Customer Reviews

Mozart: Così fan tutte

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3 star:		(1)
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Although he died very young, Toscanini protege Cantelli made a number of very fine studio recordings which attested to his talent, skill and sheer verve.

This recording is not a studio effort but a rather dimly recorded live performance which stands as an excellent testimonial to the exceptional talents of this conductor.

The orchestral playing is lithe and disciplined, yet it is never overforced or too ruthless. More importantly is the choice of tempi throughout, which feel absolutely "right" rather similar to those chosen by (Erich) Kleiber in his Decca/London Marriage of Figaro. Here is a conductor who new how to make phrases breathe and sing: Cantelli shows himself to be an almost ideal opera conductor.

The singing is rather more variable, but all of the key singers live up to their reputations, and some of them - such as Schwarzkopf, seem to settle into their roles after a while.

Cantelli's Mozart style reminds one less of Toscanini than the young Karajan who also inspired orchestras to play in a lithe, energetic yet always supremely aristocratic fashion.

In fact, although this recording is somewhat let down by pallid (but never unlistenable) sound, the performance is one to treasure - an almost perfect balance between the various elements of Mozart interpretations.

At the price, this is a bargain to anyone who loves the opera, and everyone who has an interest in this gifted and sadly missed conductor.

This is a live recording of a performance that took place on January 27, 1956 at the Milan Piccola Scala. The orchestra was that of La Scala and was conducted by Guido Cantelli with a time balance that can not be found in other versions, even in the most recent and well known studio versions. Elizabeth Schwarzkopf, one of the purest voices of modern times along with Kiri Te Kanawa and Renee Fleming, played the role of Fiordiligi with a perfection that can not be found even in the famous studio recordings with Bohm and von Karajan. It was an unrepeatable performance that we can enjoy, in spite of the normal drawbacks of a tape recording made by an amateur.

That evening was also the debut of the young Peruvian tenor Luigi Alva in the role of Ferrando, accompanied by Rolando Panerai as Guglielmo. Alva and Panerai would play together in several other memorable performances of Cosi Fan Tutte. Nan Merriman was also great as Dorabella and we can say the same about the charming Graciela Sciuti and Franco Calabrese, as Despina and Don Alfonso, respectively.

Cantelli had to step in at the last moment to conduct this Cosi, having never conducted the work before. He did an amazing job, and his premature death in a plane crash in 1956 surely deprived the world of a potentially great opera conductor. the sound is boxy mono but listenable, and the cast is one of the best, especially for a live performance.

I am amazed that no one here compares this version to the famous Karajan version with Schwarzkopf. That is really the relevant comparison, and very telling. It is because of Schwarzkopf's handling of the phrase "A Guarda Sorella" and just about a million other details that I always thought the Karajan version had no real peer. But in this live performance the lovely phrase is handled equally well, or even a little better. And Cantelli's conducting is very brisk and almost jaunty in a way that largely works, except maybe in "Soave si il vento," where the Karajan reading takes on a beauty that is truly almost from another planet, not from this tawdry world of ours. Also the Mesmerist doctor is played in the Karajan version with high camp, which is the right reading to my ears, as the more straight attempts, as in this one, seem at cross purposes with the music. Small quibbles. This is a great set!