Puccini - La bohème

Schönberg Boys’ Choir; Chorus of the Berlin State Opera; Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra / Herbert von Karajan

Decca 421 049-2DH2 Buy now

(110’ · ADD · S/T/t)

Mirella Freni sop Mimì, Luciano Pavarotti ten Rodolfo; Elizabeth Harwood sop Musetta; Rolando Panerai bar Marcello; Gianni Maffeo bar Schaunard; Nicolai Ghiaurov bass Colline; Michel Sénéchal bass Benoit, Alcindoro; Gernot Pietsch ten Parpignol 

Recorded 1972.

Pavarotti’s Rodolfo is perhaps the best thing he ever did: not only the finest recorded account of the role since Björling’s on the Beecham set, but adding the honeyed Italianate warmth that even Björling lacked. He couldn’t quite match Björling’s poetic refinement, and he was less willing to sing really quietly, but Pavarotti’s sincerity counted for a great deal: his pride as he declares his vocation as a poet, the desperate feigning of his ‘Mimì è una civetta’ are points that most tenors miss or treat as mere opportunities for a big sing. His latter-day image may tend to hide it but this recording is a reminder that Pavarotti was an artist of intelligence and delicacy as well as splendour of voice. 

His Mimì, Freni, sings beautifully and sensitively. Panerai is a strong, vividly acted Marcello. Harwood is an interesting Musetta: her tiny narration, in Act 4, of her meeting with the stricken Mimì is a gripping moment, and her waltz-song in Act 2 is a passionate (and irresistible) avowal to Marcello. Karajan is a great Puccini conductor who can linger over the beauties of orchestration without losing his grip on the drama or relaxing his support of the singers. There aren’t many operas of which a better case can be made for having more than one account in your collection. For a more modern La bohème to supplement the Beecham, this Karajan set must go to the top of the list.