Customer Reviews

Puccini - La Boheme / Pavarotti, D'Amico, Servile, Renee, Mattsey, D'Artegna, Magiera, Beijing Opera

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

 

 

Luciano Pavarotti owns the role of Rodolfo and here in this 1986 production filmed live in China, he proves it again! But, the rest of the cast was a pleasant surprise. Fiamma Izzo D'Amico was a wonderful Mimi in beautiful voice. A very pretty Madelyn Renee was Musetta, also in excellent voice. And that goes for Roberto Servile as Marcello; Jeffrey Mattsey as Schaunard; and, Francesco Ellero D'Artegna as Colline.

The acting was first rate, too. This production will not disappoint!

Other points of interest regarding this DVD: Pavarotti's father, Fernando, appears in this production as the non-speaking toy peddler in the street scene. According to Herbert Breslin (Pavarotti's manager for 36 years) in his book, The King and I, Madelyn Renee was Luciano's one and only voice student and his first "secretary." The trip to China is described in the book, which I also recommend.

Although this production was staged in Beijing by a relatively small opera company, it was full of life and brilliance at times. Pavarotti, here much older than a young struggling artist, still manages to act rather convincingly. His singing is superb. Mimi also possessed an excellent voice. All principals were excellent voices,and all could act well. The sets looked a bit haphazard, but this was a road show, in Beijing, and I was not really distracted by the lack of first-rate sets.
The duet at the end of Act 1, was electric--and the Beijing audience was tumultuous in their deserving applause. Overall, a very satisfying production, with the added electricity that comes with introducing western opera to a culture that has rarely had the opportunity to share in this most global of art forms.

I know I'm going to get some flack here, but hands-down, this is the best Boheme there is. Pavarotti is absolutely on fire. He's older yes, but his singing is impeccable. Best "Che Gelida Manina" I've ever heard - and I've got every one he ever released. D'Amico is also my favorite Mimi. She looks the part and has the most wonderful voice, emits Mimi's sadness and suffering to perfection. The rest of the cast is marvellous as well. The rapport between them is incredible. You feel like you're actually there.

The set is a bit sparse, but you won't even notice it. The singing and acting just sweeps you away. Who said Pav couldn't act? He is magnificent here... just oozing emotion. I've watched it a dozen times, and never a dry eye at the end. If you don't own this one, you're missing out on the best Rodolfo and Mimi, period. No question.

It is Pavarotti in one of his most celebrated roles. You cannot improve on the voice and technique of the greatest tenor of the century. Noone holds a candle to him. He is a joy to listen to and observe. His voice and his smile warm your heart. What a talent we lost. Thank goodness for DVD's such as these.
His supporting cast in this La Boheme in China is also excellent. I have several La Boheme's...with Freni, with Scotto, and this ranks right along with the initial Live from the Met in 1977. Buy it and enjoy it.......

I absolutely agree with all the positive comments made about this DVD version. Fiamma Izzo D'Amico's quiet beauty, superb singing and acting along with Pavarotti at his height make this DVD the one to watch again and again. Even the camera work is marvelous. The panning and scanning is in absolute synchronization with the flow of the music. So good in fact, that one is hardly aware of the presence of the camera. Was Giancarlo Menotti as "Director" responsible for the planning of this production? Credit for this marvelous performance also should go to the conducting of Leone Magiera. My only very minor criticism is the generally "soft" image quality which is probably due to its 1986 dating.

this is the opera that Jonathan Larson based his musical on. You will be amazed at the similarities in this opera which was first performed in 1896.

I don't usually watch foreign films, but I'm trying to be more cultured, and my girlfriend is one quarter Italian, so I thought I'd take in an Italian flick to see if I could understand why she's yelling at me all the time. Anyway, this movie was a real drag! First of all, the dude playing the romantic lead was big old tubby guy, totally unbelievable that Mimi would fall for him. Couldn't they have got Brad Pitt or Johnny Depp to play the romantic lead? Also, I don't know when David Hasselhoff got into foreign movies, but his italian accent was terrible! Also, the thing was subtitled like an old japanese godzilla movie, the actors would be going on and on really excited about something, and the subtitled would say like: "pass the salt." I think maybe they were saying something dirty, but the translator tried to cover it up because she was embarrassed. Anyway, the italians should stick with making pasta, and leave the movies to Hollywood.