Puccini: La Boheme

-------- the opera is, of course, lovely and touching . that you get a chance to put pavarotti in your file is wonderful ! being able to follow the opera in italian is one good thing, being able to follow it in english is another ! and, if you're a linguist, you can try all the other subtitle languages . . .

This review is of the DVD of the Metropolitan Opera's first PBS telecast on 15 March 1977, Puccini's LA BOHÈME, with Renata Scotto and Luciano Pavarotti. As usual Amazon has mixed in reviews of other performances, the confusion enhanced by showing as an "alternate DVD" the 1982 telecast with mostly different singers. Both are fine performances, the later one benefiting from the then-new Franco Zeffirelli production, better video and audio quality, and more visually-credible singers in the lead roles. But the earlier telecast has Luciano Pavarotti, an advantage that is hard to deny, and the problems with the audio can be at least partially corrected. Fans of Renata Scotto will want both, since she sings Musetta in the later telecast.In 1977 the "new" if borrowed production from Lyric Opera of Chicago, directed by Fabrizio Melano was carefully prepared for the telecast, and resulted in a series of performances much improved over what had been done with LA BOHÈME in many years. The run included a radio broadcast the following Saturday. Both Renata Scotto and Luciano Pavarotti were still in fine vocal condition, the rest of the cast first rate, and James Levine kept the proceedings under firm control, while allowing the singers a reasonable amount of freedom. Levine was a replacement, when Thomas Schippers became too ill to conduct the run.Some comment has been made in other reviews about the high C in the tenor aria, "Che gelida manina." While not produced as cleanly as it would likely have been earlier in his career, Pavarotti doesn't "miss" the note, and it is a C; the aria is not transposed down as he would do in later years. It is fine for a live performance, and apparently representative, not much different than on the radio broadcast.The telecast unfortunately suffers from technical issues, some from video equipment limitations, but also from microphone placement despite having noted audio producer John Pfeiffer in charge. The applause is deafening, the orchestra is loud, and too often the singers are hard to hear. The balance on the radio broadcast was better. But I taped the audio of the telecast at the time, and one characteristic my tape did not have was excessive volume during the applause. I believe some audio "enhancement" was done for the DVD in an attempt to improve the "presence" of the singers, and it didn't work. When the singers get close enough to the microphones to be loud, there is a harsh quality I don't hear in my old tape. There is a strong resonance somewhere in the middle frequencies, which were likely boosted for the DVD "enhancement." With a basic "graphic equalizer" much of the added trouble can be corrected, by dropping the amplitude of frequencies between 500 Hz and 3 KHz by eight to ten dB. Not only do the voices then cause less earstrain, the applause and orchestra aren't quite as overpowering. A similar improvement should be possible where only bass and treble controls are available, by increasing both. The applause seems a good test signal for adjusting the sound.Also noted in a couple reviews is the presence of "background voices." This is the prompter, and fortunately it was Millard Altman, who wasn't as loud as some other prompters active at the Met at the time. I don't find the prompting annoying, but I am quite familiar with broadcasts of the era. It's just part of the live performance experience, though again better microphone placement might have helped.Visually, the production isn't as flashy as Zeffirelli's, though I find the lack of "extras" helps concentrate on the story. The third act seemed more emotionally moving, and some of the plot points in the second act Cafe Momus scene get buried in Zeffirelli's splendid but overblown version. But in most respects the later telecast is better directed.In the limited sense of "best BOHÈME telecast" the one from 1982 is preferable, but this first one from PBS is more than an historic curio. I would have rated it at five stars despite the original video and audio issues if they hadn't messed up the sound by trying to "enhance" it. Since much of the damage can be undone with a little "equalization" I'm only dropping my rating by one star, since the singing is fine, and it is the only available video of these artists in these roles.

Bear with me here, I'll get to La Boheme in a minute (and I will also admonish my fellow reviewers).I've seen a lot of live operas and listened to a lot of opera CDs (and LPs), and one big, difference is that in a live production, it's only the singers' belted-out notes that the audience hears well. The softer notes leading up to and following those notes often are just barely audible above the orchestra. I think it's because one voice, no matter how well-trained, simply isn't as loud as a collection of instruments. And it seems that even the belted-out notes require a little cooperation from the orchestra in backing off a bit. On a CD (or LP for that matter), all sung notes are audible, because the singers have their faces inches from a good quality microphone. Call me corrupted by technology, but I like the CD sound better, except for whatever sound quality is lost in the recording process itself. The balance between the orchestra and the singers is better.Now, let's understand something about opera DVDs generally. You can't have opera singers holding microphones on camera. So there are two choices in getting the singers' voices recorded, neither of them perfect. One can try to record as they're performing, either live or on a set and in costume, using either a parabolic or shotgun microphone. This gives you perfect lip-sync, but sometimes gives you the out-of-balance sound typical of live performances (but not the clear distortion-free sound of a live performance). I'm not sure why this happens; I think it must be because the microphone operator's aim isn't as good as it should be. The other option is to lip-sync, even if that means with the same person. This yields a more balanced sound, but sometimes the lip-sync-ing is not perfect, and sounds emerge from closed mouths. Personally, I prefer the latter, as I prefer the better sound balance, and can tolerate a little imperfection in the synchronization.This La Boheme, recording, like all the live @ the Met recordings, uses the parabolic or shotgun microphone technique, with all the shortcomings that that implies. Pavarotti and Scotto are (well, were) among the best in the world, of course, and live up to their reputations--when you can hear them. All the minor-role singers are excellent too. The important duets toward the end of in Act 1 are mostly ok, but much of the singing-over-singing in Act 2 suffers from the poor-aim problem and is disappointing. You turn up the volume and just barely hear the lead-up, then are somewhat satisfied by the punch note, and then the following accompanying chord from the orchestra flattens your lampshades. Act 3 is OK, since there are fewer people singing at one time. Act 4 is pretty much the same for the same reason, with only a few faded sung notes. The last part of Act 4 was not a great turn-on for me, although I have to admit, I have more problems with Puccini on that issue than any singer, conductor, microphone operator, or recording engineer. I guess I just don't think drawn-out death scenes are amenable to great music. I feel the same way about the last parts of Traviata, Norma, and Carmen for that matter. I find them tedious, but that's just me, I guess.The fidelity of the sound is ok, considering the age of the performance (at least on my equipment, a pretty good Klipsch 2.1 system--better than Bose but not really hi-fi). They must have cut the DVD from a pretty decent master tape. They got a separate grant for "restoration," so maybe that had something to do with it. However, throughout the opera there is some sort of a growl on the soundtrack that sounds a bit like muffled speech, as though there was a little leakage between the main microphone signals and the instructions from the director to the camera or microphone operators.The performance is really quite good, even if somewhat staid Met standard. I think I like the applause after the arias, duets, and at the ends of acts, although they let it go on a little too long. I have the DG Cosi (lip-synced) and, while it has excellent sound quality, it doesn't have applause, which I must admit, I miss. But I really could have done without Tony Randall's synopses--I just skipped over them (I'd have preferred Walter Matthau, but probably would have skipped over him too). Of course, La Boheme doesn't really lend itself to the lavish staging that is so typical of Met productions, but, the sets are well done, and it's as good a Café Momus as I've seen anywhere. The acting is as good as you'd expect. One minor goof that I was expecting was that Murphy's law would decree that among a bunch of actors complaining about being cold but singing their hearts under hot lights in a warm theatre, someone's bound to start sweating visibly. Indeed, it happens in Act 4 where, in the coat aria, Colline's face has quite a sheen on it.Well, OK, now to my admonishment. All you reviewers out there, you're not giving me everything I want. TELL ME ABOUT THE SOUND QUALITY! It's really important. When I read reviews, they tell me about everything else, and I'm getting tired of reading every review twice looking for something that isn't there. As far as I'm concerned, sound quality and singing artistry are the two most important features. Even if you do have the latter, you won't enjoy it unless you also have the former. When I pop that DVD in my machine and crank up the volume, I want to hear something close to a live performance in terms of crispness and frequency balance and not a distorted and/or muddy mess, as I have in so many opera DVDs. And I'm counting on you to tell me which I'll get. For example, this Boheme is a little turbid, spotty, but generally not muddy or too distorted. So, to summarize, despite a few shortcomings in the sound, there're still a few goosebumps in this DVD.CiaoWayland

This is a great production by Franco Zeffirelli. The staging is excellent and one is not really aware that it is filmed on stage. This opera is particularly suited to recording on stage as the scenes are static. The large stage of the New York Metropolitan Opera house allows for very realistic staging and alarge chorus. My only criticism of this recording would be the curtain calls between the acts,. For a live perofrmance, this is probably necessary to allow time for scene changes but on a recording this does not apply. However, the fast forward key is there for a reason! I have not commented on the singing as others have done so and repeating their praises seems unnecessary. The final scene is very really moving, wonderfully sung and acted.

One of the most sonorous of the operas, this "big event" from the Metropolitan doesn't work. Oh, it's grand, and it's televised, and it's a very special occasion, but Pavarotti is shouting, not singing. It was probably quite nice if you were actually there, in black tie, amidst the ambience of the Lincoln Center, with a table booked at The Oak Room, but as a recording, it is dire. The orchestra is superb, as you would expect from the Met., but don't buy this DVD for its musicality.

The artists, the staging, the playing [at least to my untutored ears] made this a very enjoyable introduction to opera following a visit back in the Spring of this year to Puccini's house -- 5 stars. On the downside, the video itself was rather grainy albeit 50 years old; I had thought with modern technology and processing, the picture could have been 'cleaned-up' somewhat notwithstanding its age. -- minus 1 star.

Luciano Pavarotti at his absolute best, which is truly something to hear. Renata Scotto may not be everyone's ideal Mimi- she looks too much the sturdy healthy sort of girl, and her acting is terrible, but this is quibbling. For those who remember only the later, concert Pavarotti, or for those who have been disappointed with his acting in other things, this is the one to watch to see what all the fuss is about.I would recommend skipping the Tony Randall [?] intro, its a bit cringe-worthy.

This is a fantastic performance led by Scotto and superbly supported by Pavarotti - both in their vocal prime. Levine is on top form, the supporting cast good and the production is lavish and realistic. The sound is good although as a 70s vidjo it is dark and a little fuzzy. But you soon get used to this and drawn into the drama. Scotto worked better with Domingo and Bergonzi of course so the lovers seem a little uninvolved with each other but you can't have everything.