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This DVD is a recording of the performance of La Boheme at the Met on April 5/2008 which was transmitted in HD worldwide. The first night was on 3/29th with the same cast, and the reviews in NY papers and the one here by Ivy Lin were based on the the opening night performance, not the one used on this disc. I attended the opening and agree with most of Ms. Lin's observations, i.e.: Vargas ' voice being "lyric,bright,ardent" hitting
the high C in Che Gelida Manina "delicately"; Gheorghiu's aggressiveness and sluttishness, and her being out of sync in her Act1 aria. I do not agree with her claim that Vargas was too chubby and phlegmatic to be a believable Rodolfo, but I tend to agree with her comments about the Mimi. I cannot blame Ms. Lin because I myself found Ms.Gheorghiu to be trying hard to appear too romantic and taken with her man. She practically mauled him at the Cafe Momus with her exuberance. I did not attend the April 5th performance but I listened to the PBS radio broadcast and saw the moviecast of the event,and was very happy with the positive changes and improvement over the opening night performance. The excessive touching, smooching and other distractions were toned down, and the musical matters went on smoothly.
This disc has outstanding video and audio worthy of the Met's 50-yr old classic Zeffirelli production with an ideal casting of Angela Gheorghiu and Ramon Vargas in the principal roles, supported by a fine mix of veterans and newcomers to the Met. Everyone in this line up is gifted with enormous talent, rich voice and fine musicality. The conductor is a young but highly talented Italian who certainly knows his Puccini, and one who knows how to accommodate his singers' ideas without sacrificing the integrity of the music. True, he used some rubatos and expansive tempos here and there but always to enhance rather than diminish the musical and dramatic values. He supported his singers sensitively and the orchestera responded beautifully.
For some time, I was hoping the two singers would be cast together in any opera, not just Boheme, because I always believe that their voices are a perfect match in size, coloration, expressiveness and range. Plus, they possess truly beautiful voices, musical intelligence, innate musicality and elegant singing style. All of these qualities are evident on this disc. What I was not sure about was their chemistry together. Having seen the close-up of their facial expressions and subtle dramatic expressions, the total commitment and involvement throughut the opera by both artists and even split-second reactions, I do not know of any pair that could match such chemistry. Just incredible! They seem to inspire each other. Now I can understand why Gheorghiu, in Acts1&2, tried to convince everyone including the audience, her man and herself that she was REALLY in love with him. She was going to use this bit of realism to help her go through her slow death in Acts3&4 with searing intensity and poignancy. And Vargas responded with such convincing sincerity that one cannot help but feel for the unfortunate lovers.Gheorghiu has been acclaimed for her acting, in addition to her singing, throughout her career, but it's hard to tell who the better actor is of the two here.
How about the singing ? Stunning, mesmerizing, magical, heartbreaking, ethereal. Stunning was Vargas when he discarded his lyric, bright-toned Che Gelida Manina on opening night and used his burnished, dark-hued spinto of late while preserving his customary warmth and sweetness. Mesmerizing was Gheorghiu in her Act1 aria with the movement of a graceful ballerina. Magical was the expansive Soave Fanciulla with Vargas visibly stunned at the sight of the radiant, beautiful Mimi bathed in moonlight and ushering in the sweeping splendor of this music with his magnificent sound. Heartbreaking was Mimi's farewell to the love of her life. Ethereal was Vargas' "alla stagion dei fior ", ethereal as the snow flakes falling on the lovers at the end of Act3.
So, whose BOHEME is this ? Is it Mimi's or Rodolfo's ? Buy this DVD and find out. Enjoy the quest for the answer.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Puccini: La Boheme (Live from the Met) (2008)
The Metropolitan Opera's acclaimed Live in High-Definition series, which projects live performances into theaters across the globe, has met with unprecedented critical and commercial success and has made opera convenient and affordable to millions of viewers worldwide. Now, EMI Classics is proud to collaborate with The Met to release 6 new DVDs made from these broadcast performances.Puccini's immortal classic of love and loss, with Franco Zeffirelli's sumptuous, iconic production and Nicola Luisotti's expressive conducting. Angela Gheorghiu, the leading Puccini soprano of our time, reprises the role of Mimì, while tenor Ramón Vargas gives a sensitive reading of Rodolfo. All these forces combine for a truly definitive performance of this beloved opera!
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