Puccini: La Boheme (Live from the Met)
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Ainhoa Arteta, Angela Gheorghiu, Ludovic Tezier, Quinn Kelsey, Ramon VargasPerformer: The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus
Performer: Nicola Luisotti
DVD: Region Code 0
Audio: Italian (Original Language), DTS 5.1; Italian (Unknown), DTS 5.1; Italian (Subtitled); German (Subtitled); English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled)
Format: Classical, Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.78:1
Running Time: 120 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2008-09-16
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: EMI Classics
Movie Reviews of Puccini: La Boheme (Live from the Met)
Movie Review: Can't Go Wrong With This DVD
Summary: 5 Stars
In December of 1981, New York's Metropolitan Opera unveiled what would become its all time most popular offering--Franco Zeffirelli's production of Puccini's LA BOHEME. The original cast included thee of opera's best known performers: Teresa Stratas as Mimi, Jose Carreras as Rodolfo, and Renata Scotto, so often cast as Mimi was Musetta. Critics praised the cast but were mixed as far as reviews were concerned--some believed the production was "too big" while others praised Zeffirelli's designs from the simplicity of the loft in Act I and Act IV to the largess of Act II's Caf? Momus scene and the understated beauty of Act III. The public fell in love with the new LA BOHEME immediately and twenty eight years later, it is still a magical experience of opera.
This DVD, originally a Live in HD broadcast of March 2008, allowed movie goers two great opportunities. Seeing the opera broadcast in a large screen made it almost like being at the Met. Viewers also got to see behind the scenes shots such as the scenery being assembled, which for this production of the opera was just as interesting as the opera itself. It also included a tribute to the director, interviews with the performers and conductor, and an enchanting interview with members of the children's' chorus. Only some of the scene changes are included in this DVD as well as a portion of eth Zeffirelli tribute. The interviews are not included, however what is included is the wonderful performance of that afternoon.
As far as the cats is concerned, it was excellent for a live performance. Conductor Nicola Luisotti conducted the score with vigor. Tenor Ramon Vargas is the production's Rodolfo. His acting is good, and he is at home in the role, though "Che gelida manina" is transposed down an octave which is not uncommon in live productions. Angela Ghorghiu as the young seamstress Mimi seems a bit if a stretch as the opera begins, but she is expressive and plays a woman dying from consumption with conviction. Ludovic Tezier and Ainhoa Arteta simply playing the tumultuous lovers of Marcello and Musetta. Paul Plishka performs the dual roles of Benoit and Alcindoro, roles often performed by Met favorites later in their careers, a tradition that dates back to Italo Tajo in the original production. The entire cast works well together and seems to enjoy the performance.
The DVD transfer is good though not as spacious as on the large screen which is to be expected, but it is still a worthwhile disc that contains the magic of this beloved opera.
Summary of Puccini: La Boheme (Live from the Met)
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 Mim?, while tenor Ram?n Vargas gives a sensitive reading of Rodolfo. All these forces combine for a truly definitive performance of this beloved opera!
Franco Zeffirelli's production of La Boh?me is a perennial favorite at New York's Metropolitan Opera and it retains its power in this 2008 performance. Its large-scale settings and especially an Act II set that looks as if half the 1890's Paris Latin Quarter has been beamed direct to the MET. It's been criticized as an over-the-top spectacle, but as well as bringing breath-taking realism to the stage, it's bursting with energy and directorial flair. The individuals making up the large crowds milling in front of the Caf? Momus each have some little stage business to do, giving the audience the feeling of participating in the onstage street festival. Zeffirelli's detailed directing even extends to the snow-filled Act III, where shadowy figures walk across the background hill in the distance while the principals are up front. While Zeffirelli's conception tends to scant the opera's intimate scenes in the theatre, on DVD those scenes make heightened impact. TV director Gary Halvorson's establishing shots show a cutaway of the bohemians' little garret precariously poised atop a sharply raked house, but he soon cuts to closeups of the playing space and the singers, creating a sense of warm interplay of personalities unavailable to the theatre audience.
The MET provides a luxurious cast to complement the sumptuous setting. Tenor Ram?n Vargas is an excellent Rodolfo, singing with passion, imaginative phrasing, and coloring his beautiful lyric voice to fit the text. Mimi is Angela Gheorghiu, always a stellar singing actress. Here she sings with a sensitivity to match her Rodolfo, exquisitely coloring her voice, as in her Mi chiamano Mimi, where she thins her voice at the start and then opens it out to bloom when she sings of the approach of spring. As an actress, she's best after the first Act, when she abandons the coy, girlish tics that seem out of place. In the last Act, she's profoundly moving in the death scene, as is Vargas, who is touching in his portrayal of Rodolfo's desperation and sense of loss. Baritone Ludovic T?zier's Marcello is well sung, as is soprano Ainhoa Arteta's Musetta, the latter delivering a sparkling Quando me'n vo' in the Caf? Momus scene. Rodolfo's pals, Oren Gradus as Colline and Quinn Kelsey as Schaunard, are excellent, and veteran bass Paul Plishka contributes some nice comic turns as Benoit and Alcindoro. --Dan Davis
La Boh?me is an all-regions disc in 16:9 ratio. Sound options include PCM Stereo and DTS 5.1 Surround. Sung in Italian, subtitles include English, French, German, Italian and Spanish. Extras include backstage interviews by Ren?e Fleming and a short tribute, "Zeffirelli at the Met."
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