Giacomo Puccini: La Bohème – sir Thomas Beecham (1956) Recording Review

I discovered this recording as a child through Björling, a singer I like very much, at a time when LPs dominated the market. Together with de los Ángeles, Merrill, and Beecham, it sounded like a dream version of ‘La Bohème’…

And every time I listen to this recording, the first thing that strikes me is how easily Beecham captures the spirit of this piece. La Bohème is very well written; you are immediately drawn into the lighthearted lives of these young men, and then brought to the sadness of life. As I said, Beecham is truly a great La Bohème conductor, as he is able to lead the journey from beginning to end, seeing the opera as a whole and not just as a succession of moments. And even though it is a studio recording, it is infused with the kind of life you would expect from a live recording. It’s not as polished as others, but in my opinion, it doesn’t matter. In addition, Beecham manages to bring out certain details of this great opera, the orchestral part being richer than you might think.

Of course, as for the singers, I have only superlatives. Björling is a vibrant and youthful Rodolfo; his voice suits the role perfectly in every way. Although I don’t mean this as a criticism, Björling sings the role quite straightforwardly, relying less on the sheer sonority or timbre of his voice than in other roles, and focusing more on dynamics and musical phrasing. His main aria (‘Che gelida manina’) is beautifully sung—less focused on vocal fireworks, simply letting the music flow.

De los Ángeles as Mimì is a perfect match for Björling’s way of singing. She is vocally flawless, modulating the dynamics beautifully. I find her voice a little too ‘thin’ in other recordings, which I think is more an artistic choice on her part, but here, for Mimì, it’s perfect. Her aria ‘Mi chiamano Mimì’ is very well done, and so is the duet with Rodolfo.

The other singers (Merrill as Marcello, Tozzi as Colline, Corena as Alcindoro/Benoit, Amara as Musetta) are at least on par with the two main protagonists.

Some highlights, even though the recording should be seen as a whole, are ‘Che gelida manina’ and the Act 3 scene between Marcello and Mimì. This scene is really Puccini as you know him, with the long musical phrases perfectly rendered by de los Ángeles, Merrill, and Beecham.

So, in the end, this historic recording (1956, in good mono in the latest Warner remastering I’m currently listening to) belongs among the all-time classics and reference recordings of this opera. And even though I’m normally more focused on the singing, it’s the conducting that makes it such a success.

If you want to listen to it, here the affiliate link to amazon….