New ‘La Boheme’ tells story in reverse for happy ending
By MIKE SILVERMAN
Associated Press
DETROIT (AP) — A new production of “La Boheme” shakes up the old favorite by telling the story in reverse. Director Yuval Sharon’s production for the Detroit Opera runs the four acts backward. Mimi dies near the beginning and then returns to life. In the end she and her new lover walk off into the Parisian night together. Sharon says the reinterpretation emphasizes the power of love despite inevitable death and disappointment. Sharon has taken unconventional approaches to other operas before. He once staged Wagner in a parking garage. Another time he put his audience in stretch limos to watch an opera while driving around Los Angeles.
