Puccini"s happy bohemians have never been in such a hurry! The old saying that Arturo Toscanini conducted as though his car was double-parked outside holds true here, though he makes a case for the opera as a piece of musical architecture better than anyone with orchestral details that sing out (and if they don"t, the Maestro can be heard singing them himself). Though the cast has two big names--Licia Albanese and Jan Peerce--neither sound particularly happy, especially Peerce, who sounds like a baritone forcing himself to be a tenor. Though Toscanini conducted the opera"s 1896 premiere, this 1946 recording seems a long way from the style of music-making that we know went on back then and thus can"t be credited as being particularly authentic. It"s more about Toscanini than anything, and for those who love the Maestro, that will be enough. --David Patrick Stearns