La bohème discography

This is a list of audio and video recordings (discography) of Giacomo Puccini's opera La bohème which premiered on 1 February 1896 at the Teatro Regio in Turin, conducted by Arturo Toscanini.

Audio recordings

Year Cast
(Mimì, Musetta,
Rodolfo, Marcello,
Colline, Schaunard)
Conductor,
Opera house and orchestra
Label[1]
1917 Gemma Bosini
Adalgisa Giana
Reno Andreini
Ernesto Badini
Vincenzo Bettoni
Aristide Baracchi
Carlo Sabajno
Teatro alla Scala orchestra and chorus
LP: Società Nazionale del Grammofono
Cat: S 5018-42
1928 Rosetta Pampanini
Luba Mirella
Luigi Marini
Gino Vanelli
Tancredi Pasero
Aristide Baracchi
Lorenzo Molajoli
Teatro alla Scala orchestra and chorus
CD: Arkadia
Cat: 78047
1928 Rosina Torri
Thea Vitulli
Aristodemo Giorgini
Ernesto Badini
Luigi Manfrini
Aristide Baracchi
Carlo Sabajno
Teatro alla Scala orchestra and chorus
CD: VAI Audio
Cat: VAIA 1078-2
1938 Licia Albanese
Tatiana Menotti
Beniamino Gigli
Afro Poli
Duilio Baronti
Aristide Baracchi
Umberto Berrettoni
Teatro alla Scala orchestra and chorus
CD: Naxos Historical
Cat: 8.110072-73
1942 Grace Moore
Frances Greer
Frederick Jagel
Francesco Valentino
Ezio Pinza
Wilfred Engelman
Cesare Sodero
Metropolitan Opera orchestra and chorus
CD: Line Music
Cat: 5.00284
1946 Licia Albanese
Anne McKnight
Jan Peerce
Francesco Valentino
Nicola Moscona
George Cehanovsky
Arturo Toscanini
NBC Symphony orchestra and chorus
LP: RCA Victrola
Cat: VIC-6019

CD: RCA Victor
Cat: 60288

1947 Bidu Sayão
Mimi Benzell
Richard Tucker
Francesco Valentino
Nicola Moscona
George Cehanovsky
Giuseppe Antonicelli
Metropolitan Opera orchestra and chorus
CD: Arkadia
Cat: 78068
1951 Renata Tebaldi
Hilde Güden
Giacinto Prandelli
Giovanni Inghilleri
Raffaele Arié
Fernando Corena
Alberto Erede
Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia orchestra and chorus
CD: Naxos
Cat: 8.110252-53
1952 Rosanna Carteri
Elvina Ramella
Ferruccio Tagliavini
Giuseppe Taddei
Cesare Siepi
Pier Luigi Latinucci
Gabriele Santini
RAI Orchestra Sinfonica and chorus
CD: Warner Fonit
Cat: 8573 87270-2
1956 Victoria de los Ángeles
Lucine Amara
Jussi Björling
Robert Merrill
Giorgio Tozzi
John Reardon
Thomas Beecham
RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra and chorus
LP: RCA Victor
Cat: LM-6042
CD: EMI Classics
Cat: 7243-5-67753-2-9
CD: Naxos
Cat: 8.111249-50[2]
1956 Maria Callas
Anna Moffo
Giuseppe Di Stefano
Rolando Panerai
Nicola Zaccaria
Manuel Spatafora
Antonino Votto
Teatro alla Scala orchestra and chorus
CD: Naxos
Cat: 8.111332-33
1958 Licia Albanese
Laurel Hurley
Carlo Bergonzi
Mario Sereni
Clifford Harvuot
Norman Scott
Thomas Schippers
Metropolitan Opera orchestra and chorus
(Recorded on 15 February 1958)
CD: Sony Classical
Cat: 88697804632
1958 Renata Tebaldi
Gianna D'Angelo
Carlo Bergonzi
Ettore Bastianini
Cesare Siepi
Renato Cesari
Tullio Serafin
Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia orchestra and chorus
CD: Decca
Cat: 470 431-2
1959 Licia Albanese
Audrey Schuh
Giuseppe Di Stefano
Giuseppe Valdengo
Norman Treigle
Arthur Cosenza
Renato Cellini
New Orleans Opera Association orchestra and chorus
CD: VAI
Cat: VAIA 1119-2
1961 Anna Moffo
Mary Costa
Richard Tucker
Robert Merrill
Giorgio Tozzi
Philip Maero
Erich Leinsdorf
Rome Opera orchestra and chorus
LP: RCA Victor
Cat: LSC-6095
CD: RCA Victor
Cat: 09026-63179-2
1961 Renata Scotto
Jolanda Meneguzzer
Gianni Poggi
Tito Gobbi
Giuseppe Modesti
Giorgio Giorgetti
Antonino Votto
Maggio Musicale Fiorentino orchestra and chorus
CD: Deutsche Grammophon
Cat: 435 715-2
1962–
1963
Mirella Freni
Mariella Adani
Nicolai Gedda
Mario Sereni
Ferruccio Mazzoli
Mario Basiola, Jr.
Thomas Schippers
Rome Opera orchestra and chorus
CD: EMI Classics
Cat: 91998
1963 Mirella Freni
Hilde Güden
Gianni Raimondi
Rolando Panerai
Ivo Vinco
Giuseppe Taddei
Herbert von Karajan
Vienna State Opera orchestra and chorus
ORF live recording
CD: RCA Red Seal
Cat: 74321 57736 2[3]
1972 Mirella Freni
Elizabeth Harwood
Luciano Pavarotti
Rolando Panerai
Nicolai Ghiaurov
Gianni Maffeo
Herbert von Karajan
Berlin Philharmonic orchestra
Deutsche Oper Berlin chorus
CD: Decca
Cat: 421245
1973 Montserrat Caballé
Judith Blegen
Plácido Domingo
Sherrill Milnes
Ruggero Raimondi
Vicente Sardinero
Georg Solti
London Philharmonic Orchestra
John Alldis Choir
LP: RCA Red Seal
Cat: ARL2-0371
CD: RCA Victor
Cat: 74321 39496-2
1979 Katia Ricciarelli
Ashley Putnam
José Carreras
Francis Egerton
Håkan Hagegård
Robert Lloyd
Colin Davis
Royal Opera House orchestra and chorus
CD: Philips Records
Cat: 4422602
1979 Ileana Cotrubaș
Lucia Popp
Luciano Pavarotti
Lorenzo Saccomani
Yevgeny Nesterenko
Giorgio Giorgetti
Carlos Kleiber
Teatro alla Scala orchestra and chorus
(Recorded on 27 March 1979)
CD: Myto
Cat: 011 240
(see video below)
1983 Mirella Freni
Margherita Guglielmi
Luciano Pavarotti
Wolfgang Brendel
Jan-Hendrik Rootering
John Janssen
Carlos Kleiber
Bavarian State Opera orchestra and chorus
(Recorded on 16 July 1983 at National Theatre Munich)
CD: Audio Encyclopedia
Cat: AE204
1987 Barbara Hendricks,
Angela Maria Blasi,
José Carreras,
Gino Quilico,
Francesco Ellero d'Artegna,
Richard Cowan
James Conlon,
Orchestre National de France, Chorus of Radio France
(Recorded May 1987, Grand Auditorium, Radio France; used for the soundtrack to La Bohème (1988 film))
CD: Erato[4]
Cat: 2292-45311-2
(see 1988 video below)
1987 Angelina Reaux
Barbara Daniels
Jerry Hadley
Thomas Hampson
James Busterud
Paul Plishka
Leonard Bernstein
Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia orchestra and chorus
CD: Deutsche Grammophon
Cat: 423 601-2
1990 Daniela Dessì
Adelina Scarabelli
Giuseppe Sabbatini
Paolo Gavanelli
Carlo Colombara
Alfonso Antoniozzi
Gianluigi Gelmetti
Teatro Comunale di Bologna orchestra and chorus
CD: EMI Classics
Cat: 74321 39496-2
1995 Kiri Te Kanawa
Nancy Gustafson
Richard Leech
Alan Titus
Roberto Scanduzzi
Gino Quilico
Kent Nagano
London Symphony Orchestra
Ambrosian Singers, St Clement Danes School Choir
CD: Erato Records
Cat: 0630-1-10699-2
1998 Angela Gheorghiu
Elisabetta Scano
Roberto Alagna
Simon Keenlyside
Ildebrando D'Arcangelo
Roberto De Candia
Riccardo Chailly
Teatro alla Scala orchestra and chorus
CD: Decca
Cat: 470 624-2 DSA
1999 Barbara Frittoli
Eva Mei
Andrea Bocelli
Paolo Gavanelli
Mario Luperi
Natale de Carolis
Zubin Mehta
Israel Philharmonic Orchestra
CD: Decca
Cat: 470 62435782
2007 Anna Netrebko
Nicole Cabell
Rolando Villazón
Boaz Daniel
Vitalij Kowaljow
Stéphane Degout
Bertrand de Billy
Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra
(Recorded in concert at Münchner Philharmonie in April 2007; used for the soundtrack to La Bohème (2008 film))
CD: Deutsche Grammophon
Cat: 477 6600
(see 2008 video below)
2022 Celine Byrne
Anna Devin
Merūnas Vitulskis
David Bizic
John Molloy
Ben McAteer
Sergio Alapont
Irish National Opera
Irish National Opera Chorus
CD: Signum Classics [5]
Reference: 0000702SIGCD

Video recordings

Year Cast
(Mimì, Musetta,
Rodolfo, Marcello,
Colline, Schaunard)
Conductor,
Opera house and orchestra
(production details)
Label[1]
1960 Léna Pastor,
Irène Gromova,
Alain Vanzo,
Willy Clément,
Xavier Depraz,
Jean-Pierre Laffage
Georges Derveaux,
Orchestre radio-lyrique, RTF
(sung in French, translation by Paul Ferrier)
DVD: Fra Musica
Cat: INA FRA010[6]
1965 Mirella Freni,
Adriana Martino,
Gianni Raimondi,
Rolando Panerai,
Ivo Vinco,
Gianni Maffeo
Herbert von Karajan,
Teatro alla Scala Orchestra & Chorus
(A 1965 film designed and directed by Franco Zeffirelli; cinematographer: Wilhelm Semmelroth)
Film: Cosmotel[7][8]
VHS/DVD: Deutsche Grammophon[9]
1977 Renata Scotto,
Maralin Niska,
Luciano Pavarotti,
Ingvar Wixell,
Paul Plishka,
Allan Monk
James Levine,
Metropolitan Opera Orchestra & Chorus
(Production: Fabrizio Melano; set design: Pier Luigi Pizzi; recorded live, 15 March)
Streaming video:
Met Opera on Demand[10]
1979 Ileana Cotrubaș,
Lucia Popp,
Luciano Pavarotti,
Lorenzo Saccomani,
Yevgeny Nesterenko,
Giorgio Giorgetti
Carlos Kleiber,
Teatro alla Scala Orchestra & Chorus
(Recorded on 30 March 1979)
DVD: Encore
Cat: 2144
(see audio above)
1982 Teresa Stratas,
Renata Scotto,
José Carreras,
Richard Stillwell,
James Morris,
Allan Monk
James Levine,
Metropolitan Opera Orchestra & Chorus
(Production: Franco Zeffirelli; recorded live, 16 January)
Streaming video:
Met Opera on Demand[11]
1986 Fiamma Izzo d'Amico,
Madelyn Renee,
Luciano Pavarotti,
Roberto Servile,
Francesco Ellero d'Artegna,
Jeffrey Mattsey
Leone Magiera,
Genoa Opera Orchestra & Chorus
(Recorded live, Tianquiao Theatre, Beijing)
DVD: Kultur
1988 Barbara Hendricks,
Angela Maria Blasi,
Luca Canonici,[12]
Gino Quilico,
Francesco Ellero d'Artegna,
Richard Cowan
James Conlon,
Orchestre National de France, Chorus of Radio France
(La Bohème (1988 film) directed by Luigi Comencini; cinematographer: Armando Nannuzzi)
Film: Gaumont
HD video: Erato[4]
(see 1987 audio above)
1988 Mirella Freni,
Sandra Pacetti,
Luciano Pavarotti,
Gino Quilico,
Nicolai Ghiaurov,
Stephen Dickson
Tiziano Severini,
San Francisco Opera Orchestra & Chorus
(Recorded live, War Memorial Opera House)
DVD: Kultur, Arthaus Musik[13]
1993 Cheryl Barker,
Christine Douglas,
David Hobson,
Roger Lemke,
Gary Rowley,
David Lemke
Julian Smith,
The Australian Opera Orchestra & Chorus
(Recorded live, Sydney Opera House live,Richard Gill (choir master), sound production by Christopher Lawrence, directed by Baz Luhrmann, design by Catherine Martin)
DVD: Arthaus Musik
Cat: 100954
2002 Alexia Voulgaridou,
Elena de la Merced,
Rolando Villazón,
Ludovic Tézier,
Markus Marquardt,
Toby Stafford-Allen
Ulf Schirmer,
Vienna Symphony
(Recorded at Bregenzer Festspiele in 2002)
DVD: Capriccio Digital
Cat: 93 515
2006 Inva Mula,
Laura Giordano,
Aquiles Machado,
Fabio Capitanucci,
Felipe Bou,
David Menéndez
Jesús López-Cobos,
Teatro Real Orchestra & Chorus
DVD: Opus Arte
Cat: OA0961D
2008 Anna Netrebko,
Nicole Cabell,
Rolando Villazón,
George von Bergen,[14]
Vitalij Kowaljow,
Adrian Eröd[15]
Bertrand de Billy,
Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra
(La Bohème (2008 film) directed by Robert Dornhelm)
Film: Unitel Classica, MR-Film
DVD: Kultur
Cat: KUL D4601
(see 2007 audio above)
2008 Angela Gheorghiu,
Ainhoa Arteta,
Ramón Vargas,
Ludovic Tézier,
Oren Gradus,
Quinn Kelsey
Nicola Luisotti,
Metropolitan Opera Orchestra & Chorus
(Production: Franco Zeffirelli; recorded live, 5 April)
HD video:
Met Opera on Demand[16]
2011 Takesha Meshé Kizart,
Taryn Fiebig,
Ji-Min Park,
José Carbó,
David Parkin,
Shane Lowrencev
Shao-Chia Lü,
Opera Australia Orchestra & Chorus
(Directed by Gale Edwards; recorded live at the Sidney Opera House on 25 and 28 July)
DVD: ABC Classics, Cat: 762470[17]
Blu-ray/DVD: Opera Australia[18]
2014 Kristine Opolais,
Susanna Phillips,
Vittorio Grigolo,
Massimo Cavalletti,
Oren Gradus,
Patrick Carfizzi
Stefano Ranzani,
Metropolitan Opera Orchestra & Chorus
(Production: Franco Zeffirelli; recorded live, 5 April)
HD video:
Met Opera on Demand[19]
2017 Nicole Car,
Aida Garifullina,
Atalla Ayan,
Artur Ruciński,
Roberto Tagliavini,
Alessio Arduini
Gustavo Dudamel,
Paris Opera Orchestra & Chorus
(Director: Claus Guth; recorded live, Opéra Bastille)
Full HD: Paris Opera Play[20]
2018 Sonya Yoncheva,
Susanna Phillips,
Michael Fabiano,
Lucas Meachem,
Matthew Rose,
Alexei Lavrov
Marco Armiliato,
Metropolitan Opera Orchestra & Chorus
(Production: Franco Zeffirelli; recorded live, 24 February)
HD video:
Met Opera on Demand[21]
2020 Sonya Yoncheva,
Simona Mihai,
Charles Castronovo,
Andrzej Filończyk,
Peter Kellner,
Gyula Nagy
Emmanuel Villaume,
The Royal Opera Orchestra & Chorus
(Director: Richard Jones; recorded live, 29 January)
Royal Ballet & Opera Stream[22]
2022 Yaritza Véliz,
Vuvu Mpofu,
Long Long,
Daniel Scofield,
Ivo Stanchev,
Luthando Qave
Jordan de Souza,
London Philharmonic Orchestra,
Glyndebourne Chorus
(Directed by Floris Visser; recorded live at Glyndebourne Opera House)
HD video: Glyndebourne Encore[23][24]
2022 Ailyn Pérez,
Danielle de Niese,
Juan Diego Flórez,
Andrey Zhilikhovsky,
Michael Mofidian,
Ross Ramgobin
Kevin John Edusei,
The Royal Opera Orchestra & Chorus
(Director: Richard Jones; recorded live, 22 October)
Royal Ballet & Opera Stream[25]
2024 Juliana Grigoryan,
Eleonora Bellocci,
Vittorio Grigolo,
Luca Micheletti,
Alexander Vinogradov,
Jan Antem
Daniel Oren,
Arena di Verona Orchestra, Chorus, & Ballet
(Directed by Alfonso Signorini; recorded live, July)
UHD HDR video: ZDF/Unitel[26]

References

  1. ^ a b Recordings of La bohème on operadis-opera-discography.org.uk
  2. ^ "Puccini: Bohème (La)". Naxos Records. 2007. Retrieved 9 January 2020. ... ranks alongside the Callas De Sabata Tosca as one of the greatest studio recordings of an opera ever made.
  3. ^ Flury, Roger (2012). Giacomo Puccini: A Discography. Scarecrow. p. 103. ISBN 9780810883291, listing #456.
  4. ^ a b 1988 Gaumont film: La bohème (1988) at IMDb; Erato soundtrack CD: OCLC 18566824, OCLC 633948428 (cast list), ASIN B000005E6C; Erato video: Apple TV, ASIN B09M9D2H1V.
  5. ^ OCLC 1344340065
  6. ^ La Vie de Bohème by Chantal Cazaux, 22 May 2015. asopera.fr. Retrieved 6 January 2020 (in French)
  7. ^ "La Bohème in 57 Theaters: Mirella Freni Is Mimi With La Scala Opera" by Dan Sullivan, The New York Times, 20 October 1965.
  8. ^ La bohème (1965) at IMDb .
  9. ^ Karajan, 1965: VHS (1988): OCLC 25036434; DVD (2002, 2006): OCLC 676553868, 71078755.
  10. ^ La Bohème (15 March 1977), Met Opera on Demand. CID: 248610, Met Opera Database.
  11. ^ La Bohème (16 January 1982), Met Opera on Demand. CID: 267250, Met Opera Database.
  12. ^ Voice part sung by José Carreras.
  13. ^ San Francisco (1988). Kultur DVD, OCLC 43841109; Arthaus Musik DVD, OCLC 1183727790.
  14. ^ Sung by Boaz Daniel.
  15. ^ Sung by Stéphane Degout.
  16. ^ La Bohème (5 April 2008), Met Opera on Demand. CID: 352466, Met Opera Database.
  17. ^ ABC, 2012, DVD: OCLC 827175218.
  18. ^ Opera Australia, 2011, Blu-ray: OCLC 816705659; DVD: OCLC 793376449.)
  19. ^ La Bohème (5 April 2014), Met Opera on Demand. CID: 355416, Met Opera Database.
  20. ^ La Bohème (2017), Paris Opera Play.
  21. ^ La Bohème (24 February 2018), Met Opera on Demand. CID: 356891, Met Opera Database.
  22. ^ La Bohème (2020), Royal Ballet & Opera Stream.
  23. ^ La bohème (Puccini), 2022, glyndebourne.com. Retrieved 21 August, 2023.
  24. ^ Kevin W. Ng, "Death Becomes Her: Floris Visser's new Bohème at Glyndebourne", Bachtrack, 19 June 2022.
  25. ^ La Bohème (2022), Royal Ballet & Opera Stream.
  26. ^ La Bohème - Arena di Verona, Plex. Retrieved 27 January 2026. Many of the details are taken from the credits at the end of the video.

Further reading