“Addio, fedele amico mio,” the young philosopher Colline sings in his Act IV aria, Vecchia zimarra, senti, as he farewells his trusty coat before pawning it to buy medicine for the dying Mimì.

It’s a role bass David Parkin has sung many times in the 14 years since Gale Edwards’ production of Puccini’s La bohème first premiered, and one gets the sense that he is truly sad to be saying goodbye to the coat which, like all of Julie Lynch’s characterful costumes, is being given its final outing as part of Opera Australia’s 2025 Winter season.

David Parkin, Olivia Cranwell, Kang Wang and Shane Lowrencev in OA’s La bohème 2025. Photo © Keith Saunders

Parkin won’t be the only one shedding a tear either. This time last year, Opera Australia Chorus member Katherine Wiles revealed that her Act II ‘gold prostitute’ costume is her favourite.

Her colleague, Clifford Plumpton will surely mourn the Dalí-esque photographer Edwards invited him to create when she first staged the production in 2011, and which Plumpton has performed over 200 times.

And Benjamin Rasheed is sure to miss his scene-stealing turn as Parpignol, who distributes contraband under the guise of a toy peddler, accompanied by a children’s chorus that relishes every moment on stage.

Every character in Edwards’ production has been painstakingly crafted, each long-standing member of the OA Chorus making their role their own and creating a framework that immediately camouflages less-seasoned newcomers.

It speaks volumes about Edwards’ ability as a director that, after all these years, the integrity of her staging remains intact, lovingly recreated season after season by revival directors in whom the production has clearly struck a chord.

Its last two outings were stewarded by Shaun Rennie, who ensured the young Bohemians were as free-spirited as ever – the immediacy of their artistic temperament no doubt informed by Rennie’s experience directing the bohème-inspired musical Rent.

This final season of Edwards’ production has been mounted by first-time revival director Danielle Maas, and she too has made a fine job of it, ensuring the production still packs a punch.

Benjamin Rasheed and Opera Australia Children’s Chorus in OA’s La bohème 2025. Photo © Keith Saunders

Edwards’ decision to shift the action from 1830s Paris to Berlin in 1929 was more than skin-deep. Yes, it gave set designer Brian Thomson the opportunity to transform Café Momus into a glittering Spiegeltent-cum-Kit Kat Club, but Berlin under Gauleiter Joseph Goebbels also allowed Edwards to explore what she called the “careless existence” of the Bohemians (the apathy and decadence Tocqueville warned would lead to anarchy and despotism) and the needlessness of Mimì’s desecration.

Even in those pre-penicillin days, had Mimì the means or a job, her tuberculosis might have been treated at one of Germany’s Volksheilstatten – public sanatoria designed to treat lung conditions and return employees to the workforce.

Today, in an era of increasing authoritarianism as well as the denial of humanitarian aid and healthcare to the most vulnerable, this message is even more potent than when Edward’s production opened in 2011 – the uniformed girls’ marching band that enters Café Momus every bit as chilling as the Nazi sympathisers who reveal themselves in Kander & Ebb’s Cabaret and sing Tomorrow Belongs To Me.

Of course, a revival of La bohème is only as good as its cast, and for its last hurrah, Edwards’ production is graced with a mighty fine cohort of Puccini interpreters.

Olivia Cranwell and Rachelle Durkin make their house debuts as Mimì and Musetta – roles originally created by Takesha Meshé Kizart and Taryn Fiebig.

Olivia Cranwell and Kang Wang in OA’s La bohème 2025. Photo © Keith Saunders

In Act I, Cranwell succeeds in capturing Mimì’s wide-eyed youthfulness, later contrasting her exuberance with the wretchedness of someone who wouldn’t be noticed if she dropped dead in the middle of the street.

Cranwell is a great match for Kang Wang’s Rodolfo – Wang made his OA debut in the role in 2020.

Both demonstrate excellent dynamic control, with beautifully executed decrescendos adding poignancy to their delivery – Wang’s pianissimo almost Kaufmann-like on occasion.

Cranwell demonstrated her aptitude for Puccini in OA’s Il trittico last year as Giorgetta in Il tabarro. That performance put her in good stead to tackle Mimì here, and she couples the role’s inherent fragility with a powerful upper register to match Wang.

Durkin’s crystalline voice makes light work of Musetta’s waltz, Quando me’n vo, and she slips into the role’s well-worn shoes with ease. She even manages to add a healthy dose of humour and captures the vivacity of flappers like Jessie Matthews – her tabletop antics eliciting belly laughs from the audience.

She is also the perfect foil to Luke Gabbedy’s earthy Marcello – a role he’s also made his own. The moment he lifts her to catch snowflakes after their brawl in Act III is one of the most breathtaking moments in Edwards’ staging, although the sadomasochistic overtones that originally accompanied their fight have thankfully been toned down.

In Durkin’s hands, Musetta’s religiosity remains as genuine as it’s always been, and her prayer adds real gravitas to the opera’s final moments.

Rachelle Durkin in OA’s La bohème 2025. Photo © Keith Saunders

In the comic role of the landlord Benoît, Andrew Moran is back in fine form, his monologue driving the plot along as Puccini intended, rather than disrupting the flow of the drama as such character parts often do.

Shane Lowrencev is delightful in his portrayal of the musician Schaunard, and he does his best not to succumb to a frog in the throat, particularly in Act IV.

Making her OA debut, conductor Erina Yashima assuredly steers the Opera Australia Orchestra, doing justice to the score’s evocative scene painting and driving the opera to its tragic, inevitable conclusion.

Puccini liked to avoid dramatic punctuation and despite several pauses imposed by the eager cheers of the audience, Yashima succeeds in maintaining a naturalistic flow that steadily builds momentum and adheres to the composer’s flexible tempos, rhythmic changes and seamless transitions.

After 14 years of constant use, the rotating loges of Brian Thomson’s spectacular set may not be as well-oiled as they once were, and its doors may stubbornly remain open no matter how many times the protagonists try to shut them, but apart from such wear and tear, Gale Edwards’ production has worn well.

Judging by the opening-night audience’s reaction, it still brings a tear to the eye and, along with Baz Luhrmann’s earlier version, it sets a very high benchmark for future productions of La bohème to aim for.

We await Constantine Costi’s new staging for OA’s 70th anniversary with bated breath.

Opera Australia presents La bohème at the Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House until 20 September.