Customer Rating:
Summary: Perfection
Comment: I found every detail of this production to be unimprovable. True, the film is old and grainy and sometimes slightly blurry. But it doesn't matter. The casting and vocals are unbeatable. I'm so glad to have seen Pavarotti in this role and in his prime, when he fully committed to everything with his whole being rather than just vocally doing so. He is superb (though he wobbles on the High C in "che gelida manina"), as is the rest of the cast. But the biggest revelation for me was Scotto. I grew up seeing her as Musetta on the other Met Boheme, and never really understood her following. Thank goodness I saw this. Her performance is something I cannot shake. It has an emotional depth to it that fits perfectly with her vocal choices - she crushed me. "Senza rancor" is the highlight of the night - I had to rewind it a few times. This is an ideal DVD to show non-opera people. I can't imagine not being swept into its magic!

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Customer Rating:
Summary: A masterpiece!
Comment: I remember seeing this live original broadcast, and it was thrilling then. Pavarotti and Scotto are at their best, and Levine supports them and the rest of the cast perfectly. I am glad I went looking for it, and recommend it to any Puccini or Pavarotti lover.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Beautiful Performance by All
Comment: This DVD performance has a way of drawing you into the story so that you feel that you're on the stage with the performers. The singing and acting are superb but the quality of the recording is deficient. Camera angles and framing detract from the total enjoyment. Lighting is poor and obscure. If you want the feeling of sitting in the balcony watching the opera, this is for you. I, for one, don't want to be distracted by seeing more than what's happening on stage. Granted, the video/audio technology of the time is nothing compared to what we have today, but the amateurish camera work is independent of that. The performance deserved better treatment.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Scotto- The Queen of the Night
Comment: This production was filmed live at the met in 1977 and it's an affecting one.
I had seen Renata Scotto perform as Musetta in another production with Carreras and that performance was quite memorable so i really looked forward to seeing her as Mimi.
Scotto performs from the soul and from the heart and it's a very moving experience to hear and see her perform.
Her singing is so poetic with such sensitive artful display of dynamics to convey the words she is singing.
This is a performance not about ego but about art.
There's a moment in the final scene when she's in bed and everybody has left and she slowly rises with such fragile strain out of the bed to stand and it's simply heartbreaking.
Bravo Ms. Scotto.
You bring tears to my eyes.
Pavarotti starts the opera concentrating mainly on vocal technical delivery then starts to assert himself emotionally in the part.
The golden tone and technique is there in full display and he does an admirable job at acting as well.
I don't think that he's the most artful of tenors and what i mean by that is that he could add more meaning to the text by phrasing more and using a wider array of dynanics more often.
If you listen and watch Scotto's portrayel then you can clearly see the difference in levals of artistry.
This takes nothing away from the great tone and technique that he had but merely states that the performance though very fine could be improved upon musically and dramatic wise.
See Carlo Bergonzi who may not have the golden tone of Pavarotti or the power to hit high c's like pavarotti but made up for that with a more complete artistic delivery of their character.
The rest of the cast is fine even though Marcello (Wixell) is somewhat bland in his portrayel and could use a little more expressiveness acting and vocal wise and Musetta (Niska) could have been more bombastic especially in the scene at the restaurant.
The stage production is pleasing to the eye though not as extravagant as something produced by say Franco Zeffirelli.
These are just a few criticisms on a performance that is very satisfying on the whole with a restored picture that is slightly grainy but totally acceptable.
The crowd is a most loving crowd as they go nuts at the end of musetta's waltz as well as most of the highlights.
So if you're looking for a dvd Boheme then this quality production will do the trick but be prepared to cry as you experience the grand artistry of Renata Scotto.
Truly the queen of the night.

Oscar Fernandez

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Customer Rating:
Summary: La Boheme
Comment: A marvelous version of this great opera. The 'young' Pavoratti's voice simply soars. I saw the new Met version recently which was excellent, but no comparison in tenors. What a loss too soon when he died.

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