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Toscanini's La Boheme

Robert E. Nylund | Ft. Wayne, Indiana United States | 10/24/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"On the 50th anniversary of the world premiere of Puccini's "La Boheme," the Maestro who had conducted that first performance (Arturo Toscanini) led broadcast performances of the complete opera over the NBC radio network. Toscanini conducted the NBC Symphony Orchestra in Studio 8-H, which was the broadcast home of the orchestra from 1937 to 1950 (they moved permanently to Carnegie Hall in the fall of 1950 and remained there until Toscanini's retirement in June 1954).



Leading the excellent cast are tenor Jan Peerce and soprano Licia Albanese, who also worked with Toscanini on his broadcast performances of Verdi's "La Traviata." There's even a young Robert Merrill in the cast; in an interview, Merrill spoke of the warm relationship he had with Toscanini, who greatly admired his voice.



In the broadcast, one occasionally hears a third voice during Peerce and Albanese's poignant duets; it is Toscanini himself, who sang or hummed during portions of the performance. Peerce said people complained to him that Toscanini's vocal contributions "spoiled" the recording; Peerce insisted that Toscanini put his heart and soul into the performance and the recording preserves that.



There has seldom been such a fine recording of "La Boheme" and how wonderful that RCA Victor was able to release this complete version of one of the most popular operas in the current reportoire. The added significance is hearing the interpretation of the Maestro who conducted the premiere, with the whole-hearted approval of Puccini himself.



Earlier releases of the recordings had remarkably good sound. The digitally reprocessed version sounds amazingly modern and clear. For once, the usual dull sound of Studio 8-H is not a problem. The recording is amazingly good and the performance is consistently outstanding."