There's always a sense of happy anticipation at the start of the Opera Theatre of St. Louis season. That's especially true if opening night coincides, as it did on Saturday, with a soft spring evening when the masses of flowers on the grounds are in full bloom. The picnics on the lawn, the buzz of conversation during intermission — it all adds to a quintessential St. Louis experience.

There weren't a lot of surprises in the season's first opera, Giacomo Puccini's "La Boheme." It's a beloved and tuneful score, seen in the familiar and very workable production from 2001. The members of the cast were all talented, attractive and believeable.

At Saturday's performance, there was a sense that things hadn't jelled completely yet, that too many people were still settling into their roles, whether on or offstage. That's something that should improve quickly with another performance or two, but it took the edge off opening night.

Soprano Alyson Cambridge looked lovely, and sympathetic, as Mimi. She was reportedly suffering from allergies on Saturday; that would explain some uncharacteristic vocal issues, including a weak lower register. Tenor Derek Taylor was a handsome and likeable Rodolfo; he's got a good range, but one could wish for a little more spin and some Italianate ringing from the voice, particularly in his high notes.

Baritone Timothy Mix, a regular at OTSL since his 2004 debut in "Carmen," was a bluff and hearty Marcello, with a voice that's maturing beautifully. As Musetta, soprano Amanda Majeski was not quite alluring enough and a little too much the shrew; she has a fast vibrato that proved distracting.

Among the other garret-dwellers, baritone Eugene Chan brought the best sense of humor to the Bohemian antics; he has a lovely voice, with a honeyed tenor sound. Baritone Matthew Lau made his dual roles of the goatish landlord Benoit and Musetta's sugar daddy Alcindoro very different; this Alcindoro may have been foolish, but he was no fool.

The evening's artistic revelation came in the person of bass Steven Humes as Colline. He has real presence on stage, and a big, beautiful voice that's fresh, youthful and well-produced. Humes, a former Gerdine Young Artist, made the little aria to his coat into a moment to cherish.

Tenor Joshua Lindsay showed real promise as Parpignol, the toy-seller. In the brief-but-tricky Café Momus scene, Sandra Horst's children's chorus was solid, while the adults seemed a bit tentative in places; that should get better with repetition.

Director Tim Ocel has a good grasp of the story; his changes from the 2001 version generally clarified and improved the stage picture, and the additions to Erhard Rom's set helped with the sense of place.

One item that was eliminated from last time was the big moon; that's fine, but on Saturday night the bright Act I moonlight was switched on too abruptly. Otherwise, Robert Denton's lighting design was nicely done.

All was not the best in the pit, where conductor Ari Pelto made his debut. Things got off to a distressing start with a badly splattered French horn in the first few measures; at times there was unseemly messiness for such a familiar score, and more energy would have helped the drama onstage.