Lorengar made a studio recording of La Boheme, sung auf Deutsch with colleagues like Konya and Streich early on in her career. Here she is well over a decade later singing in the original language, still in very good voice. Her vibrato shimmers beautifully and she remains a loving, sincere Mimi. Merighi was considered a second-stringer at the time, but his Rodolfo is romantic and passionate and so Italian. The big aria is sung down a half-step, but the duet is sung in key; he and Lorengar hold the final top C for a long time. Gayer is an attractive Musetta. Her vibrato is a little fluttery at times and one gets the sense that the role is a shade large for her voice. Wixell is a stalwart Marcello (as he was at the Met and elsewhere.) Van Dam manages to makes Colline both sexy and noble at once and Barry McDaniel is a vivid Schaunard. Cillario leads a solid performance.The sound is from a good in-house source, the voices slightly recessed but always audible. Except for five seconds of garbled tape (after Rodolfo's final cry of "Mimi!" in the last minute of the performance) it is very listenable.

Being a fan of Pilar Lorengar, it is wonderful to have this moment. She is in her loveliest silvery feminine voice. She is radiant. Merighi is excellent as Rodolfo with a robust italiante sound. Gayer is charming as Musetta. The other men are truly festival quality. The sound is what sounds like very good in-house. Certainly if you like any of these singers or want to get to know them, give this a try.