It was in this context that I had the opportunity to witness the election of the CPC members at colline-level.
The most complete vocal and dramatic portrayal came from the charismatic bass-baritone John Relyea as Colline.
Mr. Tozzi's last performance with the Met was in 1975, as Colline in Puccini's "Bohème".
He appeared in concert in 1946 and made a spectacular opera debut the same year as Colline in La Bohème.
The bass-baritone Matthew Burns as Colline and the baritone Brian Mulligan as Schaunard made strong contributions.
They also eat "a poem" of a chicken, as Colline sings, and stew — a sumptuous evening in contrast to their friend Mimi's consumptive and tragic death.
The act was prophetic: In his many outings as Colline, the threadbare philosopher in "La Bohème," Mr. Tozzi would sing "Vecchia Zimarra," an aria about pawning his coat.
The hardy young American baritone Edward Parks, as Schaunard, and the solid Chinese bass-baritone Shenyang, as Colline, completed the quartet of wise-cracking Bohemian friends.
The otherwise solid cast includes Roberto Aronica as Rodolfo, Richard Zeller as Marcello, Tigran Martirossian as Colline, Sebastian Catana as Schaunard and Zvetelina Vassileva as the perky Musetta.
Ludovic Tézier contributed a strong portrayal of Marcello, with Oren Gradus as Colline, Quinn Kelsey as Schaunard and Paul Plishka as both Benoit and Alcindoro.
When I first went to work at the Colline, people said, 'You remind us of why we became actors.' For the French, there is a tradition of using art, drama and painting to create an interpretation of human society".
