This production from the New York Met has the unlikely-looking pairing of Angela Gheorghiu and Ramon Vargas as Mimi and Rodolfo. They are both vocally in fine form but La Gheorghiu looks as though she could eat Vargas for breakfast. There is a fine Marcello, sung by Ludovic Tezier and a not-so fine Musetta from Ainhoa Arteta.
This is an old Franco Zeffirelli production. I have seen a film of the same production from La Scala in 2003 with Cristina Gallardo-Domas and Marcello Alvarez. It appeared to me then, and it still appears to me, that Zeffirelli concentrates on the spectacular aspects of this opera at the expense of the detail. The Act II Café Momas scene is certainly spectacular, as is the Act III snow scene. But the moment when Marcello yields to Musetta is lost in the Act II spectacle and Mimi's eavesdropping as Rodolfo tells Marcello that he fears she is dying is lost in the huge snowscape. Likewise, the "O Suave Fanciula" moment in Act I and Rodolfo's non-realisation that Mimi is dead in Act IV also make no impact. Still, this production still has a lot to offer, although, I think that Gallardo-Domas and Alvarez edge it over Ghiorghi and Vargas.
This is an old Franco Zeffirelli production. I have seen a film of the same production from La Scala in 2003 with Cristina Gallardo-Domas and Marcello Alvarez. It appeared to me then, and it still appears to me, that Zeffirelli concentrates on the spectacular aspects of this opera at the expense of the detail. The Act II Café Momas scene is certainly spectacular, as is the Act III snow scene. But the moment when Marcello yields to Musetta is lost in the Act II spectacle and Mimi's eavesdropping as Rodolfo tells Marcello that he fears she is dying is lost in the huge snowscape. Likewise, the "O Suave Fanciula" moment in Act I and Rodolfo's non-realisation that Mimi is dead in Act IV also make no impact. Still, this production still has a lot to offer, although, I think that Gallardo-Domas and Alvarez edge it over Ghiorghi and Vargas.
