San Diego Opera kicked of its 60th season Friday with Giacomo Puccinis La bohème, which is not only the same opera the company launched with in 1965, its also the the most-produced opera in company history.

The reason why is easy. Puccinis lush melodies and leitmotifs are instantly recognizable, the story is packed with passion and tragedy and its short (2 hours, including intermission) by operatic standards. As a result, its a very popular introductory piece for first-time operagoers.

This season, San Diego Operas three mainstage productions are each being presented in a single weekend, rather than spread over two weekends. This requires the double-casting of the lead roles to give the singers time for vocal rest between performances, since they sing without amplification in the nearly 3,000-seat hall.

I attended Fridays performance, which featured soprano Kathleen OMara as Mimi and tenor Joshua Blue as Rodolfo. They reprise their roles on Sunday, Nov. 3. Saturdays performance features soprano Sarah Tucker as Mimi and César Delgado as Rodolfo.

Tenor Joshua Blue as Rodolfo and soprano Kathleen OMara as Mimi in San Diego Operas season-opening production of Puccinis La bohème. (Karli Cadel)

On Friday, OMara was the vocal standout, with rich, creamy vocals that shined especially in her heartbreaking third-act Addio aria. Blue was also rock-solid in his performance, with power in the high end of his vocal range and robustness in the center.

Another standout was Latonia Moore as the fiery and flirtatious singer Musetta. San Diego Opera audiences are accustomed to seeing Moore in darker roles, and this allowed her to comically cut loose. The humor was welcome in director Keturah Stickanns dark production, which re-created the socially distanced staging she debuted at San Diego Operas outdoor drive-in opera production in 2020.

Rather than the traditional staging of La bohème, which unfolds over the course of one year in 1830s Paris, Stickanns very effective concept is set in post-WWII Paris, where the writer/poet Rodolfo is in his study, penning his memoir about his pre-war relationship with the consumptive seamstress Mimi, and their fellow Bohemian artist friends.

Mimi materializes in his memories and onstage — slowly moving around the stage barefoot and in a pale dress and makeup — bathed in a ghostly spotlight by lighting designer Chris Rynne. Whenever the ethereal and expressionless Mimi moves past electric lights, they flicker. And whenever Rodolfo reaches for her, they cannot touch. Her ghostly presence, and Blues heart-wrenching performance as the still-grieving Rodolfo, add extra layers of sadness to the story.

Baritone Leroy Davis was warm, sympathetic and funny as Marcello, the painter and often-frustrated lover of Musetta. Bass Harold Wilson, as the philosopher Colline, gives a wonderfully mournful goodbye solo to his overcoat. Baritone Søren Pedersen brings sparkle to his playful performance as the musician Schaunard, and baritone Michael Sokol adds some laughs as Musettas clueless sugar daddy Alcindoro.

The San Diego Opera Chorus, led by chorus master Bruce Stasyna, performed not onstage but near the first five rows of seats in the orchestra area of the Civic Theatre. There was no childrens chorus. This staging choice may have been because of the intimate nature of Tim Wallaces multilevel scenic design, which is dominated by Rodolfos office, some colorful panels for the Cafe Momus scene and painterly projections that alternated between the rooftops of Paris (representing the past) and street-level row houses (the present).

This production features the company debut of conductor Lidiya Yankovskaya, who led the San Diego Symphony on Friday in a performance of the score that was both lively and serene.

The opera is sung in Italian with simultaneous English and Spanish translations on a video screen above the stage. While this is a wonderful way to help expand the companys English and Spanish-speaking audiences, I was sorry to see that the names of the characters singing the arias, duets and quartets were not included on the supertitles. Nor were there additional supertitles provided when two characters were singing at the same time. Its a missed storytelling opportunity, especially for opera novices who may be dipping their toes into opera for the first time with La bohème.

‘La bohème’

When: 7:30 p.m. Nov. 2; 2 p.m. Nov. 3

Where: San Diego Civic Theatre, 1100 Third Ave., downtown

Tickets: $65-$270

Online: sdopera.org