Antonio Pappano feels that "No opera expresses the irrepressible energy of youth like La bohème … Puccini throws you into a fleeting world that everyone can relate to. He really shows us what falling in love is like." Roberto Alagna's Rodolfo meets Leontina Vaduva's Mimì, while Thomas Hampson's Marcello is reunited with the Musetta of Ruth Ann Swenson. With the two other Parisian bohemians sung by Simon Keenlyside (Schaunard) and Samuel Ramey (Colline), this is indeed a recording to evoke the "nostalgia at the memory of wonderful moments" that Pappano finds so powerful in this evergreen opera.

Cast:
- Rodolfo: Roberto Alagna
- Mimì: Leontina Vaduva
- Marcello: Thomas Hampson
- Schaunard: Simon Keenlyside
- Colline: Samuel Ramey
- Musetta: Ruth Ann Swenson
- Benoît/Alcindoro: Enrico Fissore
- Parpignol: Philip Sheffield
- Sergente dei doganieri: Jeffrey Carl
- Doganiere: Paul Parfitt