There is not a thread on the operas, neither is there one on the opera I am about to write about. There is probably a thread for each specific movement of each Mahler symphony.........
Le Nozze di Figaro
Riccardo Muti, Vienna Phil, Thomas Allen, Margaret Price, Kathleen Battle, Jorma Hynninen, AnnMurray, Kurt Rydl
Muti is not my go-to guy for Mozart. Several years ago I bought his version of Cosi Fan Tutti on EMI. I feel it is underrated and enjoyed it and the terrific singing a good deal. I encountered this Figaro set second hand on Amazon for £5.50 including post. It arrived with its 318 page booklet. The draw for me was the cast. Over the years Mozart operas have been very fortunate with a number of mouthwatering sets including Solti’s which I regard as one of his most idiomatic sets, really beautiful. There is Giulini also, always there casting a shadow and amongst others that I own there is the Currentiz, which I regard as too hard driven and badly handicapped by a certain singer.
The Muti is fast, but he allows plenty of space where appropriate. The pacing is sensible, slower in the arias than the HIP performances, but faster than old Bohm school, natural, lyrical, often tender. He generates a tension where needed, the last act is very well paced in a great arc. All the singing is first rate. Battle’s voice is a good counterpoint to Price, each sing beautifully and there is no mistaking which is which. The men are less clearly differentiated, but are excellent and sing with face.
A litmus paper test for me is whether the final reconciliation gives the impression of suspending time, it does, how could it not with Price spinning the sinuous line given to her?. Any performance that muffs this passage has substantially failed overall.
This encouraged me to look for the Don Giovanni by Muti. No way do I need yet another, but at £2.70 including post, why not? I spent about £30 on a seat for a none to thrilling concert yesterday. So, I encounter these absurd bargains and don’t hesitate. There is a well priced boxed set of the three da Ponte operas by Muti available....if anyone is interested.
Mike