A breathtaking Boheme from the magnificent Met

Saturday’s live broadcast of Franco Zeffirelli’s production of La Boheme, starring Angela Gheorghiu as Mimi and Ramon Vargas as Rodolfo, was breathtakingly beautiful.

I heard much of BBC Radio 3’s live broadcast while stuck in a traffic jam on the M2, returning from Dover. Never has been stuck on a motorway been so enjoyable.

Angela Gheorghiu, in particular, was devastating. Her command of the big set pieces was one of the highlights of my years of opera gigging. The power of her depiction of Mimi reminded you repeatedly of Callas: there is no greater compliment on Music for Grown-Ups.

If this La Boheme sounded so good on radio, without the acting, the setrs, the costumes and the surtitles, it must have been stunning in the Metroplitan Opera House.

If this production ever plays Covent Garden, I’ll willingly queue round the block.

Brava Gheorghiu!!



Gerry Smith