Teatro Lirico D’Europa brings "La Boheme" to the Garde
By Kristina Dorsey Publication: The Day
Teatro Lirico D'Europa has been a presence at the Garde every year since, with a production of Puccini's "La Boheme" scheduled for tonight.
Feb 02, 2012 12:15 PM -
First, Teatro Lirico D'Europa took on Europe.
Two artistic forces - Yves Josse, a former ballet divo and French arts promoter, and Giorgio Lalov, a Bulgarian opera singer - founded the opera company back in 1988. It developed quickly, growing into 250-performance tours each season.
Two turning points came in 1995. Josse passed away. Lalov and his American wife, Jenny Kelly, had a baby boy. As they settled in the U.S., Teatro Lirico D'Europa expanded its reach here, too.
In 2000, Kelly booked its first major American tour. Among its stops: the Garde Arts Center in New London.
Teatro Lirico D'Europa has been a presence at the Garde every year since, with a production of Puccini's "La Boheme" scheduled for tonight.
"La Boheme" - which, Broadway fans know, inspired the musical "Rent" - follows the loves and traumas of indigent artists in 19th-century Paris.
Lalov says he loves "La Boheme," and he's not alone. Even folks who aren't died-in-the-wool opera fans cry during Mimi's death scene, he says.
As for Teatro Lirico D'Europa, Lalov calls himself "a traditional guy," and his productions boast traditional sets and costumes. For the New London performance, he says he's bringing "some new people who have never been with us before in your theater - they've been in Europe with me, but not here. ... New faces, new elegant people with fresh voices."
The Whaling City, in fact, remains a surprisingly strong supporter of opera.
"Normally, in a city of the size of New London - you know, I've been everywhere in the United States - they just book one opera a year," Lalov says.
The Garde, on the other hand, is bringing in this opera plus three others this season from Connecticut Lyric Opera.
Since Lalov knows the American and European opera scenes and audience preferences well, we asked him about each.
In Europe right now, he says, "there's a wave of a modern, avant-garde productions that, to me, are horrible. Sometimes, they go so far away, they become very vulgar and insults to the composers."
That's not the trend in the U.S. As for Teatro Lirico d'Europa audiences in this country, Lalov says they have a clear preference for shows with physical movement, as opposed to those that are static. That's why, he says, Teatro has only staged "Il Trovatore" once on tour here.
"The American audience loves opera that is not only the music but the theater - something that is very close to Broadway, put it this way. 'Barber of Seville,' 'Don Giovanni,' this kind of stuff," he says.
Lalov, a Bulgarian native, started to listen to opera when he was about 10 or 11. When he heard one of Bulgaria's great singers, Nicolai Ghiaurov, he says, "I fell in love with that voice, and I started to listen to that voice."
At 15, he started taking lessons. By the time he was 26, he was performing at Teatro alla Scala. While part of La Scala's international training program for young singers, he learned a great deal about not just singing but also other theatrical elements like stage direction.
"It was a wonderful experience for me," he says.
"La Boheme," 7:30 tonight, Garde Arts Center, 325 State St., New London; Teatro Lirico d'Europa; $32-$60; (860) 444-7373, gardearts.org.
