La Boheme
In its day--the early 1960s--this Bohème recording ruled. Now, its appeal lies mainly in two disparate listening camps: Anna Moffo fans and audiophiles. As the sickly flower maker Mimi, Moffo is at her vocal peak and producer Richard Mohr came up with an atmospheric production that remains one of the best Living Stereo efforts in the opera repertoire. The rest is oddly dated.  Richard Tucker sounds strangely hoarse and throaty; long known as the king of sobs, he really blubbers through the final scene. Robert Merrill's Marcello ought to be ideal but while being vocally sumptuous, it's dramatically underplayed. Mary Costa is the unexceptional Musetta. Though known for German repertoire, conductor Erich Leinsdorf gives Puccini's score elegance.--David Patrick Stearns