[Met Performance] CID:248400

New Production

La Boh?me
Metropolitan Opera House, Wed, February 23, 1977

Debut : Dale Caldwell, Pier Luigi Pizzi




La Boh?me (784)
Giacomo Puccini | Luigi Illica/Giuseppe Giacosa
Mim?
Renata Scotto

Rodolfo
Luciano Pavarotti

Musetta
Maralin Niska

Marcello
Ingvar Wixell

Schaunard
Allan Monk

Colline
Paul Plishka

Benoit
Italo Tajo

Alcindoro
Andrea Velis

Parpignol
Dale Caldwell [Debut]

Sergeant
Paul De Paola

Officer
Domenico Simeone


Conductor
James Levine


Production
Fabrizio Melano

Designer
Pier Luigi Pizzi [Debut]

Lighting Designer
Gil Wechsler





The sets and costumes were borrowed from Lyric Opera of Chicago.
La Boh?me received twenty-four performances this season.
The costs of transporting and refurbishing this production for the Metropolitan Opera have been defrayed by the Metropolitan Opera National Council.

Review 1:

Review of Harold C. Schonberg in The New York Times

It was in Puccini's "La Boh?me" that Luciano Pavarotti conquered New York, and he was back at the Metropolitan Opera last night as Rodolfo. This was a new production of the Puccini perennial - new to New York, anyway. It was on loan from the Chicago Opera. The big American houses have been exchanging productions in recent years, and it is a fine as well as a money-saving idea. Especially when the production is as attractive as the "Boh?me."

Entirely traditional, it has a realistic garret, a two-level Caf? Momus scene that may have been suggested by the famous Zefirelli set for La Scala, and a handsome third-act setting. Pier Luigi Pizzi did these sets and costumes, and Fabrizio Melano directed. Mr. Melano's conception involves the usual high jinks, avoiding the more obvious pitfalls. "Boh?me" is pretty much cemented by tradition, and no director is going to do anything very unusual in this opera.

There was some handsome singing last night. In addition, the new production gives Mr. Pavarotti some new bits of stage business.

He has always been a rather interesting figure on stage. For one of his bulk (even though he has considerably slimmed down from his former elephantine weight, nobody is going to make him a skinny man), he moves with unusual grace. He has something of the comedian in him, and often gives the feeling that he is actually poking fun at himself. At other times he can be as stilted as any tenor, going through the emotions by rote (open mouth for anguish and so on).

The audience loved some of his touches last night. He hears Mimi's voice. "A woman." He slicks his hair down before a mirror and adjusts his clothes before [going to] the door. He also used some well-known Italian gestures that caused hoots of laughter.

Nobody around today can sing a better Rodolfo, and this despite the fact that the voice has changed somewhat in recent years. It is a little heavier; passages above the staff are not produced as effortlessly as before; sometimes there is a decided feeling of strain. One hopes that the Manricos he has been singing have not taken that lyric bloom from his voice. With all that, he sang most beautifully last night. Only Mr. Pavarotti can spin out long phrases with such authority and color.

Renata Scotto, the Mimi, also had some lovely work to contribute. A bit of scenery-chewer, she milked the death scene for all it was worth. But before that her singing had sensuous appeal, enough size to soar over the orchestra, and a full exploitation of dynamics, from pianissimo through forte. As usual there were one or two bad high notes. Those come along with her singing, and everybody by now is used to them.

The three bohemians full entered the spirit of the production. Ingvar Wixell singing his first Marcello at the Metropolitan, acted well and used his big though somewhat rough voice to good effect. Paul Plishka rose to the occasion for his "Vecchia zimara," and Allan Monk did everything that could be done as Schaunard.

That fine veteran Italo Tajo gave a wonderful characterization of Benoit and Andrea Velis was equally pointed as Alcindoro. The only weak singing of the evening came from Marilin Niska as Musetta. She was considerably off form, unable to get her voice into focus. James Levine conducted, replacing an indisposed Thomas Schippers. It was a typical Levine performance - assured, brilliant, occasionally overstressed. But he did provide a lovely web of sound for Miss Scotto's affecting "Mi chiamano Mimi," and the orchestra played well for him, as it almost always does.



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