La bohème is an opera in four acts, composed by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, based on Scenes of a Day in the Life of Bohemians by Henri Murger. The world premiere performance of La bohème was in Turin on February 1, 1896 at the Teatro Regio, conducted by the young Arturo Toscanini; its U.S. premiere took place the following year, 1897, in Los Angeles. Since then, La bohème has become part of the standard Italian opera repertory and is one of the most frequently performed operas worldwide.

Cast:

Mimi – Renata Tebaldi

Rodolfo – Giacinto Prandelli

Musetta – Hilde Gueden

Marcello – Giovanni Inghilleri

Alberto Erede – conductor

Decca - 1951

Amahl and the Night Visitors is an opera in one act by Gian Carlo Menotti with an original English libretto by the composer. It was commissioned by NBC and first performed by the NBC Opera Theatre on December 24, 1951, in New York City at NBC studio 8H in Rockefeller Center, where it was broadcast live on television from that venue as the debut production of the Hallmark Hall of Fame. It was the first opera specifically composed for television in America.

Cast:

Amahi – Chet Allen

The Mother – Rosemary Kulmann

Thomas Schippers – conductor