After the untimely passing of Salvatore Licitra, touted the “new Pavarotti”, in a motor-scooter accident earlier this month, I hardly dare suggest anyone as potential successor to the lyric tenor of the finest Italian tradition, lest he be jinxed. Yet, I would be doing a great disservice to Mexican tenor Diego Torre if I didn’t even make a passing mention of his possible candidacy.
As Rodolfo in Opera Australia’s production of La Bohème on Tuesday, Mr Torre proved himself not only a fine singer, but a talented actor. His lower range may not be quite as deep, but his upper register is just as silky as Pavarotti’s. His voice is poignant rather than impassioned, and his stage presence palpable.
One the beauties of La Bohème, and a reason for its enduring popularity, is that it has a cast of four well-defined main characters who carry the simple story forward in four clearly demarcated acts. Penurious but magnanimous author Rodolfo falls head over heels in love with sickly seamstress Mimì; his flatmate, the painter Marcello, re-unites with a flirtatious old flame Musetta and is soon consumed by intense jealousy. Marcello and Musetta’s unlikely union collapses at the same time as Rodolfo parts with Mimì so that she can find a better-heeled benefactor, only for her to return to die in his arms.
Mr Torre as Rodolfo ran through the spectrum of emotions, from infatuation for Mimì’s languid beauty in Act I (“Che gelida manina” – “How Cold Your Hands”) to despair at her premature expiry in the finale. His wailing as he holds the motionless Mimì is so heart-wrenching that the curtain drops abruptly, as if to spare the audience further agony.
Matching the character’s demure frailty, Hyeseoung Kwon’s Mimì was physically ethereal, and she mastered the nuances of tenderness with finely honed inflections. Jacqueline Mabardi as Musetta, by contrast, was rough around the edges, almost vulgar rather than coquettish. Her famous waltz was coarse and overdone. As a result, her composure in the finale was a little far-fetched.