On 9th June of this year, the Choir of London along with a handful of principal singers and members of the Aurora Orchestra, flew out to Tel Aviv from where they embarked on an extraordinary journey through the Occupied Territories- Jerusalem, Nablus, and Ramallah- with (amongst other repertoire) one of Puccini’s most beloved and emotionally taught of Opera’s, La Boheme. It will be the premier of the piece in that part of the world.

This is not the first time the choir of London have been to the Middle Eastern region. A few years ago (2007) they took The Magic Flute out there as part of the Palestine Mozart Festival- the result of a partnership between various Palestinian and European Organisations, and in 2004 they performed as part of the Palestine Bach Festival. It seems there’s something about this part of the world- the extraordinarily powerful and humbling experience of connecting with audiences many of whom are hearing this kind of music for the first time, perhaps?- that keeps the choir coming back. It’s certainly not the money. None of the choir are paid a salary.

For this particular tour, Palestinian children will form part of the Opera’s chorus, and there will also be a performance of Brahms’s Requiem with musicians from al-kamandjati, a Palestinian choir based in Bethlehem, and the Barenboim-Said Foundation.

I was fortunate enough to catch a glimpse of the choir’s production of La Boheme in an open dress rehearsal which took place in Brixton and I was thoroughly impressed by the talent and energy on show. This was an updated version which dragged the original late 1800s setting of the opera into the depression-soaked flapper era of the 1920s. It worked a treat, with the post war economic climate lending an interesting dimension to the poverty of the ‘bohemians’. All the singers, bar none, were outstanding, navigating Puccini’s rich melodies wit assurance and humour. The camaraderie between the men, Rudolfo, Marcello, Schaunard, and Colline was entirely unaffected. They were clearly having a ball- on and off the stage. The two standouts (as it should be) were the two lovers Mimi, played by the young soprano Charmian Bedford, and Rudolfo, sung by the powerful tenor Andrew Staples. Both pulled off their demanding arias with fluency as well as charm, and shared the sort of chemistry that one can’t fake. I should imagine that in the more conservative and religious areas of Palestine, these sexual sparks might need to be tempered…  

I caught up with Charmian on her return from the tour, who told me that in Nablus, her and her leading man did indeed have to tone down all the kissing and keep the touching to a minimum. She had this to say about the tour:

It was amazing. We received standing ovations and at every performance people were in floods of tears. In some places people took photos all the way through. I even had my own little fan club! The whole thing was just… well… indescribable.

And that’s just what music should be.

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To read Tom Service’s article on The Choir of London’s production of La Boheme, click here.

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