Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

A long time ago, my father was driving my teenaged self somewhere as he listened to a cassette of "Pavarotti's Greatest Hits" on the car stereo. During "Che gelida manina", he tried to enlighten my ignorance as to what was special about it. "This is one of the great moments in opera," he explained. "The man sings this beautiful aria. Then the woman sings something even more beautiful. Then the two of them sing together and it's even more beautiful than that." I grunted in assent that it must be a whole lot of beautifulness and then returned my attention to whatever science fiction novel I was reading at the time. Many years have passed since then. My father is dead, and I probably know more about opera now than he did. But, perhaps because of that conversation, the end of Act I still defines "La Boheme" for me. [Moral of the story for parents of teens: Keep sharing yourself with your kids, no matter how much they grunt at you. There's no telling what will stick.] If a performance doesn't convey Dad's Guinness-Book sense that opera really doesn't get any more powerful or moving than this, I have to consign it to the "Not Quite" file. Sorry Tebaldi/Bergonzi and Callas/di Stefano. All of which is to set up my claim that Freni/Pavarotti are the ones who truly deliver the goods in this virtually impossible-to-sing scene. While di Stefano's voice has a marvelous bronze gleam and crisp pronunciation, he simply doesn't have the sheer tone power to compete with the strength of Puccini's melodies. When Rodolfo sings "In te ravviso / Il sogno ch'io vorrei sempre sognar!", the heroic notes demand that the tenor produce a sound that you would follow into battle. Here Pav unforgettably brings da noise - and "Yes, Giorgio" is forgiven all over again. Freni is equally virtuosic in the soprano's milieu, somehow managing to convey a waifish bohemian as she robustly full-lungs her way through some of the most cruelly exposed high notes in the music. And how euphoniously their two instruments mesh in the duets! How confidently they surf the surging waves of Karajan's conducting! I don't know what else to say except that it's all here. Every component of the recorded operatic experience - composer, conductor, musicians, and singers - exercising mastery at world-class levels. There is nothing to impede the plucking of your heartstrings until they fray and snap. If you can listen to the final offstage "Amor!" with dry eyes, there is something dead inside you - I'm sorry to say. I'm verklempt now just thinking about it. So, yes - all the raves here are true. This is not just the best "Boheme", but one of the best opera recordings ever made. You know what to do.