Rating: 
Summary: Let's Get Real
Review: Yes, this is one of the most BELIEVABLE Bohemes you can see. Luhrman's direction is full of great details (just look at how Mimi and Rodolopho listen to each other and play off the words). I loved the end of Act III where Rodolpho playfully throws some snow at Mimi!! Tthe updated 1950's production works fine, and the acting is superb. There's not a trace of "standard opera acting" (i.e., stand and sing with an occasional stock hand gesture). The up-close video shots allow (and force) the singers to act with their eyes and faces far more than they could do in a live opera house, where such things would be lost beyond the 10th row.No, this is not anywhere near the best SUNG Boheme you can find. The Rodolpho and Musetta, particularly, have tight, thin voices, and would have trouble making the finals of the Metropolitan Opera auditions. I was afraid Rodolpho's voice would give out before his high C's in Act I. For great voices and great VOCAL ACTING, listen to Callas, DiStefano, Tebaldi, Georghiu, Bergonzi, Bjorling, etc. (Avoid Bocelli if you want great tenor singing.) So buy this DVD, for Chrissakes, and get to know what really happens in the opera and WHY they are singing their hearts out. Then move on to the great singers of the past and present, who are not on this DVD. David Richie
Rating: 
Summary: This Boheme has great acting and magnificent voices
Review: La Boheme:
What an unbelievable work by Puccini: surely the opening theme must be one of the greatest melodies of all time. It moves me near to tears: To think anyone could imagine music this beautiful and be able to write it down for others to hear for time eternal. The scene is Paris 1957. The 2 main actors are young and handsome: someone you could really believe to be falling in love. But the best parts are the acting qualities of the singers and what voices!!!!
In particular, David Hobson as Rodolfo: his rendition of "che gelida manina" will make the hair on the back of the neck stand up and salute! When done well, it must be one of a handful of great tenor arias in all of opera.
Cheryl Baker does an excellent job as Mimi. A great voice and her death scene in the end is very moving.
This production done by the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra is a fine example of an excellent use of people and resources. Filmed before a live audience (really the only way great opera should be recorded) we actually see stagehands moving the sets, and yet they do not distract from the magic that is happening but instead are part of the drama unfolding before you.
The only unrealistic part of the entire performance was the audience: Silent, except for an occasional cough, they sat on their hands if they were watching paint dry. Did they not see the unbelievable performances that were unfolding before them? I mean, is that not the purpose of live theatre??: Audience reaction to great performances: If I had been an actor on that stage I would have been so disappointed: wondering what we were doing wrong. Maybe the audience was instructed not to clap or shout until the end of a scene, but if that is the case why even bother to perform it live. All in all a wonderful disc. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: SHEER DELIGHT! Believe what you're reading, and more....
Review: First of all, note that this DVD is underpriced. A few things I can add to the other 5-star comments: I defy anyone to get past "Che gelida manina" without hitting the back button at least twice. (8 times for me) Also, if you have any doubt that David Hobson poured himself completely into his "Rodolfo", then check out the extended curtain call at the end. He never does seem to compose himself. Totally believable. (Men, you may not want to let your wife see it. This guy could steal her heart!) And, delightful to see an attractive Mimi (Cheryl Barker) Though this charachter was sickly, the background history of the book says she was based on an attractive model. The higher priced Met version features a normally attactive Teresa Stratas' eyes made up to look quite frightening. Was it a special Halloween edition? To believe Rodofo could have fallen in love with HER eyes was impossible. On the contrary, in this version, Barker masterfully balances the combination of ill health and beauty. And, the appropriately youthful cast doesn't short you at all on voice quality. The other players were consistently excellent, and lovable. Like the Lyon version of "Figaro", a great one to get a friend started on opera. Bravo!
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely Superb
Review: I am not a fan of opera at all. When Rent first came out (a show I deeply love and connect to), I was surprised to discover it was modeled after Puccini's La Boheme. So, I decided to culture myself and by a CD version of the opera. I enjoyed it, but again, it was not something I'd play over and over again. Then the hoopla began with Baz Luhrmann's production of the show coming to Broadway. I was excited. Here was an amazing visual director doing an "updated" version of an opera. I was excited to see it, but unfortunately it closed before I had a chance to make my way to NYC. Then, I came across this DVD version of his original production at the Sydney Opera House. I bought it just to check it out for myself, and I was blown away. Luhrmann moves the story to post-war 1950's Paris, and it works completely. The design of the whole show is very similar to Moulin Rouge. The singers are wonderful; however, it is obvious they were cast for this talent and not the acting. The acting is good and not bad at all. It's just that the focus is on the music, and the acting falters in a few places. Visually and vocally, Luhrmann's opera is a sight to be seen. This version of Puccini's opera is perfect for someone justing getting their first exposure to opera. It totally accessible with the universal plot of love gained and lost, and Puccini's music is superb.
Rating:
Summary: This Boheme is Superb
Review: All singing and acting is close to perfect. The directing is, to say the least, imaginative and well-conceived.
My only beef (which prevents the 5th star) is with the conductor: his tempos repeatedly fail to square with the score, and the orchestra seems woodwind-heavy under his baton.
Buy it? Yes, siree.
Definitive version? Probably not.
Rating:
Summary: one of the best filmed versions of an opera.....
Review: First of all, what drew me to watch this performance back in 1994 was director, Baz Luhrmann, who brought us the beautiful, delightfully quirky Strictly Ballroom. I was interested to see how he would direct one of the most beautiful and heartbreaking operas I know. Needless to say, I was completely enchanted!
The story of a group of Bohemians living together, and barely scraping by, and then the writer of the group, Rudolfo (David Hobson) meeting the beautiful and frail Mimi (Cheryl Barker) who brings sunshine and hope into his life is timeless.
Not only is the acting strong, but the singing is positively stirring. I know other customers have mentioned David Hobson's portrayal of Rudolfo, but I had to add my two cents as well. He is a magnificent and stirring singer and smouldering actor. I kept wishing I was Mimi instead of Cheryl Barker. From his expressive eyes, to his beautiful and graceful renditions of the arias, I was in love from the moment I saw him. Cheryl Barker is also beautiful and very believable in her portrayal of Mimi. Just lovely. The supporting cast was great, too. Schaunard, Musetta, and all of the others were portrayed with zest. Please check this out!!!!! You won't be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: SHEER DELIGHT! Believe what you're reading, and more....
Review: First of all, note that this DVD is underpriced. A few things I can add to the other 5-star comments: I defy anyone to get past "Che gelida manina" without hitting the back button at least twice. (8 times for me) Also, if you have any doubt that David Hobson poured himself completely into his "Rodolfo", then check out the extended curtain call at the end. He never does seem to compose himself. Totally believable. (Men, you may not want to let your wife see it. This guy could steal her heart!) And, delightful to see an attractive Mimi (Cheryl Barker) Though this charachter was sickly, the background history of the book says she was based on an attractive model. The higher priced Met version features a normally attactive Teresa Stratas' eyes made up to look quite frightening. Was it a special Halloween edition? To believe Rodofo could have fallen in love with HER eyes was impossible. On the contrary, in this version, Barker masterfully balances the combination of ill health and beauty. And, the appropriately youthful cast doesn't short you at all on voice quality. The other players were consistently excellent, and lovable. Like the Lyon version of "Figaro", a great one to get a friend started on opera. Bravo!
Rating:
Summary: One of the World's Best Opera Companies
Review: With one of the world's best opera companies performing this eye-popping spectacle, it's no small wonder this is one of Luhrmann's most beloved works. This production, streets ahead of any tired reproduction, restores the poignant message of love in its purist, most random form. Impeccable direction, dazzling designs and superb performances by senior artists of Opera Australia (OA) culminate in one of the finest achievements in contemporary opera direction. Absolutely the best production of 'La boheme' post 1960. The quality of the individual performances is truly breathtaking - these performer's emotional range coupled with phenomenal vocal control allow for possibly the most moving interpretation we have seen for years. An excellent example of fine Australian production - ahead of its time and assembled by and including some of the world's greatest directors, designers and musicians.
Rating:
Summary: ... and an excellent choice for begginers too
Review: This is the all around most wonderful opera performance I have been able to watch on my TV (even though it is not my favorite opera). When I have watched it (and I watch it often) with non-opera lovers, the result have been amazing.
P.S. It is true: everybody cries his heart out for Hobson, I mean Rodolfo!!!!
Rating:
Summary: And LA BOHEME just sings on!
Review: With all the hoopla about the (gasp) Broadway production of LA BOHEME sending opera lovers into quandary, one viewing of this DVD captured performance of Director Baz Luhrmann's version of this beloved chestnut should calm the storms of the sacrosanct. This live performance by the Australian Opera has some new ideas (setting in the 1950's - though the change in year's has negligible effect on the message or even justification for the 100 years jump ahead, addition of peculiar but effective characters in the Act II Cafe Momus scene, Act III unexplainably at the French/Belgian border, etc), but fear not: Lurhmann leaves this Boheme intact. The singers are all good with David Hobson and Cheryl Barker at the forefront as Rodolfo and Mimi, with radiant voices and looks and acting. The stage direction seems appropriate although the film director favors close-ups to stage pictures (this works well because the singing actors are so credible, but it is a touch distracting to watch the sweat role down their faces while they sing of the bitter winter cold...). Gratefully there is no audience applause after the big showstopper arias so the action is not broken. The lighting, costumes, group movement, set and use of ramp in front of the orchestra are all effective. In the end we are left weeping as Mimi dies, even though we know it's coming and have seen it countless times. This is the genius of Puccini and now perhaps as Luhrmann's "show" is on Broadway and touring companies across the USA, more people will be caught up in the beauty of opera.
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