Customer Reviews

Puccini - La Bohème / Alagna, Vaduva, Hampson, Swenson, Keenlyside, Ramey, Pappano

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

My admiration for this recording grows more every time I hear it. The agreed-upon classic set is the Bjoerling/De Los Angeles version, but I think this is the one I will listen when I want to hear the opera in beautiful, warm, digital (not to mention stereo) sound. I am not a fan of Roberto Alagna, but he sings quite well and with much commitment here. He manages some lovely piano phrases in the quartet. Leontina Vaduva initially struck me as light-voiced for Mimi, but I now feel there is a lovely, touching pathos in the delicate sound of her voice. It is a beautiful instrument, reservations aside. Thomas Hampson and Ruth Ann Swenson are completely marvelous as Marcello and Musetta, Hampson engaging, intelligent and wry, and Swenson sweeping through the score with a voice that puts most other recorded Musettas to shame. Pappano conducts a performance both lively and lush, and all supporting roles are strongly sung. This is the one to have if you want a good digital recording of the opera.

The cast on this recording is superb. Roberto Alagna makes an endearing Rodolfo. His sweetly poetic rendering of "Che gelida manina" is a highlight. Leontina Vaduva makes a delicate voiced Mimi in the tradition of Ileana Cotrubas and Bidu Sayao. The smouldering chemistry between Thomas Hampson and Ruth Ann Swenson lights up this set. Swenon's Musetta will utterly captivate you. She is spectacular in the cafe scene and touching in the final Act. An added bonus to this set is Samuel Ramey's warm voiced Colline. Wonderful ensemble work and vivid portrayals of all of the characters. The final scene never fails to bring tears to my eyes.

The dynamic range on this CD drove me crazy. All of the intimate scenes are done at such a low volume, that you have to crank your player up to hear it at all. Then any fortissimo knocks you across the room. While it sounds like a very good performance, I found I had to keep my hand on the volume control the entire time. I even returned the CD and got another, thinking it was the pressing.

this is a good version of la boheme. what sets it apart is the tenderness between rodolfo and mimi, especially in the garret and breakup scenes. the other highlight is swenson's musetta. she's flighty without being girlish like too many musetta's are. vaduva's is a sweet, delicate voiced mimi, just perfect for the role. the only negative is she has problems hitting her high notes. her voice isn't always steady, and she has a tendency to become shrill in the higher registers. alagna is a good rodolfo, but not in the class of bjorling and pavarotti.

a worthy version of boheme. my favorite is still the beecham with de los angeles and bjorling in the lead roles. but this is one of the better modern versions.

This is rated one of the best if not the best performance of La Boheme but the fluctuation of the sound dynamics ruined it for me. In order to listen to this recording, you must constantly raise and lower the volume on your stereo. It would have been preferable and more pleasurable for me to have bought another performance of La Boheme rather than this one.

I personally think that Alagna is one of the most convincing "Rodolfo" of our time. I've listen him singing Rodolfo and have both of his" La Boheme" recordings. Overall, I'd say I like the one with his wife Gheorghiu simply because I like Gheorghiu's voice A LOT. Anyway, this recording is worth listening for the final scene where Rodolfo is crying for Mimi~~~! This scene on this recording is the BEST out of all the "La Boheme" recording I have. Everytime I hear Alagna's Rodolfo on this recording, he makes me cry! Really emotional La Boheme!

Naturally, the 'reference'-La Boheme is the recording with De Los Angeles en Bjorling. If you are looking a recent recording, though, this might be the one to choose. Alagna and Vaduva are commanding and sound pleasant. Keenleyside and Swenson really give this recording the edge: I was swept away by the sheer beauty of her voice in Quando m'en vo. I prefer this one to the Nagano: his orchestration is more three-dimensional, but the leading roles are quite uncomfortable to listen to.