[Met Performance] CID:146140



La Bohème
Metropolitan Opera House, Sat, November 22, 1947




La Bohème (405)
Giacomo Puccini | Luigi Illica/Giuseppe Giacosa
Mimì
Licia Albanese

Rodolfo
Richard Tucker

Musetta
Mimi Benzell

Marcello
Frank Valentino

Schaunard
Hugh Thompson

Colline
Nicola Moscona

Alcindoro/Benoit
Salvatore Baccaloni

Parpignol
Anthony Marlowe

Sergeant
Lawrence Davidson


Conductor
Pietro Cimara


Director
Désiré Defrère

Costume Designer
Blaschke & Cie





La Bohème received thirteen performances this season.

Review 1:

Review of Herbert Kupferberg in the Herald Tribune

`La Bohème'

Tucker Sings Rodolfo First Time at Metropolitan

Even when "La Bohème" is presented in work-a-day fashion it is a pleasant opera to listen to, but when it is lifted above the routine it can become a touching and memorable experience. At the Metropolitan Opera House on Saturday night there was some lovely singing and credible acting during the season's first presentation of Puccini's masterpiece, with the result that the audience's applause, for the second or third time this year, was more than polite.

It would be somewhat misleading to call Licia Albanese the star of the evening, so unobtrusively did she take her place in the Latin Quarter garret, but her beautiful singing and unassuming demeanor made her Mimi a truly pitiable figure. Her tones shimmered in the solos and duets; they blended perfectly with the other Bohemians in the ensembles. She even coughed discreetly, and she always was a seamstress, not a grande dame.

Richard Tucker, on the other hand, who was singing Rodolfo for the first time in this house, played the part of the Bohemian poet with all the reckless abandon of a bank president. He was in good voice, but he maintained a seemingly disdainful appearance, and most of his posturing was as absurd as the kiss he blew to the audience when it applauded his vocal accomplishments after the third act.

As for the rest of the cast, few Paris garrets offer such an example of harmonious living as that provided by Francesco Valentino, Nicola Moscona and Hugh Thompson as Marcello, Colline and Schaunard. Mr. Valentino helped make his third act duet with Miss Albanese one of the high points of the evening; Mr. Moscona's "Vecchia zimarra" might have been sung to an entire wardrobe rather than just one coat, and Mr. Thompson helped his high notes by spirited climbing on top of a table whenever he had to sing one.

Salvatore Baccaloni handled his second-line roles of Benoit and Alcindoro like the first-line artist he is; Mimi Benzell sang Musetta's Waltz prettily, and Pietro Cimara conducted with a good deal more than standard vigor. Only the chorus remained oblivious to the fact that this wasn't just another night.

The performance was a benefit for the Hebrew National Orphan Home.



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