FanFaire's CD Rack - Mozart Operas

CELEBRATING MOZART with SPECIAL EDITIONS / NEW & RARE RECORDINGS
OPERA SERIA, OPERA BUFFA, EARLY SONATAS...

MOZART: Opera seria

LA CLEMENZA DI TITO - harmonia mundi HMC 901923.24
This is not generally considered one of Mozart's great operas; in fact, it has been held in rather low esteem on account of the historically accurate fact that Mozart left the writing of some of the recitatives to a pupil, and the now debunked myth (among many others) that the opera seria in two Acts was written in a hurry (18 days!) because Mozart simply needed the money. Thus, Mozart could not give the best of himself; consequently, the work suffered, especially by comparison to his masterpieces. Or so went the conventional wisdom that held through the years, until perhaps the 1990s when a couple of new recordings (e.g., Hogwood, Harnoncourt) signalled a revival of interest in Mozart's maligned opera about friendship (between the emperor Titus and the youth Sextus), love (between Titus and three women, and between Sextus and one woman), a murder plot (against the emperor) and forgiveness (of complicity in the plot). The work is based on the characters in the drama by the 18th century Italian poet Pietro Metastasio and adapted by Caterino Mazzola.

Mozart's 250th birth anniversary in 2006 has sparked renewed interest in the work and occasioned the re-issuance of old recordings and the issuance of a new one - Baroque music specialist René Jacobs' exceptional, indeed magical, interpretation performed by a an excellent vocal ensemble, with the Freiburger Barockorchester playing on period instruments. Released by Harmonia Mundi, the recording "rehabilitates" Mozart's last opera seria - with some minor "retouching" that Jacobs thought necessary to finesse Mozart's pupil's contribution - restoring the original score in its entirety, most especially the recitatives which, because they were thought to be boring, had traditionally been subjected to drastic cuts.

Jacobs' reading will convince the listener that La Clemenza di Tito is truly deserving of a second hearing as he/she begins to realize that: the opera, like Mozart's more beloved masterpieces, is suffuse with beautiful, indeed even hummable, melodies; the recitatives though relatively long, are not boring, but are often as enjoyable as the arias; the music is rich and held together by a wonderful structural and thematic unity; and the work, especially as performed in this recording, rises to the level of a masterpiece, completely negating the Austrian Empress Maria Luisa's dismissal of the piece as porcheria tedesca (translation: "German rubbish").

But don't just take our word for it. Discover the beauty of La Clemenza di Tito - listen to some clips, and be convinced.

Parto, ma tu ben mio

Deh per questo istante solo

Tu, è ver, m'assolve, Augusto
(Aria -Sesto; CD1-tr19) (Rondo-Sesto; CD2-tr13) (Sestetto con coro; CD2-tr23) US Release: Sept 2006

Like all special editions by harmonia mundi, this CD set is handsomely boxed with an accompanying booklet that contains the complete libretto, an extensive analytical commentary about the opera and the circumstances surrounding its creation and a typically incisive discussion by René Jacobs possibly forever silencing the myths that have slandered this beautiful piece of work for over two centuries.

Cast: Mark Padmore (Tito), Alexandrina Pendatchanska (Vitellia), Bernarda Fink (Sesto), Marie-Claude Chappuis (Annio), Sunhae Im (Servilia), Sergio Foresti (Publio), with the RIAS Kammerchor and the Freiburger Barockorchester conducted by René Jacobs.

Released in Europe May 2006 / US Release: September 2006

MOZART: Opera buffa

LE NOZZE DI FIGARO harmonia mundi HMX 2961818.20
This is the 2005 Grammy-Award winning recording of Mozart's beloved opera, reissued in a luxury CD-book format by Harmonia Mundi in 2006 as one of ten outstanding Special Edition recordings in celebration of Mozart's 250th birth anniversary. René Jacobs masterfully conducts the Concerto Köln, the Collegium Vocale Gent, and a superb all-star cast that includes baritone Simon Keenlyside as the Count Almaviva, soprano Veronique Gens as the Countess, mezzo-soprano Angelika Kirchschlager as Cherubino, bass Lorenzo Regazzo as Figaro, and soprano Patricia Ciofi as Susanna.

Even if you already have a favorite Figaro recording, this lavishly illustrated Special Edition album is certainly worth adding to your collection because it is wonderfully different from the post-Romantic recordings that most of us have been used to all these years. Writing about his interpretation in a most enlightening article entitled "A Subversive Composer" that follows the libretto, Maestro René Jacobs describes his unique approach as "neo-Classical" - using period instruments not to replicate the music solely in the service of authenticity, but to encourage the individual musician (instrumentalist and singer) to apply his/her imagination to the practices of Mozart's time wholly in the service of the music drama.

Using vibrato over legato for expressive effects, the orchestral playing has a refreshing transparency that is sure to please the sensitive ear, very audibly providing, as Mozart intended, not mere accompaniment to the singers but musical commentary on the action of the characters. The overture sets the tempo, which is uncommonly but pleasantly fast - faster than any you are likely to have heard before; and, Jacobs suggests based on an essay written at the time by a Mozart fan, perhaps as Mozart - who did not indicate tempi in the score - probably preferred it. And what of the voices? Flawless! Without exception, the singers impeccably deliver the beautifully ornamented recitatives and arias.

So does Jacobs' approach succeed? Most definitely! This "subversive" album that celebrates Mozart is itself worth celebrating. Listen...

"Se a casa madama" - CD1, tr4        "Non più andrai!" - CD1, tr20      "Porgi Amor" - CD2, tr1     " Voi che sapete" - CD2, tr4
        Duettino- Figaro, Susanna                           Aria - Figaro                                       Cavatina - Countess          Arietta - Cherubino

"Hai già vinta la causa!" - CD2, tr21    "Gente, gente" - CD3, tr21
     Recitativo/Aria - Count                Cast: Count, Figaro, etc.

If you don't care much for the frills and the extras, you could go instead with the original album. .

Mozart - instrumental >>> More opera >>>

GRAMMY '08

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VOCAL - opera

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