Opera Philadelphia stages Puccini’s ‘La bohème’ — in reverse

The end is just the beginning.

That rings true for the Academy of Music’s take on composer Giacomo Puccini’s legendary ‘La bohème,’ where the story and music are presented in reverse order.

Opera Philadelphia and the Kimmel Cultural Campus’ Academy of Music premieres its fresh iteration of La bohème from April 28 through May 7, and its cast and creatives prove to be as winningly diverse as their performances are daring.

Conducted by Opera Philadelphia’s Corrado Rovaris and directed by MacArthur “Genius” grant awardee Yuval Sharon, the Academy of Music’s take on Puccini’s La bohème stars Black vocalists such as soprano Melissa Joseph and baritone Ben Taylor — both making their Opera Philadelphia debuts — drag artist Matthew Maisano, and local actor and musician Anthony Martinez-Briggs.

Latin-American creative Martinez-Briggs, currently a resident of West Philly’s Overbrook neighborhood, has been everything from a sound designer with Azuka Theatre to an acting member of Wilma Theatre’s Hot House company, along with performing at Theater Exile, the Arden, the Philadelphia Theatre Company, and is also as a member of the local band, ILL DOOTS.

“My connection to opera grew out of my work with the Bearded Ladies Cabaret and John Jarboe,” said Martinez-Briggs. “She invited me to be a performer as a part of Bastille Day 2017 after seeing the work I had been doing in the Philly theater scene such as An Octoroon at the Wilma, and with ILL DOOTS.”

The “campy, joyous, political romp” of Bearded Ladies Cabaret led to Martinez-Briggs meeting and befriending Opera Philadelphia mainstay Veronica Chapman-Smith. As their collaborations grew, so did Martinez-Briggs’ work with OP: teaching artist, commissioned artist, event host, facilitator, and now his debut on the stage.

“I knew that I wanted to offer my (non-singing) voice to Opera Philadelphia stage after I saw ‘Oedipus Rex’,” he said. “I’m excited to offer my attunement to language and my embodied performance style to this production of ‘La bohème’.”

A citizen of the world, and a creative of Philadelphia’s best and boldest companies, Martinez-Briggs sees himself as a Latino-American in everything that he does as an artist.

“Yo soy Boricua,” he said. “That is something that I exist with every day. It is not only my heritage, but my lived experience. I am the type of performer that believes that who I am will be infused in every role I take no matter how different each role might be from the last. Thus, with every performance I author, with every lyric I write, I bring my ancestors and my family with me for the ride.

“Sometimes, I’m blessed to have the production I’m working on be directly aligned with my background and sometimes it’s just an infusion I bring within my contribution, sometimes I get to speak in my father’s tongue, sometimes it’s just bringing the energy of my abuelita’s trademark island breeziness and Puerto Rican persistence,” he continued. “When I take the stage, I’m representing myself, sure, but it always means that much more when that representation can be a reflection for the audience members that share my cultural experiences.”

While his role within ‘La bohème’ is that of The Wanderer, Martinez-Briggs’ opinion of this opera’s new message of hope is succinct.

“Having ‘La bohème’ in reverse offer joy rather than sadness is a beautiful gesture and truly speaks to the timelessness of true love,” he said. “I feel as though the reverse version brings to life the old adage: It’s better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all. We all pass at some point; it’s not the death but the life that matters.”

‘La bohème’ hits the stage at Kimmel Cultural Campus’ Academy of Music from April 28 through May 7. For information and tickets, visit operaphila.org