Mozart operas

[DarkAngel]

Couple more opera sets arrived this week.............

The Ostman/Lyre Figaro was mentioned a few times here and turns out to be very good indeed, no real weakness but also cannot say it is the very best available. For the low price used a welcome addition to my collection. I would not say that the Ostman is a clear choice over the Gardiner/Archiv, both very good but nether one is going to be my reference Figaro

Klemperer/EMI Flute is a real gem, Klemp is alert and vibrant with orchestra, Janowitz is a wonderful Pamina along with Gedda as Tamino, everyone is sharp and vocally fresh alive sounding. Lucia Popp is really on a very short list for best queen of the night performances here. The 1964 stereo sound still sounds very good, I actually prefer to have dialog parts removed so opera easily fits on 2 Cds as in this set.

Schwarzkopf and Ludwig actually appear in two minor "luxury" roles, a very deep cast!

[DarkAngel]

40 sopranos compared.............
Check this cool you tube video which has short samples of 40 sopranos doing the Der Hölle Rache aria.
The different costume designs are equally interesting! (and funny sometimes)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Pe9UTxyGbk

A range of vocal performance quality here from the sublime to the near absurd.................

Top two queens for me are Lucia Popp and Diana Damrau, Erika Miklosa also is extremely good as shown in several performances above sample.......don't really know too much about her myself, Dessay also near the top of the list

[DarkAngel]

OK here are my preferred versions of the top Mozart operas so far............not many versions left to sample on my top versions list though so this could be the final ranking, still changes are possible as I explore more

Anyone else want to post thier top versions to get some discussion going here?
I think Q gave us his top versions a few pages back

[rubio]

OK here are my preferred versions of the top Mozart operas so far............not many versions left to sample on my top versions list though so this could be the final ranking, still changes are possible as I explore more

Anyone else want to post thier top versions to get some discussion going here?
I think Q gave us his top versions a few pages back

Did you sample Fricsay for some of these operas; e.g. for "Die Entführung..."?

[DarkAngel]

Did you sample Fricsay for some of these operas; e.g. for "Die Entführung..."?

I have had Christie, Gardiner, Solti CD versions and wonderful Minkowski DVD for "Die Entfuhrung".
I sold the Solti but still have Christie/Erato & Gardiner/Archiv CD sets.

How do you compare the Fricsay to any of those versions?
Rita Streich as Blonde sounds very good, but is there some weird thing with some dialog parts being read by different people than the singers  

Hopefully Rene Jacobs will do a version soon............

[DavidRoss]

Did you sample Fricsay for some of these operas; e.g. for "Die Entführung..."?

How well do you know the Christie and Gardiner recordings?

Hopefully Rene Jacobs will do a version soon............

Yes, right after The Magic Flute...then he can retire, secure in the knowledge that he's made the world a better place!

[Tsaraslondon]

My favourite versions.

   
 

Yes I know that the Jochum Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail and the Bohm Die Zauberflote, have their faults, but I just couldn't bear to be without Wunderlich in both operas. As for Bohm's Cosi fan Tutte, I know it too has its detractors, but when I think of such sublime moments as the beautifully vocalised Soave sia il vento, Schwarzkopf's magnificent rendering of Per pieta (the preceding recitative a masterclass of vocal nuance and shading), and the erotic charge of her capitulation to Kraus's Ferrando in Fra gli'amplessi, it would still be the set I would cling to, if told I could have only one.

[rubio]

I have had Christie, Gardiner, Solti CD versions and wonderful Minkowski DVD for "Die Entfuhrung".
I sold the Solti but still have Christie/Erato & Gardiner/Archiv CD sets.

How do you compare the Fricsay to any of those versions?
Rita Streich as Blonde sounds very good, but is there some weird thing with some dialog parts being read by different people than the singers  

Hopefully Rene Jacobs will do a version soon............

Actually, I don't own any of these versions, but I need some input on which recording to go for. As I'm generally a big fan of Fricsay together with the general high opinion of this recording - I probably will go for it.

[DarkAngel]

TL
I am with you  100% as huge fan of Wunderlich, what a great expressive voice.
Also we share favorites for Figaro & Don Giovanni, Giulini was really on top of his opera game in the early 1960s

The competition for best Figaro is extreme,
but the female trio of Schwarzkopf, Moffo, Cossotto that EMI had for Giulini just refuses to be surpassed, essential

[DavidRoss]

   
 

Yes I know that the Jochum Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail and the Bohm Die Zauberflote, have their faults, but I just couldn't bear to be without Wunderlich in both operas. As for Bohm's Cosi fan Tutte, I know it too has its detractors, but when I think of such sublime moments as the beautifully vocalised Soave sia il vento, Schwarzkopf's magnificent rendering of Per pieta (the preceding recitative a masterclass of vocal nuance and shading), and the erotic charge of her capitulation to Kraus's Ferrando in Fra gli'amplessi, it would still be the set I would cling to, if told I could have only one.

Duplicates my own list of non-HIP faves and though I'm a born-again HIP/period instrument fanatic, I would not willingly part with any--the singing is just too extraordinary.  Wunderlich, ja, Schwarzkopf, you betcha, and don't even think about taking Ludwig's Dorabella from me--or any of the rest of that terrific cast with the greatest ensemble singing I know of.  That this recording still holds such a high place in my heart despite my gushing admiration for Jacobs's Cosi just underscores its greatness.

[Franco]

What is the opinion of this one:

Mozart - Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Composer), Georg Solti (Conductor), Wiener Philharmoniker (Orchestra), Ruth Ziesak (Performer), Uwe Heilmann (Performer), Michael Kraus (Performer), Sumi Jo (Performer), Kurt Moll (Performer), Heinz Zednik (Performer), Lotte Leitner (Performer)



It is the only one I own right now, but I am in the process of adding more alternatives to my Mozart Opera CDs and have been listening to it recently.  With nothing to compare to it, I just accept it on it's own terms.

[DarkAngel]

Duplicates my own list of non-HIP faves and though I'm a born-again HIP/period instrument fanatic, I would not willingly part with any--the singing is just too extraordinary.  Wunderlich, ja, Schwarzkopf, you betcha, and don't even think about taking Ludwig's Dorabella from me--or any of the rest of that terrific cast with the greatest ensemble singing I know of.  That this recording still holds such a high place in my heart despite my gushing admiration for Jacobs's Cosi just underscores its greatness.

The Bohm/EMI Cosi has made a swift rise in my depth chart...........I had the old CD version and recently upgraded to the GROTC version with ART remaster, very noticeable cleaning up and improvement of the sound as well as improved booklet/packaging. Yes Schwarzkopf/Ludwig make quite a sister combo! (as do Gens & Fink for Rene Jacobs)

[Brünnhilde ewig]

Everyone of Mozart's 22 operas in one outstanding collection of performances by the best orchestras and singers!

http://www.amazon.com/Mozart-Salzburg-Festspiele-Opera-Boxset/dp/B000I8OFKU/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1248401409&sr=1-2

You can also get the operas separate, one at a time and as the best to start with is Lucio Silla with Roberto Saccà in the title role.

[Dancing Divertimentian]

What is the opinion of this one:



It is the only one I own right now, but I am in the process of adding more alternatives to my Mozart Opera CDs and have been listening to it recently.  With nothing to compare to it, I just accept it on it's own terms.

It's a great one. And more than just on its own terms. Comparatively it stacks up extremely well to all others.

One amazing thing is how good the sound is. Virtually demonstration-quality (I've taken it with me while stereo shopping). But it doesn't end there. Singing, pacing, nuance, color, it's got it all.

Which, to be honest, caught me off guard the first time I heard it. Solti? Turbo-race, high-octane Solti? Showing nuance, grace, and finesse? Yep. He did it. And surprisingly enough a couple more of his late remakes - Cosi and Don Giovanni - show the same restraint. Impressive. This is very late Solti and perhaps he felt "mellowing" wouldn't actually harm anything for a change. Dunno. But it works very well. 

[Dancing Divertimentian]

Actually, I don't own any of these versions, but I need some input on which recording to go for. As I'm generally a big fan of Fricsay together with the general high opinion of this recording - I probably will go for it.

I rec'd three of the Fricsay recordings several posts back: Entführung, Figaro, and Don Giovanni. If comparisons are needed they certainly hold their own against the competition - and in fact come out on top every time for me.

This isn't just fanboy enthusiasm talking, either (I hope). I've owned or heard so many alternate versions I've lost count, both modern and HIP. Fricsay's endured.

DA mentions actors replacing the singers for the recitatives. Fair enough, but since it doesn't effect the singing it doesn't matter to me. It's a practice that's since been abandoned but I can't see dismissing a recording if everything else is done so well.

[DarkAngel]

Don't have the Solti/VPO Flute now, but I mentioned a few pages back that I did get his Figaro & Cosi:



On the strength of these performances I would not hesitate to get his Flute also, but I am reserving a spot for
Jacobs/HM Flute when a recording becomes available.
Although Solti did not make my top performance list, he is not too far down the list and you get great modern sound with his sets.

Besides my favorite Klemperer/EMI Flute I also have these CD sets:
-Christie/Erato
-Ostman/Lyre
-Gardiner/Archiv

[DavidRoss]

On the strength of these performances I would not hesitate to get his Flute also, but I am reserving a spot for Jacobs/HM Flute when a recording becomes available.
Although Solti did not make my top performance list, he is not too far down the list and you get great modern sound with his sets.

Besides my favorite Klemperer/EMI Flute I also have these CD sets:
-Christie/Erato
-Ostman/Lyre
-Gardiner/Archiv

One more Flute worth considering is Abbado's with Erika Miklósa, René Pape, and Dorothea Röschmann -- well sung and well played with the fleetness and transparency we love in those "period" performances but on modern instruments.  Haven't heard it in some time but discussion here has me interested in giving it another go.

[Tsaraslondon]

I haven't heard them, but I remember both the Abbado and Solti Magic Flutes under discussion here, got very good reviews on this side of the pond, when they were first issued. I am often allergic to Solti in opera (I don't like his Verdi at all), but I have heard his Figaro, which I found surprisingly light and mercurial (and it does have a superb cast). I confess I did consider his Magic Flute as an alternative to Bohm with Wunderlich, but eventually plumped for HIP and Christie.

[Sergeant Rock]

I love Klemp's way with Mozart; the clarity he brings to the music (especially the prominent winds).  His recordings of the symphonies are my top choices. So two of my five operas are conducted by Klemp, including this Cosi:



Solti often gets a back rap in this forum but this delightful recording of Figaro should disprove the stereotype this conductor's burdened with (and Stade is the best Cherubino ever  )



Having spent years listening to (and loving) heavily romanticized, 19th century-style Don's (Karajan, Barenboim), this Jacobs' recording was a breath of fresh air, returning the music to the 18th century:



The percussion convinced me on first listen that this was the way this opera should go  



Although I also love Solti II, Haitink, and Böhm, this really is the desert island pick:




Sarge

[DarkAngel]

Amazon to the rescue with a couple more cheap ($11-12) used Flute sets for the collection:



Klemperer/EMI currently is my reference, but always subject to being dethroned by new discoveries