[Met Performance] CID:209120



La Bohème
Metropolitan Opera House, Fri, January 13, 1967




La Bohème (660)
Giacomo Puccini | Luigi Illica/Giuseppe Giacosa
Mimì
Teresa Stratas

Rodolfo
Gianni Raimondi

Musetta
Beverly Bower

Marcello
Mario Sereni

Schaunard
Clifford Harvuot

Colline
Jerome Hines

Benoit
Elfego Esparza

Alcindoro
Lorenzo Alvary

Parpignol
Emil Filip

Sergeant
Edward Ghazal

Officer
Lloyd Strang


Conductor
Fausto Cleva


Director
Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Designer
Rolf Gérard

Stage Director
Patrick Tavernia





La Bohème received fourteen performances this season.

Review 1:

Review of Harriett Johnson in the Post

A Gay, Dubious "Bohème" at Met

"A gay life; yet a terrible one!" said Murger in his preface to "La Vie de Bohème."

Last night's "La Bohème" at the Metropolitan Opera, first performance of the Puccini work this season, made frenetic attempts at gaiety, achieved some poignancy, and had its unmusical aspects. If the latter were not exactly terrible, they, at least, made this "Bohème" more sad than it should have been.

It was pleasant to welcome Fausto Cleva, that master of the Italian opera style, as conductor, but he deserved a better fate than Mimi and Rodolfo out of bounds.

Of the three major male Bohemians, Jerome Hines as Colline was the most professional. Gianni Raimondi was the Rodolfo, Mario Sereni, the Marcello. Hines not only sang and acted well. but he added to the ebullience by eating his dinner on-stage: an apple for hors d'oevures; half a fried chicken for entree; a cookie for dessert, and in Act IV, more bread for a midnight snack.

Eons from the Rhythm

Raimondi possesses an excellent lyric tenor, though he overextends himself vocally and doesn't cherish nuance. He is personable if too rotund to be truly handsome. To conduct him, however, was something to give any maestro the jitters. In his act I aria, he was eons from Cleva in rhythm and the conductor knew his business.

Through most of the opera, any relationship between him and the orchestra was accidental.

As Mimi Teresa Stratas was perfectly cast but she seemed bent on showing everybody how she could tranquilize phrases out of their natural rhythmic habitat. She stretched them ad infinitum and sang so vehemently most of the time she was more exhibitionist than retiring. As careers go, she has been singing a short time, yet her voice already shows signs of losing its beautiful natural quality. Too often she is intent on demonstrating power instead of beauty. She could benefit

by listening to Renata Tebaldi's coloring of the voice in this role.

Beverly Bower's Musetta lacked charm and though her voice was full it was not too appealing in quality. Clifford Harvuot was satisfactory as Schaunard.

Lorenzo Alvary was pompously and pathetically elegant as Alcindoro but Elfego Esparza couldn't hide his vocal problems even from the short role of the old landlord, Benoit.

Musically the second act was often pandemonium. In short, this "Bohème" was alive with misdirected energy.



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