The first recording of Puccini's La Bohème to be issued on DVD is the best visual treatment of this opera that anyone's ever likely to see. Director Franco Zeffirelli always seems to have television in mind when he directs an opera production, and his orientation toward visual impact and acting skills comes across effectively. Teresa Stratas (Zeffirelli's soprano of choice in one ...
A video of a 1982 performance at Canada's Stratford Festival (live, though with some singing dubbed), this is very much a theatrical experience, with the buoyancy of a show played before an audience. The cast and spectators take obvious pleasure in each other, and in classic Gilbert and Sullivan tradition, several numbers are encored. Subtlety is not this production's strong point, but you ...