — it’s not just for the elite anymore.”

She would know.

Skavronskaya has sung the role of Mimi all over the world and often features aria from the opera in solo performances.

”Mimì’s role feels like pouring your soul out through your voice,” she said. “Puccini is a genius and one of my favorite composers. The music is simply divine, capturing Mimì’s soul, her tenderness, and her struggle against illness.”

While this is the first time she will sing the full opera in English instead of Italian, she is excited about it.

“Relearning it (in English) was a bit challenging but totally doable,” she said. “It was also joyful to study the score again, knowing that the audience will enjoy the opera in their native language. They will have a better understanding of what’s happening on stage.”

Even after playing the Kremlin, which is twice the size of Carnegie’s Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage, Skavronskaya is still happy to appear on the stage at “The Little Red Schoolhouse.”

“I think the smaller, more intimate setting of Cinnabar Theatre lets the audience closely follow the subtlest emotions and see all the changes and reactions, which is a great thing,” she observed. “I also feel like we are more connected with the audience. A huge thank you to Nicolas A. Garcia, General Director of Pocket Opera, for giving me the chance to be a part of Pocket Opera and these productions of ‘La Boheme.’”

Beyond just the language and the size of the space, this production offers other firsts for Skavronskaya. This is her first time working with Lichenstein, and her first time working with this cast and crew.

“I didn’t know anyone beforehand,” she said. “I first met Nicholas Huff, who plays Rodolfo, at a photo shoot about six months ago. Back in Georgia, I sang Mimì and worked with Georg Rootering (an Austrian stage director), and in Russia, I worked with several stage directors from the Bolshoi Theatre. Those were more classical approaches. Elly Lichenstein has a very fresh take, unlike any other. She really captures each character’s emotions.”

Another big change is Lichenstein’s decision to set the story in the 1950s instead of 1840s Paris. A 100-year difference might seem extreme, but Skavronskaya thinks it works well.

“The time we’re delving into is postwar France,” she explained. “It’s cold, and people are desperate and impoverished. Mimì is left alone, worn out, and her whole family is gone. Maybe she fell ill during those cold postwar times. I know quite a bit about how people lived in the postwar era, thanks to my great-grandmother. She told me many stories about life and survival. This adaptation hits close to home for me, reminding me of her.”

Even when this production has finished its Cinnabar run, Skavronskaya will continue to bring her talent and passion for this music to more audience. She already has concerts planned with Maestro Constantine Orbelian (Music Director and Principal Conductor of the New York City Opera and principal conductor of the Kansas City Symphony Orchestra).

“Also, there’s my ‘Opera Club by Diana Skavronskaya’ — my own personal project and passion,” she added. “Solo concerts are scheduled right after October.”

While the schedule keeps her busy, Skavronskaya says it is worth it.

“As a singer, I want people to remember me as the one who sang from the depths of my soul, touching their hearts,” she said. “For my refined techniques, when every note captured all the beauty and depth of human experience. And as an artist and as a person, I want to be remembered as a mentor for lifting up the next generation of young artists.”

But at the end of the day, Skavronskaya says that if she needed to pick one thing to be remembered by, she would want to be remembered as that person who inspires and shows people that no dream is too big, no obstacle too tough to tackle.

“It’s all about staying true to yourself,” she said, “and never giving up.”