Review: Opera À La Carte San Diego makes an impressive debut with well-sung ‘La bohème’

A scene from Opera À La Carte San Diego’s production of “La bohème.” (Courtesy of Joshua Cavanaugh)

Founded by local soprano and voice teacher Abla Hamza, the company plans to produce one fully staged and affordably priced opera every year

By Pam Kragen

May 17, 2024 2:30 PM PT

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Most long-established American opera companies have struggled to rebuild their audiences post-pandemic so they have cut back their seasons and their staffs. So it takes a great deal of optimism and bravery to start a new opera company from scratch.

But if Opera À La Carte San Diego’s debut production of “La bohème” is any indicator for the future, that optimism is well placed. The production, which opened Thursday and continues through Sunday at the Tenth Avenue Arts Center in East Village, is well-cast, nicely sung, imaginatively directed and professionally conducted.

As an added plus, this production of Puccini’s beloved opera is also intimate and special. The audience sits close to the stage where the singers, in true operatic form, perform without any audio amplification. Hearing these fine, unfiltered voices in such close proximity is a treat.

Opera À La Carte San Diego is the creation of Abla Hamza, a local soprano and voice teacher who serves as the company’s executive and artistic director. Her goal with OALC is to provide performance opportunities for local professional opera singers who have seen their work dwindle as the industry shrinks. She also wants to provide an affordable option for San Diegans who are new to opera and want to discover the art form.

One note on discovery, though. This production is the first opera I’ve attended in the U.S. since the late 1980s that doesn’t have English supertitles projected above the stage or on seat backs (“La bohème” is sung in its original Italian).

I found it refreshing to be able to hear just the music and the voices and watch the singers the whole time. If you’ve seen this opera many times, you will know exactly what the singers are “saying” to each other in each scene. But for a first-timer, it will be challenging to know what’s going on. To bone up, read a detailed scene-by-scene synopsis before you go and watch YouTube videos of the opera’s most famous arias, duets and ensembles with the libretto translated onscreen.

“La bohème” is directed by local soprano Angelina Réaux, who has moved the story of bohemian starving artists in Paris from the 1840s to 1942 during the German occupation. Réaux’s husband, baritone Michael Sokol, plays two roles including Alcindoro, a wealthy politician who in this production is a vain and foolish Nazi commandant.

To rest the singers’ voices between performances, the demanding roles of the four principal characters have been double-cast. On Thursday, the poet Rodolfo was played by Point Loma Nazarene University grad James Cabanilla Young, 26, an Italianate tenor with easy access to his high Cs. And his doomed lover, the seamstress Mimi, was played by Mexican-American soprano Amanda Olea who impressed with her well-controlled vocals and her tender, realistic acting.

Opera productions are usually tame when it comes to romance, but Réaux’s production generates a lot of steam heat between baritone Søren Pedersen, another PLNU grad, as the frustrated painter Marcello and SDSU senior Elizabeth Gaitan as the flamboyant singer Musetta. They’re both good singers and actors in their roles as the perpetually battling lovers.

Baritone Travis Sherwood is precise and amusing as the musician Schaunard. Bass singer Shelby Condray has gravitas as the philosopher Colline. Tenor Cole Tornberg also has a small role as the toy-seller Papignol in the Christmas Eve scene at Café Momus, where a chorus of adult and child singers add a festive atmosphere.

Although there’s no orchestra, conductor Yewon Lee kept the singers and piano accompanist Suzanne Shick perfectly in tempo on Thursday.

While the opening performance was sold out, ticket sales cover only a portion of expenses. Hopefully Opera À La Carte San Diego can find an audience and donors to support it. In a pre-curtain speech, Hamza said she plans to produce Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht’s 1928 play with music “Threepenny Opera” next season.

Opera À La Carte San Diego presents ‘’La bohème’

When: 7:30 p.m. today and Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday

Where: Tenth Avenue Arts Center, 930 Tenth Ave., San Diego

Tickets: $45, with $25 tickets available for students.

Online: operaalacartesandiego.com