Puccini: La Boheme. Andrea Bocelli, Barbara Frittoli; Zubin Mehta, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. Decca 269 464 060-2 (2-disc set).(Review)

Puccini: La Boheme. Andrea Bocelli, Barbara Frittoli; Zubin Mehta, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. Decca 269 464 060-2 (2-disc set).

Passion. It's what I think of first when I think of La Boheme. Without passion, the opera is just beautiful music. Not that there's anything wrong with beautiful music, mind you, and with this set you'll get that aplenty. But something magical happens when the beauty is invested with an ardent Italianate fervor. This is evident in the great La Boheme recordings of the past: De los Angeles, Bjorling, and Beecham (EMI); Freni, Pavarotti, and Karajan (Decca); Tebaldi, Bergonzi, and Serafin (Decca). By comparison, especially to the first two, which I had on hand, the team of Barbara Frittoli, Andrea Bocelli, and Zubin Mehta don't quite scale the same heights of excitement.

Where the older stars were sweet and lyrical where needed and expressive and thrilling likewise, the newcomers seem more interested merely in reproducing lovely tunes. In the big numbers like "Che gelida manina" and "Si, Mi chiamano Mimi" and "O soave fanciulla," Frittoli and Bocelli fail to set the soul on fire or to make the hair on the back of the neck stand up the way the others do. Frittoli and Bocelli failed to convince me of their love, their ardor--in essence, their passion. Nor do they evoke the kind of sympathy they should for Mimi and Rodolfo in the final death scene, in "Oh Dio! Mimi!" and "Che ha detto il medico?" Their voices are pure, their enunciation is letter perfect, and ...