Caballe and Marti had been married a year when this performance was given and they sound very happy together. Caballe sings like an angel and sounds fully involved in the story. Marti was an underappreciated tenor with an easy, ringing top. He sings his big aria and the following duet in key, joining his wife on a great top C at the end of Act One. He sounds the romantic, immature young poet to the life. Ausensi is a very good Marcello while it's fun to hear the underrated Gilda Cruz-Romo in one of her early roles as Musetta. Her waltz song stands out for its insouciant charm and easy top. She is also very moving in the last moments of the opera. Wildermann contributes a strong Colline and Banuelos a fine Schaunard (although he betrays his origins when he pronounces Marcello's name the Spanish way rather than the Italian in the last scene). Corena is a treat in his dual roles of Benoit and Alcindoro. Rescigno leads a musically excellent performance.The sound is certainly listenable (from a broadcast source), but is compromised with some uneven sound levels, occasional static, and a few pitch glitches. Mostly everyone sounds like themselves, but I wish a better source for this beautiful performance could be found and made available. We're lucky this has survived though and we've all heard worse.

Quelle distribution !!!!!! Quel ineffable bonheur d'entendre notre Superba Montserrat Caballé dans le rôle de Mimi en 1965 !!!!