Once again, Fresno Grand Opera gives us a sturdy and rousing production, this one a spirited "La Boheme," that features strong singing and acting. (It opened Friday night at the Saroyan Theatre and plays its second and final performance 2:30 p.m. Sunday.) The acclaimed Shu-Ying Li, who returns to the company in the role of Mimi after a memorable outing last season as Cio-Cio San in "Madama Butterfly," has an electric ability to connect emotionally with a large hall. She radiates warmth, and when playing a character such as Mimi, who on her deathbed literally gains great comfort when she's able to heat up her frozen hands, a thermal relationship with an audience is persuasive indeed.

Artistic director Joseph Bascetta wants to nudge the company in the direction of greater creative sophistication, something that can be tough for regional opera to do when staging traditional shows with sets and costumes rented as a package. In a first step for Fresno Grand Opera, Bascetta opted for greater creative control with the costumes. (Maribel Sorensen is the costume designer, and she has overseen a strong lineup.) Bascetta has set "Boheme" 100 years later than its traditional 1830s setting, and his goal with this "Hollywood 1930s look" is to give the opera a more snazzy, glamorous feel. The assumption, I think, is that a little glitz will help connect the title to younger audiences, something that Baz Luhrmann notably tried to do with a Broadway version of "Boheme" several years ago.

I'm not sure that this Fresno attempt at shaking things up will be noticed much by audiences. The gowns are gorgeous, that's for sure, especially the ones worn by the dolled-up Musetta (a vibrant Angela Turner Wilson). Her second-act blond bombshell ensemble -- a knockout floor-length shimmering white gown set off by an extravagant boa longer than a substantial python -- is grand and fun. However, if you look at the production as a whole, the costumes aren't enough by themselves to really cast the glamorous glow and make the indelible period time-stamp that I think Bascetta was trying to achieve.

The weakest creative element is Tom Wolfgang's lighting design, which never rises to any sort of glamorous impact. This is most noticeable in the second-act setting, which lacks the feel of nighttime sparkle and frivolity. And dramatic opportunities are lost in the third act, when Mimi hides in semi-darkness while eavesdropping on her lover's conversation, and the moment seems underplayed and ordinary rather than having the heightened intensity it deserves.

Still, there are some wonderful visual moments in this "Boheme," from the plaintive first-act finale (a hushed view of Rodolfo, sung by a powerful and charismatic Michael Hayes, in a tender embrace with Mimi bathed in moonlight) to the grand second act set in the Latin Quarter, complete with a well rehearsed opera chorus, the sweet appeal of the Bach Children's Choir, a couple of jugglers and even a welcome visit from a small contingent of the Fresno State Marching Band. Very nice spectacle, indeed.

Bascetta has some fun with the staging, too, particularly with Musetta strutting her stuff as she sings her classic second-act aria about how gosh-darn gorgeous she is. Starting at the top of the stairs, she faces away from the audience, hands on the rail behind her and back arched, and after turning around sweeps down into the crowd like a star of the silver screen. Her silly interactions with the rich dandy Alcindoro (played with foppish gusto by a finely comedic Stefanos Koroneos) pep up the scene even more.

The other principal singers are strong, including Marcelo Guzzo's lusty Marcello, Matthew Trevino's Colline and Timothy Lafontaine's Schaunard. When they gather around the sick Mimi, sung so beautifully by Shu-Ying Li, it's one of those transcendent moments in opera that would make the coldest heart rise by at least a few degrees.