Puccini - La Boheme - Pavarotti, Freni, Ghiaurov - Karajan 19722CDs - ADD - 54'35, 55'43
DECCA 1987
Performer: Luciano Pavarotti, Mirella Freni, Rolando Panerai, Gianni Maffeo, Nicolai Ghiaurov, Michel Sénéchal, Gernot Pietsch, Hans-Dietrich Pohl, Hans-Dieter Appelt, Elizabeth Harwood
Conductor: Herbert von Karajan
Orchestra/Ensemble: Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Schöneberg Boys Choir, Berlin Deutsche Oper Chorus
Date of Recording: 10/1972
Venue: Jesus Christus Kirche, Berlin
"Pavarotti's Rodolfo, in Karajan's reading for Decca, is perhaps the best thing he has ever done: not only the finest recorded account of the role since Bjorling's on the Beecham set, but adding the honeyed Italianate warmth that even Bjorling lacked. He cannot quite match Bjorling's poetic refinement, no doubt, and he is less willing to sing really quietly, but Pavarotti's honest sincerity counts for a great deal: his pride as he declares his vocation as a poet, the desperate feigning of his ''Mimi e una civetta'' are points that most tenors miss or treat as mere opportunities for a big sing. His latter-day image may sometimes tend to hide it, but this recording is a reminder that Pavarotti is an artist of intelligence and delicacy as well as splendour of voice.
Karajan...is a great Puccini conductor (oh yes, there is such a thing, and they are rare) who can linger over the beauties of the orchestration without ever losing his grip on the drama or relaxing his support of the singers." -- Michael Oliver, GRAMOPHONE
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