La Bohème

Pavarotti is excellent, as expected (although the vision of a 300 pound, 50-year old man playing Rodolfo stretches the imagination), but the star of this opera is a young Fiamma Izzo d'Amico. It is hard for me to imagine such a fine performance from a 22-year old. The supporting cast is good but I have seen better and the sets are acceptable. It is the combination of Puccini's music and the voices of the two leads who make this such a wonderful experience.

As commented by another, this production was done in China and it is odd to see Chinese extras on the stage: there were not too many Chinese children in Paris in the 1980s. The audience clearly was not as conversant with European opera as we in the west are as shown by its mistimed applause but that was not really a distraction.

If you are not an opera buff then this is a good place to start. La Boheme is one of the most popular operas of all time and an excellent introduction. However, in that case concentrate on the music and voices - the subtitles will only make you laugh: most opera librettos lose a lot in translation.

I watched this film expecting to be amused by the wooden acting. The acting was wooden – but by the end of the film I didn't care; I was totally overwhelmed by the vocal performances. Pavarotti sounded as magnificent as you might expect. Fiamma Izzo D'Amico was a moving Mimi with a sweet voice. The supporting cast was strong, in the vocal department at least. This performance was apparently filmed in Beijing, although there does not seem to be any mention of it in the credits. The audience was very enthusiastic but I was not bothered by their applauding in the wrong place. The extremely traditional production, combined with an audience hearing this amazing music for the first time made me think that it must have been like that at the premiere 90 years earlier.

Already, in 1986, the production had to make some concessions to Luciano's lack of mobility. In the build-up to Che Gelida Manina, Rodolfo and Mimi are usually scrambling around on the floor looking for the lost key. This was clearly out of the question for Pavarotti. In this production, Mimi has one hand on the floor and the other on the table. Pavarotti, standing nearby, has only to slide his hand across to hers to notice that it is frozen.

Rodolfo keeps Mimi's lace bonnet in his pocket and takes it out from time to time when he recalls their love. Unfortunately it looks like a pair of lace panties and whenever Pavarotti takes it out of his pocket, presses it to his face and sniffs it, it seems quite pervy.

I adore the opera with all my heart. This production is beautiful, however I do prefer the 1988(with Freni and Pavarotti), 1982 and 1965 productions. The acting can be rather wooden here, excepting Madelyn Renee-Monti and Fiamma Izzo D'amico.

However, the sets and costumes are beautiful as is the video directing, the music is sublime particularly Che Glenida Manina, Si Mi Chiamano Mimi, O Soave Fanciulla, Quando M'en Vo, the act 3 quartet, In Un Coupe... and the heartbreaking ending, and the story is still as poignant as ever.

The orchestra and conducting are superb as well. While the acting is not the best, the singing is marvellous. Luciano Pavarotti is in excellent voice and while he has been better as Rodolfo I still think alongside Duke of Mantua it is one of his best roles. Madelyn Renee-Monti is a witty Musetta and Roberto Servile is good. The real star is 22-year old Fiamma Izzo D'amico as a touching Mimi, she is especially superb in the final act.

All in all, beautiful production. 8/10 Bethany Cox