Customer Reviews

Puccini: La Bohème

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4 star:		(1)
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As far as putting "La Boheme" across as a cohesive piece of theater, this recording is superior to Karajan's far more celebrated and commercially successful Pavarotti/Freni pairing for Decca/London. This "Boheme" emerges as an ensemble effort despite the star power of its line up, and is also one of Solti's most successful Italian opera recordings. The long Mimi/Rodolfo scene that closes Act 1, with its two arias and duet, is seamless, beautifully sung, and lovingly interpreted. The affectionately calm yet sexy ending of "O suave fanciulla" is here sung as written with Domingo taking the low E instead of interjecting a high C, and is recorded from an appropriate distance, as the lovers steal off into the cold Christmas night. These are two young people sweetly holding on to each other for warmth, basking in the gentle glow of new love. Contrast this with the Karajan recording, with Freni and Pavarotti bellowing out fabulous, but innapropriate, high Cs in a star turn more about two superstars than about Puccini's young, tender, doomed lovers.

Caballe is simply ravishing, and sounds perfectly cast in a role that she was not known for onstage. She avoids the preciousness and aloof emotion that creep into some of her other recordings, and is consistently fragile and touching. She inhabits the role from start to finish, and is genuinely heartbreaking in Acts 3 and 4. The young Domingo is lyrical, virile, and every bit the impetuous young poet. Pavarotti and Carreras are vocally more suited to the part in both weight and color, but Domingo is still quite good.

Milnes and Blegen have lots of chemistry, and the second couple emerges, as they should, as the stars of Act 2. Milnes sometimes does indulge in the covered, swallowed top notes that mar many of his recordings. Blegen has a lot more to offer than many recorded Musettas, and she is never afraid of not being pretty. Musetta's Waltz is not the "audition piece" it is in the hands of many, but the campy mating call that Puccini wrote. Raimondi contributes a wonderfully introspective Coat Aria in Act 4.

Often criticized for his heavy hand, Solti maintains a light touch with the contrasting extremes of comic, sentimental, and tragic. He finds the individual identity of each of the four acts, and still maintains a cohesive whole.

What this recording sometimes lacks - and the oversung Karajan version has in spades - is the sense of being deliriously overwhelmed by its own outpouring of glorious music making. Still, this is a fine version of the opera, and dramatically more satisfying than most. Given its mid-price reissue, a very good choice, and an absolute must for Caballe fans.

I agree Karajan's Boheme is wimpy. Who wants a wimpy set? This is the ultimate La Boheme. Domingo is at his youthful peak!! Domingo may not be the high note tenor par excellence, but he is the ultimate tenor par excellence who can produce high notes more powerful than the King of High Cs. Caballe produces ravishing tone and incredible floated pianissimi as Mimi. Milnes is nothing short of amazing. Forget the Karajan set, this is the ultimate La Boheme!! Yes, red-blooded Bohemians flesh and blood. Not a bunch of wimpy guys in Karajan's set (in Karajan's set, you almost feel like they will shriek when they see a rat).

I purchased this recording to become more familiar with this opera before seeing it live at the Met in January 2011. (First time at the opera)
I began my search for this recording based on my spouses love for Placido Domingo and when it arrived and he discovered that Montserrat
Caballe and his favorite baritone Sherrill Milnes were part of the cast.... let's just say he was very pleased. The quality of this recording is
incredible and the singing is suberb in every way.

Because of the popularity and prominence of "La Bohème" today you might be surprised that it was not received particularly well when it first premiered. However, we love it for many great reasons. The music is beautifully done, and Puccini's art keeps the drama full of motion and involves us emotionally. We love a sad love story and few are more passionate or more sad than the love of Rodolfo the penniless writer and Mimì consumptive seamstress.

It is not important for the plot of an opera to surprise us in dramatic twists. What is important is that it surprises us with the way the music draws us in. There are moments of surpassing beauty in this opera. The aria when Rodolfo sings to Mimì that her tiny had is so cold is just famous as is her reply. Their simultaneous exclamations of love a bit later is stunning in its beauty. It is common for people to weep at this point in the opera. I find it hard to keep my eyes dry when Rodolfo exclaims "In you I behold the dream I would always dream" and she sings "Love alone commands me". It isn't the words, it is the music that transports these words to the heavens.

The crowd scenes are delightful and Rodolfo is surrounded by colorful friends not the least of whom is Musetta. She is the most dynamic character in the opera and does the most for Mimì at the last and let's the dying girl believe the credit belongs to Rodolfo, who finds himself prostrate over his lost love crying her name in agony.

This opera is less than two hours long and requires fewer resources to perform than many great operas, so that also may contribute to its frequent appearances.

This recording is terrific, is priced affordably, and has wonderful notes and libretto in Italian and English.

Strongly recommended. If you want to learn more about opera, this is an easy and enjoyable place to start.

The glory of this set is the superb achievement of La Superba, Monteserrat Caballe in the role of Mimi. She sings with unrivalled Puccinian mastery that she is above all her competition. Domingo & Milnes at this stage of their career produces glorious ringing tone throughout - truly balm to the ears. Solti's conducting is beautiful and persuasive and the sound quality is the best possible. One of te great La Boheme's on record, standing shoulder to shoulder, head to head with the very best. Strongly recommended set.

This is a lovely opera that I play often during the day and find myself humming along with it. Such beautiful music and such a sad story.

To my ears this is the finest recording of La Boheme ever made -- both the singing and Solti's conducting are outstanding. I have never been a fan of Caballe, but I must admit that she is superb in this recording as are Domingo and Milnes. If you like this opera -- as most opera lovers do -- please treat yourself to this recording while it is still available.

I've never heard a recording of La Boheme like this one. This recording has the ultimate sound Puccini intended for, unlike Karajan's rather wimpy one which is saved by Luciano Pavarotti's and Mirella Freni's great voices. This recording is the ultimate recording of La Boheme. It even has moments never heard in other recordings of this opera. Everything in the orchestra is heard, there are some added thunderdrums during Colline's appearance in the first act that are never heard in the Leinsdorf recording. There are big drums during almost every orchestral interlude (that is unless the music is slower). I detest James Levine's recording because that has the most pathetic La Boheme orchestra ever, and like Erich Leinsdorf's and Herbert Von Karajan's recordings, that recording can only be saved by the singers. This is the most exciting La Boheme recording ever! During the end of the second act, the drums sound extremely loud, so that the listener could actually hear how Puccini wanted it. This is how the composer intended it! The sound quality on this recording is even better than on other RCA recordings. If anybody wants La Boheme, this is the only recording to get because of it's ultimate orchestra, and ultimate singers with ultimate voices. Absolutely all of Sir Georg Solti's recordings are extremely loud, and he conducts the loudest and most ultimate orchestras on earth! But this is the best recording of Sir Georg Solti's ever.

This one recording continues being very controversial among the professional critique and opera fans. Almost contemporary of the famous recording Karajan-Freni-Pavarotti, it forgets sometimes to mention that this one of Solti-Caballé-Domingo win a GRAMMY in its opportunity , and is not of surprising that beech like that been. At first, it is amazing that the great Solti, which was standing out in works of nerve and vigor as Verdi and Wagner, was approaching this opera quintessence of the lyricism, the intimate poetry and the Puccini's pathetic tenderness. The truth is that was cashing in on the scenes corals and boisterous, including those of the Bohemian masculine quartet, with particular efficiency for the fourth act; being molded with office in Mimi-Caballé's pianissimos and underlining the loving scenes suitably. This disc is notable also for being the only complete recording of this work so loved by Plácido Domingo. In fact, he always said that he did not take up office the Tristan for supporting Rodolfo's role.And though, in the first act he does not play with the Pavarotti's exuberance , in all his participation it dominates the credibility with special emphasis in the third and fourth act that they are his with property. Unforgettable it is his pain sung and shouted like it owes, when Mimi, Puccini's girlfriend dies. This recording is adored by someone by Monserrat Caballé, though evidently she does not reach Mirella Freni's identification with the role, and stands out especially for the beauty of hers voice. The Bohemians and Museta are very well represented with mention emphasized for Milnes-Marcello and Raimondi-Colline. The sound is comfortable with differences between the discs, the stereo effects are used well and the London Filarmonic Orchestra is effective in this wonderfull score. Yes, obtains this disc.