Puccini - La Bohème / Alagna · Gheorghiu · Scano · Keenlyside · D'Arcangelo · Di Candia · Chailly

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Get ready to hear Puccini's star-crossed bohemians as you've never heard them before. To be sure, not only is La Bohème probably the most widely performed opera, but it's one of the most frequently recorded, from the superb account under Thomas Beecham to Karajan's famous Decca version (still a best seller after nearly 30 years). And it's precisely because of the opera's popularity that clichés and overromanticized distortions have settled around performance practice. Riccardo Chailly's goal in making yet another Bohème was to clear these away, using a new critical edition of the score and respecting Puccini's own stated views on how the music should sound, how the drama should unfold. The result is a profoundly moving work of restoration that deserves to join the ranks of its formidable predecessors.

To begin with, this Bohème features a young cast--all in their 30s--of some of today's most characterful singers who together convey the necessary vital sense of ensemble. Angela Gheorghiu and Roberto Alagna (the couple first met performing the opera at Covent Garden) bring overwhelming chemistry to Mimì and Rodolfo. For once, we hear the arias of their famous encounter in Act I not as set pieces but as part of a larger momentum in which both are swept up. Alagna, with a thrillingly full sound to his top range, portrays a many-faceted Rodolfo, from dreamy poet and ardent lover to the man broken by loss, while Gheorghiu's radiantly sympathetic Mimì is a study in the use of subtle vocal coloring to dramatic effect. Elisabetta Scano sings an unusually light-voiced Musetta, as transparent as a boy soprano--a fascinating contrast to Simon Keenlyside's robust and charismatic Marcello.

Chailly's urgent, unsentimental approach to the score is, quite simply, a revelation, and the story moves forward briskly. His insight into tempo relation between the "big" numbers and transitional sections highlights Puccini's effect of comic high spirits mingling with intense pathos. Whether it's the aching solo cello in "Mi chiamano Mimì" or the impeccable diminuendo of the final tragic bars, Chailly's well-known mastery of detail foregrounds a lucid variety of colors and dynamics from La Scala's orchestra--its first recording of the opera in more than 30 years--that are often neglected in the music. The result is categorically a Bohème for our time. --Thomas May

Puccini - La Bohème / Alagna · Gheorghiu · Scano · Keenlyside · D'Arcangelo · Di Candia · Chailly, Music, Giacomo Puccini, Riccardo Chailly, Roberto Alagna, Angela Gheorghiu, Orchestra e Coro del Teatro alla Scala di Milano, Simon Keenlyside, Elisabetta Scano, Ildebrando D'Arcangelo, Roberto Di Candia, Classical, Classical Music, Italian Romantic Opera, Opera, Opera / Operetta / Oratorio, Opera/Operetta
Puccini - La Bohème / Alagna · Gheorghiu · Scano · Keenlyside · D'Arcangelo · Di Candia · Chailly
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • just a budding opera listener
  • Disgusting... what a waste of money.
  • Better for less
  • Bets La Boheme. Period.
  • Not to be missed... This is the future of Boheme!!!
 Puccini - La Bohème / Alagna · Gheorghiu · Scano · Keenlyside · D'Arcangelo · Di Candia · Chailly
Giacomo Puccini , Riccardo Chailly , Roberto Alagna , Angela Gheorghiu , Orchestra e Coro del Teatro alla Scala di Milano , Simon Keenlyside , Elisabetta Scano , Ildebrando D'Arcangelo , and Roberto Di Candia
Manufacturer: Decca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

All Works by PucciniAll Works by Puccini | Puccini, Giacomo | ( P ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
Gheorghiu, AngelaGheorghiu, Angela | ( G ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
GeneralGeneral | Classical | Styles | Music
GeneralGeneral | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
Romantic (c.1820-1910)Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
ItalianItalian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
OperettasOperettas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
The Decca Records StoreThe Decca Records Store | Specialty Stores | Music
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ASIN: B00001IVPD
Release Date: 1999-09-14

Tracks:

  1. La Boheme: Quadro primo: Questo Mar Rosso mi ammollisce e assidera (Marcello)
  2. La Boheme: Quadro primo: Pensier profondo! (Colline)
  3. La Boheme: Quadro primo: Legna!-Sigari!-BordRodolfo) (Marcello) (Colline)
  4. La Boheme: Quadro primo: Si puBenoit)
  5. La Boheme: Quadro primo: Io resto per terminar larticolo di fondo (Rodolfo)
  6. La Boheme: Quadro primo: Chi - Scusi (Rodolfo) (Mimi)
  7. La Boheme: Quadro primo: Si sente meglio? (Rodolfo)
  8. La Boheme: Quadro primo: Che gelida manina (Rodolfo)
  9. La Boheme: Quadro primo: Si. Mi chiamano MimMimi)
  10. La Boheme: Quadro primo: O soave fanciulla (Rodolfo)
  11. La Boheme: Quadro secondo: Aranci, datteri, caldi i marroni! (Venditori)
  12. La Boheme: Quadro secondo: Chi guardi? (Rodolfo)
  13. La Boheme: Quadro secondo: Viva Parpignol! (Museta)
  14. La Boheme: Quadro secondo: Oh! - Essa! - Musetta! (Rodolfo) (Schaunard) (Colline) (Marcello)
  15. La Boheme: Quadro secondo: Quando me nvusetta)
  16. La Boheme: Quadro secondo: Chi lha richiesto? (Colline)

Tracks:

  1. La Boheme: Quadro terzo: Ohlle guardie! Aprite! (Spazzaturai)
  2. La Boheme: Quadro terzo: Sa dirmi, scusi, qualosteria (Mimi)
  3. La Boheme: Quadro terzo: Mim- Speravo di trovari qui (Marcello) (Mimi)
  4. La Boheme: Quadro terzo: Marcello, Finalmente! (Rodolfo)
  5. La Boheme: Quadro terzo: Mim una civetta (Rodolfo)
  6. La Boheme: Quadro terzo: Mim tanto malata (Rodolfo)
  7. La Boheme: Quadro terzo: Donde lieta uscl tuo grido damore (Mimi)
  8. La Boheme: Quadro terzo: Dunque roprio finita! (Rodolfo)
  9. La Boheme: Quadro quarto: In un coup(Marcello)
  10. La Boheme: Quadro quarto: O Mimtu pi torni (Rodolfo)
  11. La Boheme: Quadro quarto: Gavotta!-Minuetto!-Pavanella!-Fandango! (Colline) (Marcello) (Rodolfo) (Schaunard)
  12. La Boheme: Quadro quarto: Cim(Musetta)
  13. La Boheme: Quadro quarto: Vecchia zimarra, senti (Colline)
  14. La Boheme: Quadro quarto: Sono andati? 'Fingevo di dormire (Mimi)
  15. La Boheme: Quadro quarto: Che avvien?-Nulla. Sto bene (Schaunard) (Mimi)

Amazon.com

Get ready to hear Puccini's star-crossed bohemians as you've never heard them before. To be sure, not only is La Bohème probably the most widely performed opera, but it's one of the most frequently recorded, from the superb account under Thomas Beecham to Karajan's famous Decca version (still a best seller after nearly 30 years). And it's precisely because of the opera's popularity that clichés and overromanticized distortions have settled around performance practice. Riccardo Chailly's goal in making yet another Bohème was to clear these away, using a new critical edition of the score and respecting Puccini's own stated views on how the music should sound, how the drama should unfold. The result is a profoundly moving work of restoration that deserves to join the ranks of its formidable predecessors.

To begin with, this Bohème features a young cast--all in their 30s--of some of today's most characterful singers who together convey the necessary vital sense of ensemble. Angela Gheorghiu and Roberto Alagna (the couple first met performing the opera at Covent Garden) bring overwhelming chemistry to Mimì and Rodolfo. For once, we hear the arias of their famous encounter in Act I not as set pieces but as part of a larger momentum in which both are swept up. Alagna, with a thrillingly full sound to his top range, portrays a many-faceted Rodolfo, from dreamy poet and ardent lover to the man broken by loss, while Gheorghiu's radiantly sympathetic Mimì is a study in the use of subtle vocal coloring to dramatic effect. Elisabetta Scano sings an unusually light-voiced Musetta, as transparent as a boy soprano--a fascinating contrast to Simon Keenlyside's robust and charismatic Marcello.

Chailly's urgent, unsentimental approach to the score is, quite simply, a revelation, and the story moves forward briskly. His insight into tempo relation between the "big" numbers and transitional sections highlights Puccini's effect of comic high spirits mingling with intense pathos. Whether it's the aching solo cello in "Mi chiamano Mimì" or the impeccable diminuendo of the final tragic bars, Chailly's well-known mastery of detail foregrounds a lucid variety of colors and dynamics from La Scala's orchestra--its first recording of the opera in more than 30 years--that are often neglected in the music. The result is categorically a Bohème for our time. --Thomas May

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars just a budding opera listener.......2006-09-03

Interesting to read all of the succeeding reviews. I would seem to be exposing my lack of musical judgement by admitting that I find Scano's performance exhilarating -- she radiates a tartness & brashness that I associate with Musetta. I wanted to find more recordings of her after listening to this La Boheme, not Alagna or Georghiu. Perhaps this is a result of my inexperience, or perhaps I haven't been influenced by other's opinions (yet).

1 out of 5 stars Disgusting... what a waste of money........2006-05-31

Chailly is the most incompetent conducter! His Manon Lescaut is just as horrific as this Boheme. Do NOT get it, or this one.

First of all, Scano is simply TERRIBLE. Her singing sounds like a sliding violin and she has a really ugly voice. Keenlyside has this really irritating vibrato that won't ever stop. Musetta/Marcello doesn't make any sense to me here. I don't know why Alagna has this very annoying lisp in his pianissimi.

Chailly's orchestration SUCKS. At times the orchestra drowns the singers, like near the end of Act II. His tempi are all screwed up too.

D'Arcangelo and Di Candia are excellent though. Gheorghiu is the reason I bought this opera, and she sings well enough. Though her spinto isn't as moving as in other recordings.

This CD is so bad. I'd rather listen to Bocelli's Boheme. There are so many other recordings of La Boheme that are a great deal better than this one.

3 out of 5 stars Better for less.......2004-11-17

For half the price you could get Tebaldi/Bergonzi/Bastianini/Siepi/Corena - and Piero De Palma - all conducted by Serafin in perfectly decent sound, also on Decca. Or of course de los Angeles/Bjorling/Beecham. Those two are my favorite recordings, but there are other good ones as well. The point? I don't hear anything on this release that surpasses - or equals - several other good recordings of Boheme. Given that it's on Decca, I suppose we should be thankful we didn't get Charlotte Curch and Josh Groban in the lead roles. Alagna and Gheorghiu are far better than that of course, but compared to the competition, they really are second tier artists.

5 out of 5 stars Bets La Boheme. Period........2004-04-26

This is the best La Boheme ever! Period. Better than Karajan's, better than Beecham's. The Beecham is an outstanding performance but it is marred by poor sonics. The Karajan is sooo slooow. As great as that performance is, the tempi drags and the sonics (although in good Decca analogue) cannot compare with THIS!! THIS has the best sound ever - my goodness the sound itself ravishes your ears and carries you forward. Not to mention that Chailly takes appropriate tempi that DO NOT DRAG. But the glory of this set is the incredible tenor of Alagna and the incredible soprano of Gheorghiu. Alagna's voice is gloriously lyrical and beautiful. So beguiling to listen to and he is dramatically alive. Gheorghiu's voice too is exceptionaly beautiful and she is even better than Alagna!! She is simply magic!!

So what are you waiting for, get the best La Boheme ever!! Now!!

4 out of 5 stars Not to be missed... This is the future of Boheme!!!.......2004-03-26

If you've not yet heard this new critical edition of perhaps the world's most beloved opera, purchase it now! This is the "new critical edition" of one of Puccini's finest moments!

Firstly, the sonics of the recording, the orchestra, and the casting (with the exception of Scano, whom is a terrible choice for the fussy, fickle Musetta) is outstanding. Together with the new score, expert conducting, and upbeat tempi (FINALLY!!!), I listened enthralled for the entire length of the opera. Each character is so incredibly believeable, and by the end of Act 4, you'll feel the desolation of their loss. I took a new interest to the often neglected Act 3 since this cast put their hearts into it. I don't care what anyone says, Pavarotti cannot act or put emotion into his Boheme to save his life!!!

The orchestra is perfect in Act 2, which is unusual to hear even in studio recordings because of the difficulty of this act's orchestration and perpetual motion.

My only qualm is with the casting of Elisabetta Scano. I cringe when I hear Musetta's "Quando me'n vo'" as she is used to singing Mozart, not dramatic, flashy, brash Puccini roles. Other than that, this CD is perfect!

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