Customer Reviews

Mozart: Così fan tutte

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4 star:		(1)
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I decided to supplement my RCA Victor Opera series edition of this set with the new Sony/BMG DSD remaster. There is a gain in the quality of sound - more like the original LPs without the surface noise. RCA recordings of this era tended to be a little bass shy. I don't think there's been an effort to artificially pump up the low end.

Price makes a very good Fiordiligi. Personally, I prefer Schwarzkopf's two efforts and, more recently, Gens. Price has commented that her two idols are Mozart and Verdi. Although a natural Verdian, her achievements in Mozart don't come quite so easily. Her best Mozart role was Anna - shamefully never commercially documented. Fiordiligi is a more qualified item. The killer range with its shifts from contralto to high soprano - a possible sly comment on the role's creator, "the Ferrarese," by Mozart - exposes the weakness of Price's low register. The high register is beautiful, but the contrast is evident. Troyanos' quick vibrato may not be to some tastes, but I think she is one of the better Dorabellas on record. Raskin's touch of acid in the tone may put some listeners off, but she is on balance about as good as any Despina in my experience. Lisa Otto in the old Karajan/EMI set is about the only singer who brings off the bogus doctor and notary without irritating vocal distortion. Both Shirley and Milnes are very good as the male leads, despite the former's occasional tendency to whine for effect. Flagello is an OK Alfonso.

Leinsdorf's conducting tends to amble. He recorded all the Mozart/da Ponte operas for RCA and the "Nozze" and "Don Giovanni" are tauter and more dramatic. This is a lesser effort.

This was the first Cosi to include every aria, ensemble and recitative absolutely complete. After all these years, the Ferrando/Guglielmo Act 1 duet and Ferrando's Act II "third" aria no longer seem as exciting as they did on first hearing.

On balance, I prefer Jacobs' recent Harmonia Mundi set for overall excellence of the cast and performance. Schwarzkopf/Bohm is my first supplement with this one as a third choice.

The recording is excellent. Milnes is a young exciting baritone at the time and Price and Troyanos are outstanding. The caveat is that the CD comes without a libretto. They give a Web site that you are supposed to be able to print it, but it is no longer active. Thank you Sony! But vocally it is an excellent recording of some of the great singers of the late 20th century.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart has proven to be one of the most passionate, creative, and diverse Operatic composers in the history of the Art form.

Several of his Operas have been routinely considered "masterpieces" by astute Critics & Academicians alike.
Mozartean 'style' continues to be debated by Opera cognoscenti. Should his music be performed in the cool, often vibrato-less, and 'precious' chamber-style (Viennese style)so preferred in the 30's, 40's, & 50's? Should his music be performed today on the 'authentic' instruments of Mozart's time, again suggesting a smaller, more intimate performance, with the vocal weight commensurate therein? How much vibrato is too much for Mozart's opuses, and when, if ever, should large voices be employed to sing his "pristine" music?? The genius of Mozart 's music is that all of the above approaches to performing his Operas are valid, as HE never specified the performance style for his music. Subjectivity is a by-line amongst Opera folk. Time, however, often proves to be the ultimate arbiter of success. Mozart's music survives all of the discourse about what constitutes "genuine" style. To this Operaphile, I am far more concerned with how each performer is able to meet the often rigorous, near-uncompromising demands Mozart places on said performers. I prefer passion, nuance, warmth, and characterization in the singing of most Composers output - irrespective of any otherwise pre-conceived ideas. Like I said, subjective!!

When this performance of COSI FAN TUTTE was released in 1968, there was curiosity about the ability of nearly each of the Principals, all Americans, to idiomatically enliven one of Mozart's most aristocratic, yet slyly humorous 'Comedy of Manners'. RCA presented their leading Diva,(and one of the MET;s as well) the legendary American Soprano Leontyne Price. The Prima Donna was ably joined by future Superstar baritone Sherrill Milnes, the fabulous & later celebrated Mezzo-soprano Tatiana Troyanos, and MET Opera stars, Tenor George Shirley & Basso Ezio Flagello. The gifted (and ultimately underrated) American lyric soprano, Judith Raskin completes the Opera's principal cast. Conductor Erich Leinsdorf, a non- American,conducted.

While individual performances from this Star-studded American cast produce vocal thrills, the sum of their contributions provides the listener with one of the more lively,direct,and accessible performances of this opera.

Soprano Leontyne Price, regarded as the pre-eminent Verdi soprano (40+ years) since the era of Zinka Milanov, has stated that "Verdi & Mozart are {her} best friends vocally." While Puccini's music & onstage roles (Manon/Tosca/Butterfly/Minnie/Giorgetta/ & Liu) also brought her great success, her onstage Mozart roles included several outings as Pamina, Donna Elvira twice, and is still renowned Internationally for her superb Donna Anna. In this COSI recording she reprises her MET performances as older sister Fiordiligi. Ms. Price sings with great textural beauty & warmth in the ensembles, duets, and presents a mock-heroic treatment to the formidable aria "Come scoglio". She brings an unexpected delicacy to the more intimate scenes, her "juicy Lyric" able to drain the music of some of her famed vibrato. The lower-centered "Per pieta" however, is more problematic, at times cruelly exposing an opaque, cloudy lower voice, and occasional clumsy fioriture in the Rondo section. Her exquisite upper voice, still gleams whenever the scena allows. She is dramatically & vocally well-paired with Tatiana Troyanos, a vibrant artist endowed with a rich, throbbing, wide ranging voice that encompassed the music of Berlioz(Dido), Mozart (Cherubino), Bellini(Adalgisa), Verdi (Eboli & Amneris), Strauss (a superlative Composer), Wagner (Venus), Bizet (Carmen),Stravinsky (Jocasta), & Berg (the definitive Countess Geschwitz). Ms. Troyanos duets well with Ms. Price, and her Dorabella is spirited in manner, and her resultant vocalism reflects that approach. Neither of her solo arias offer her much difficulty technically, and her fioriture is fluid. The "Soave" trio benefits greatly from her involvement as well.

Their male counterparts are near equals vocally, and bring a welcome brio and energy to the proceedings. Baritone Sherill Milnes, a future Sperstar & the standard-bearer for the Verdi canon (Nabucco/Don Carlo - both/Macbeth/Miller/Rigoletto/Di Luna/Germont/Montforte, Simon/Renato/Rodrigo & Amonasro) - amongst others - is a decidedly macho Guglielmo, a boastful young Soldier, but suavely winning in his duet with Dorabella. His full-sized & virile baritone is, like Ms. Price, restrained in the ensembles, but glories in his (2)two big solo moments. Tenor George Shirley, was a mainstay at the MET in the 60's, whose repertoire ranged from Mozart's Tamino/Don Ottavio/Ferrando, to Rossini's Almaviva, Gounod's Romeo, Verdi & Puccini, and an Internationally-acclaimed Pelleas from Debussy's opus. His recorded Ferrando is ultimately successful, but more effortful than his fellow colleagues. He sings with a voice that is of a darker, warmer hue than others who sang this role. It is a welcome quality here. His soldier enactment is convincing enough, however he brings ardent tone & conviction to his first aria & duets with Fiordiligi. The inclusion of fiendish Act II aria "Ah, lo vegg'io" challenges the tenor with it's high tessitura and fioriture, the upper voice tightening noticeably. Mr. Shirley is winning overall. Basso Ezio Flagello's resonant,full-bodied instrument is deployed with less subtlety than many of his predecessors, but balances well with his vocally out-sized colleagues. His Don Alfonso is a quite healthy "old" bachelor, more commanding than retiring, thus a bit less suitable in his pairing with lyric soprano Judith Raskin's maid, Despina. Their interplay results in some intriguingly sensual possibilities. The soprano's tonal outpourings are more lushly-produced than one usually encountered in this role. She sings her arias fluently, and her impersonations are not anymore cloying or silly than her other recorded rivals. She is dramatically alert, but vocally over-matched by all of her more refulgent colleagues. The sense of ensemble, so essential onstage to avoid tedium(less so in the Studio)is well-maintained in this production, and gives the Opera a buoyancy missing from other more-revered Opera releases of COSI.

Maestro Leinsdorf leads a well-paced if, static Overture, and elsewhere provides little vision, enthusiasm, or imagination to the proceedings. His conducting lacks verve in the finales, and eloquence is fleeting throughout. It isn't fatal to the cumulative appreciation of this starry ALL-AMERICAN cast & their wonderfully maverick performance of Mozart' COSI FAN TUTTE - they don't ALL do it!! Note: This performance is a complete with no cuts, and recitatives (handled expertly by all). The sound quality is representative of RCA's bass-lite, rather bright sonics for that period. Quite impressive vocalism makes this "Sum" COSI! Recommended.

Just a short review here. This is a superb recording from beginning to end. Top artists, top conductor. And the remastered sound is very good. For me the best Cosi is that with Böhm/Ludwig/Schwarzkopf, but - this must be number two, Klemperer the third. Leinsdorf is a marvellous Mozart conductor.