Mozart operas

[karlhenning]

Now, that is something to go on, thank you very much Bruce.

And I thank you, Bruce!  I've been on a low-key lookout for a DVD of Così.

[71 dB]

An opera about wrestling. Now THAT would be something.

Wrestling is versatile entertainment and has soup opera elements. 

[Daidalos]

RE: Mozart Operas

I have always loved Mozart's late operas for their drama, wit and beauty. The more I listen to them, the more I read of them and of the cultural context in which they were written, the more I am convinced that they are far from "simple". In all da Ponte operas, complex and controversial issues (for the time, and to some extent even today) such as sexuality, class and morality. Consider how shocking they must have been at the time of their conception!

Aside from the daring nature of their plots, I have always been amazed at how Mozart manages to get the music to mirror the drama so perfectly. The beforementioned finale of the second act of Figaro is a perfect example. I don't get the objection that it is "simple" at all. Even yet, why is "simple" necessarily a bad thing? Simplicity can be profound as well, I think, and I have always felt that in some of his later works, Mozart did use simplicity to great artistic effect. Granted, I cannot back this up musically, but it is a feeling nonetheless.

[Florestan]

In all da Ponte operas, complex and controversial issues (for the time, and to some extent even today) such as sexuality, class and morality.

Still, da Ponte was no Wilhelm Reich, nor was Mozart a politically correct composer. 

[Haffner]

Hey, I co-wrote a zombie novella. Go check out my profile and see if you can find the book cover.  It's reeeeal purty.

Hey, please PM me and let me know how to buy a copy of your novella!

[Haffner]

Now, that is something to go on, thank you very much Bruce.

Harry, that's a really good Cosi, but the dvd I love most has Muti conducting and Ziegler singing....it's fantastic, with special/mostly traditional settings. Please be sure to check that one out.

[Harry]

Harry, that's a really good Cosi, but the dvd I love most has Muti conducting and Ziegler singing....it's fantastic, with special/mostly traditional settings. Please be sure to check that one out.

This way I am getting a list with which I can work, thanks Andy.

[Anne]

This way I am getting a list with which I can work, thanks Andy.

Harry, I listen to the following performance of Marriage of Figaro all the time; it is my favorite:

http://www.amazon.com/Mozart-Nozze-Figaro-Marriage/dp/B0007P0LNO/ref=sr_1_8/104-6944379-3143911?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1192029910&sr=1-8

This is my favorite Don Giovanni.

http://www.amazon.com/Mozart-Giovanni-Maazel-Raimondi-Kanawa/dp/B00005UW7G/ref=pd_sim_m_4_img/104-6944379-3143911?ie=UTF8&qid=1192029910&sr=1-8

[Mozart]

Harry, I listen to the following performance all the time; it is my favorite:

http://www.amazon.com/Mozart-Nozze-Figaro-Marriage/dp/B0007P0LNO/ref=sr_1_8/104-6944379-3143911?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1192029910&sr=1-8

The tempo is to slow, but it is hard to dislike anything with Kiri Te Kanawa.

[Harry]

Harry, I listen to the following performance of Marriage of Figaro all the time; it is my favorite:

http://www.amazon.com/Mozart-Nozze-Figaro-Marriage/dp/B0007P0LNO/ref=sr_1_8/104-6944379-3143911?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1192029910&sr=1-8

This is my favorite Don Giovanni.

http://www.amazon.com/Mozart-Giovanni-Maazel-Raimondi-Kanawa/dp/B00005UW7G/ref=pd_sim_m_4_img/104-6944379-3143911?ie=UTF8&qid=1192029910&sr=1-8

Thank you Anne, this list of mine is getting gigantic proportions.

[Mozart]

Thank you Anne, this list of mine is getting gigantic proportions.

When it comes to throwing stuff away, my mailbox makes as good a bin as any

[DavidW]

Sun rotating around Earth? It was widely held for centuries and defended with fire and sword.

That doesn't discredit what Larry said.  Something being true is separate from the issue of who has the burden of proof to carry in a debate.  Else you could say "I won't justify myself because clearly I speak the truth" for everything, which is just stupid.

[Larry Rinkel]

That doesn't discredit what Larry said.  Something being true is separate from the issue of who has the burden of proof to carry in a debate.  Else you could say "I won't justify myself because clearly I speak the truth" for everything, which is just stupid.

Thank you.

[uffeviking]

Harry, something tells me you might enjoy this DVD, a 1992 production of Così fan tutte conducted by John Eliot Gardiner, filmed at the Théâtre du Châtelet.
--Bruce

The video of this excellent production has been sitting on my shelve for over ten years. It came out as LVD and is one of my favorites because it is so lovely conducted, sung, played and directed.

To discover outstanding Mozart singers, let's forget about Kiri te Kanawa, who is from the old school believing only in sound, to hell with the words and action. Tapping her big toe is the extent of her dramatic expression.

In the Mozart celebration year 2006, Salzburg performed and recorded every opera Mozart wrote and presented new, young talent on the podium and stage and as director. There is the place to go to learn more about Mozart, the opera composer, take fresh looks at them, and those young voices will knock your socks off! No stoic 'stand and deliver' for them; they can actually sing while moving about and displaying expressions beyond big toe tapping! 

[Mozart]

http://www.youtube.com/watch/v/Gwq13kGm4Uc

[Florestan]

who has the burden of proof to carry in a debate. 

This has been settled by the Roman Law 2000 years ago: the burden of proof lies on s/he who states something, not on s/he who denies.  

[Harry]

When it comes to throwing stuff away, my mailbox makes as good a bin as any

Your to late, most of the stuff is already on its way to be destroyed, and anyway, the posting would cost me more as the worth of the cd's themselves.

[Harry]

http://www.youtube.com/watch/v/Gwq13kGm4Uc

Thanks my friend, very helpful, and some things quite beautiful.

[Mozart]

Thanks my friend, very helpful, and some things quite beautiful.

You are welcome, but don't get sucked into it! It is a horrible interpretation!

[Harry]

Mozart.

Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail

Konstanze, Yelda Kodalli.
Belmonte, Paul Groves.
Blonde, Desiree Rancatore.
Osmin, Peter rose.
Pedrillo, Lynton Atkinson.
Bassa Selim, Oliver Tobias.

Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Choir/ Sir Charles Mackerras.

Recorded in 1999 by Mike Hatch in the Caird Hall, Dundee, Scotland.
Licensed from Telarc.

Kadaboem! The first opera from Mozart that I absolutely adore!
To begin with this is a fabulous fine recording, Mike Hatch really surpassed himself. Singers and Orchestra alike have a topnotch front to back image, and it sounds so natural, you almost think your self in the Hall.
But what surprised me most, is the excellent orchestral writing Mozart is offering here. Such fine strings and timpani, played by this orchestra in what I call unsurpassed beauty, not a dull moment here, and so many surprises along the way. This ensemble in in top form on this recording. Tempi are swift without being hasty, and the phrasing is simply to be heard to believe.
But also the singers are in a class apart, to begin with two to me unknown female singers, for which Mozart wrote extremely high notes, and they sing them with ease and purity, without destroying it with too much vibrato. Almost coloratura here. A few minor lapses her and there but nothing serious. Konstanze has a few Arias that moved me almost to tears, the first in the first act, "Ach, ich Liebe, war so glucklich, Kannte nicht der Liebe Schmerz" and in the second act "Matern aller Arten" geez moving!
And Blonde is also a character to be savoured in the Aria "Durch Zartlichkeit und Schmeichlen" high notes almost sung very cleanly.
The men are all fine. the German diction is not always perfect, but in the light of such a performance I readily forget.
This opera I like very much.