Let's start with suitably lowered expectations. Although this is the 'B' of the famous ABCD of opera, there are very many people who find its story over-sentimental. Tosca (which I adore) aside, I am not a huge fan of Puccini.
The stars are Mirella Freni, whom I quite like, although not madly, and Luciano Pavarotti, about whom I have decidedly mixed feelings. Filmed in 1989 before decline set in with a vengeance, his voice is unmistakable, even though past the pinnacle of his career. Technically brilliant with ringing clarity. But it has never done anything for me emotionally, despite my cerebral acceptance of brilliance.
My major problem with Pav is his acting, or, rather lack of. His face is a blank canvass awaiting nuance. He has three expressions - an innocent childlike smile, a frown, and the 'I'm singing my lungs out' face. The last does not belong in opera, where, generally, you're not supposed to be aware they are singing. I see Pavarotti, not Rodolfo the Bohemian poet. I also hear Pavarotti, which isn't how it should be, but is not necessarily a bad thing.
Nothing happens musically for the first 19 minutes, except for brief orchestral hints of the arias that are to come. My problem with this opera is that I see it as merely as an excuse for a string of showstopping arias. And, to be honest, I also think there is only one truly great aria - Che gelida manina, which is a real showstopper.
I would advise listening with eyes closed, or focused downscreen at the subtitles, rather than looking at the sombre frown mixing with inane grin and taught stage directions. He sings it so well and brings the house down. Pavarotti, star of the LP/CD age. We are now in the DVD age.
Mirella Freni is just how I imagine Mimi. Unfortunately, in this video, there is sometimes a hardness mixed with the something of her voice. However, I am prepared to believe that she is feeling those thoughts, rather then merely repeating the lines. And I do think that O soave fanciulla is a delightful duet.
Act 2 is set on Christmas Eve in the Latin Quarter. Great crowd scene, very well staged to give the impression of a street market, and musically interesting. I especially like the children's chorus!
Wonderful bitching session of a duet between Musetta and Marcello, with her elderly lover intervening. This is my favourite of the four acts, with Sandra Pacetti superb and Gino Quilico very good.
Act 3 is dour, reflected in both the music and the scenery. It is necessary for the drama, but I'm aftraid much of the music fails to do it for me. the exception is the closing duet, which sounds really quite something - two perfectly matched voices (of Pavarotti and Freni), with the characters of Marcello & Musetta coming in from time to time. Again, best not to watch Pav; just listen.
Just the one death in this particular opera, and unfortunately, neither violent nor grisly, but the tear jerker of TB. Unfortunately, my tears refused to be jerked. Some people actually leave before Act 4 because they can't stand the bathos and over-souped sentimentality. And she takes a heck of a long time to expire - twenty minutes, by my reckoning.
This particular DVD is 4:3 ratio, thus wasting some real estate on my screen. If you blow it up to cinema, you lose the subtitles. Otherwise, it's good for TV. It's directed for video by Brian Large, who's quite simply in a class of his own. Bizarrely, there are curtain calls at the end of each of the four Acts. In total, the opera runs under two hours. Maybe curtain-calling so often gets to spin the entertainment out a bitter longer so the audience thinks it has received value-for -money.
Armed with my entire classical (And most of my pop) collection now databased, I seek out individual arias from La Boheme on various artist and general compilation discs. Not at all to my surprise, most of the singers only attempt Che gelida manina. And here is my drive-through of those in my collection.
Beniamino Gigli - I don't especially like - to me there's very little feeling, although the voice has a certain something. I'm not sure what. Not only sobbing, for which he isn't often derided today. A musicality, perhaps. Also superb enunciation. I'm not really a Gigli fan. My father was.
Plácido singing it on Domingo sings Caruso in a 1972 recording from the London Phil under Solti. I just love the richness of his timbre, but it's far from my favurite aria of his, and to be honest, it's far from being the best in my collection.
Alfredo Kraus with the National Philharmonic under James Levine is Nothing special. A voice I am not really familiar with, but I suspect that I am indifferent to.
I have two further versions by Pav. One, in a 1967 live recording in Rome isn't so good, but not bad. The other is a 1972 recording with the Berliner Phil under von Karajan, which sounds even better than the one on the DVD. His squillo is superb, and it just sounds excellent. This is followed by O soave fanciulla - with Mirella Freni, again, who sounds gorgeous, and Rolando Panerai as Marcello, and In un coupe...O Mimi, tu piu non torni.
But my favourite of all, a little to my surprise, is Rolando Villazon's version for entirely subjective version. As the months go by I am falling increasingly more in love with his voice and just pray that I get to see him in Rigoletto next July. And in loads of things in the next 20-30 years!
Then we have Callas singing Si. Me chiamano Mimi and Donde lieta usci. This is with the Philharmonia under Serafin from 1954. Callas's is a voice you either like or dislike; I happen to like her. But I think I prefer Freni in this.
For the opera overall, on CD, the Puccini: 1972 Karajan set is recommended by Opera Nights as the best stereo version, although having only recently discovered Jussi Bj�rling I'm tempted to get this Puccini: mono set with Bj�rling, albeit reportedly not at his best, and de los Angeles.
There is a longish thread on rmo on what is the best Boheme. After the first fifty posts or so, it goes a little into thread-drift, notably on the subject of Leoncavallo's less well-known version. But the consensus seems to be either the Pavarotti/Freni/Karajan or the Bj�rling/de los Angeles/Beecham, with recommendations coming in for the DVD with Teresa Stratas and Jose Carreras
Having dissed Aida and La Boh�me, the next opera up for review is Carmen. Only time will tell what I think of that...!
Madmusings - failing to 'get it', one opera at a time...
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