La Boheme

The second of Franco Zeffirelli's filmed operas (it was originally made for TV), La Boheme is of course based on the masterwork by Giacomo Puccini, itself based on a novel by Henri Murger. Mirella Freni plays the tragic Mimi, who is devoted to fickle "starving artist" Rodolfo (Gianni Raimondi). Adriana Martino has most of the best scenes--and steals those that she hasn't--in the role of the coquettish Musetta. The film's style was dictated by Zeffirelli's staging of La Boheme at Milan's La Scala opera house. Herbert von Karajan wields the baton for this sumptuous stage-to-screen event.