The Black Dog Music Library presents Giacomo Puccini's La Bohème, featuring Nicolai Gedda, Mirella Freni, and Mario Sereni and the Coro e Orchestra del Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, under the direction of Thomas Schippers. An Angel/EMI compact disc set, accompanied by the complete libretto with unabridged English translations and minute-by-minute commentary and information on the composer, the music, and the performance.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
Giacomo Puccini's La Bohème, a bittersweet story of love and loss among the youthful Bohemians of Paris's Left Bank, has long been a major portal to lyric theater. Countless operatic novices have been won over by its seductive combination of ravishing tunes and a classic, tragic love story: boy meets girl, boy wins girl, boy loses girl, girl dies. La Bohème is one of those seemingly foolproof operas that can survive any number of performance disasters, from dreadful directorial concepts to bad casting and abysmal conducting, and still come out all right. The story of the little seamstress Mimi; her lover, the poet Rodolfo; and the painter Marcello and his inflammatory relationship with Musetta, a lady of negotiable virtue, has staying power that is lifted by Puccini's melodic gift.
In the Black Dog Opera Library we have a useful new tool for operatic education. La Bohème, like the rest of the volumes in the Library, offers a good-looking, well-made book with an informative introductory essay about the composer and the work, lots of pictures, and a complete libretto in Italian and English. There is even a complete recording of the opera, featuring a cast of name singers. In this particular case, the recording is the 1963 EMI/Angel version that was remastered in 1991. The Italian soprano Mirella Freni--surely the outstanding Mimi of our time--sings irresistibly; she is well-matched by the strong Rodolfo of the great Swedish tenor Nicolai Gedda and the macho Marcello of Mario Sereni. One unfortunate weakness of this set is that the names of the other performers aren't given, and they ought to be. One will have to check a guide to recordings to discover that Mariella Adani is the Musetta, Ferruccio Mazzoli enacts the touching Colline, and Mario Basiola Jr. is Schaunard. All are energetically conducted by the late Thomas Schippers.
About the Author
Tosca is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini based on the Victorien Sardou's dramatic play La Tosca. Tosca is dramatic and beautiful. To this day it is one of the most frequently preformed operas.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This book has caused me to fall in love with opera.,
By A Customer
This review is from: La Bohème (Black Dog Opera Library) (Hardcover)
Having found opera intimidating I was looking for something to help me understand and appreciate the genre. This book exceeded all expectations. I intend to acquire the entire series.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Well-balanced and vividly theatrical "Boheme",
By
This review is from: La Bohème (Black Dog Opera Library) (Hardcover)
Looking for a good, moderately priced recording of "Boheme"? This is it. Schipper's conducts a delightfully theatrical performance. The young Freni is ideal: fresh and touching as Mimi should be. Gedda has a lighter, more youthful sound than Pavarotti or Bjoerling, and makes an excellent match for Freni. Good stereo sound. Excellent supporting cast: Sereni a charming, youthful Marcello. Other sets have great casts and great conductors (and you may want to augment your collection with Beecham's classic recording and Kleiber's live La Scala performance, but this one is a perfect introductory "Boheme", with its user-friendly book and libretto. Beautiful.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beautiful Book with Fine Recording,
By A Customer
This review is from: La Bohème (Black Dog Opera Library) (Hardcover)
I bought this book and CD set a few years ago to learn the opera LA BOHEME. The beautifully illustrated book includes a history of the opera and of Puccini's career, a clearly printed libretto in Italian and English, and information on the conductor and the principal singers. The recording is a fine one, dominated by the partnership of Nicolai Gedda and Mirella Freni as Rodolfo and Mimi. Gedda has a firm, pure tenor and a delightful sense of humor too often missing from portrayals of Rodolfo. I also like his sad sigh in the last act just before Mimi dies: it's a refreshing change from the outright weeping usually heard at this point in the opera. Freni lights up the performance with her luminous, youthful lyric soprano. The supporting cast are all-Italian and make a good team, and Maestro Thomas Schippers paces the opera nicely. This book and CD set is a wonderful bargain for anyone wanting to learn LA BOHEME. Check out the other Black Dog Opera Library sets, too.
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