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Editorial Reviews

This is Andrea Bocelli's first complete operatic recording. He was wise to wait. After a promising yet tentative start with Viaggio Italiano and Aria, the Italian tenor came into his own with a superb album of Verdi arias, and it's a pleasure to report that this recording of Puccini's La Bohème is even more impressive. Bocelli is an ardent and very likeable Rodolfo. When Mimi first knocks on his door, you can hear the surprised, dreamy anticipation with which he exclaims to himself, "Una donna!" (A woman!). And it's hard to imagine any Mimi resisting the sincerity and sheer musicality of his amorous overture to her, the aria "Che gelida manina." He scales the high notes with ease throughout the opera but never breaks character to show off the strength of his pipes (an all too common pitfall for tenors). As Mimi, Barbara Frittoli is also quite lovely, although the pronounced vibrato in her voice -- particularly noticeable in loud, high-lying passages -- sometimes makes her sound more mature than her character should be. Eva Mei is appropriately charming, coy, and impetuous in the role of Musetta, and Paolo Gavanelli as Marcello manages to come across as both wise and witty -- a perfect match for Musetta's wiles. Conductor Zubin Mehta obviously knows this score inside and out, and while the comic antics in the opening act could use more pep, the emotional intensity heats up as the opera goes on, concluding with a sharply dramatic performance of the fourth and final act. It's also a joy to hear the Israel Philharmonic digging into this repertory; the orchestra's zestful playing brings freshness to familiar music. All in all, this recording is a resounding success, although it does not displace classic accounts by Björling and de los Angeles, Pavarotti and Freni, or Tebaldi and Bergonzi. It is likely, however, that this will be the first complete opera set many Bocelli fans will buy, and with a performance as fine as this, it probably won't be their last. Andrew Farach-Colton, Barnes & Noble

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