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Angela Gheorghiu leads a magnificent cast in Franco Zeffirelli’s iconic production of Puccini’s La Bohème – filmed live at the Metropolitan Opera in Hi-Definition.
This grand, sumptuous production of Puccini’s timeless masterpiece is brought to you on DVD by EMI Classics, continuing its collaboration with the Metropolitan Opera and its hugely successful Metropolitan Opera : Live in High-Definition series.
La bohème, set in Paris around 1830, depicts a society fraught with conflict. Amid the turmoil, it is the love that blossoms between two young artists in a time that appears both bleak and turbulent that makes this story so very special.
Mimì and Rodolfo, sung by Angela Gheorghiu and Ramón Vargas respectively, charm as the young couple that fall in love while Marcello and Musetta are sung by Ludovic Tezier and Ainhoa Arteta. Gheorghiu, the leading Puccini soprano of our time, reprises the role of Mimì at the MET for the first time in twelve years. She sings the role with the beauty and perfection that is expected by an artist of her great stature and experience.
Following its debut at the Metropolitan Opera in 1981, Franco Zeffirelli’s stunning production is as loved and as magnificent today as the day it was first staged over 27 years ago. This live broadcast is therefore the 347th time Zeffirelli’s Bohème has been performed making this, the most performed production in the MET’s history.
Conducting, Nicola Luisotti is described as “a man who knows what he is doing in this repertoire: the way he can control the orchestra to move with the singers' expressive tempo fluctuations is breathtaking, a quality which helps to show Puccini at his best.” - musicalcriticism.com
Only the hardest of hearts will remain untouched by this passionate and unforgettable story depicting the joys and sorrows of love and loss
Subtitles: Italian (sung), English, German, French, Spanish
December 2008
****
“…the spectacular Zeffirelli staging, now rather showing its age. It still makes a good frame… for Ramón Vargas's engaging Rodolfo, sung with ardour, and Gheorghiu's fine-toned but rather grand Mimì.”
2011 edition
“Zeffirelli's extraordinary set...is still unsurpassed...A triumph, and wonderfully enjoyable to watch and listen to.”
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