Puccini's La Bohème
Francesca Zambello (stage director), Tiziano Severini (conductor) – With Mirella Freni (Mimi), Luciano Pavarotti (Rodolfo) – San Francisco Opera
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Cast
Mirella Freni — Soprano (Mimi)
Luciano Pavarotti — Tenor (Rodolfo)
Sandra Pacetti — Soprano (Musetta)
Gino Quilico — Baritone (Marcello)
Nicolai Ghiaurov — Bass (Colline)
San Francisco Opera Orchestra
Tiziano Severini — Conductor
Francesca Zambello — Stage director
Program notes
Puccini's bittersweet opera of high-spirited bohemians and the doomed love between Rodolfo, the idealistic poet and Mimi, the consumptive flower-maker, is a beautifully balanced series of tableaux depicting the infectious joie de vivre of youth and the tragic waste of disease and separation.
The legendary and incomparable partnership of Mirella Freni and Luciano Pavarotti as the two lovers has been captured in this special live recording from stage of the San Francisco Opera. Brian Large has adapted Francesca Zambello's production for the video, further illuminating the fascinating interaction of Puccini's deeply human characters.
Gino Quilico sings Marcello, the colorful and moody painter, whose tempestuous relationship with the flirtatious Musetta (sung by Sandra Pacetti), comically mirrors the more profound love of Rodolfo and Mimi. Nicolai Ghiaurov sings Colline.
