Customer Reviews

Mozart: Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The world of opera is well aware of the unutterably superb Edita Gruberova. She is widely (almost universally) considered the greatest Königen der Nacht in the world. Her accuracy, beauty of voice, dazzling speed and absolute vocal control, as well as her extraordinary vocal range which EASILY encompasses the notorious top F, are part of what makes her so very highly esteemed. Her performance in this recording is vivid, fiendish and exciting.

Barbara Bonney as the sweet Pamina is completely delightful. Her pure lyric voice is ideal for this role, and it conveys everything necessary for the character of this unfortunately beset young maiden who's got possibly the most terrifying mother in operatic plots. The spin and beauty in Ms Bonney's voice are so wonderfully apparent in her singing here that it's easy to understand why she has reigned as one of the world's great light lyric sopranos for years.

Hans-Peter Blochwitz is one of the best Taminos around. It's a lovely tone, of course, and he handles the tessitura of the role beautifully. The voice is both very masculine and wonderfully pure - qualities very necessary for Mozartian tenors.

Matti Salminen as the authoritative Salminen, who turns out not to be the villain after all, sings the role with suitable magnificence. It's a very good voice - perhaps not the best Sarastro in the world, but then, Sarastro's been sung by the choice basses. Salminen holds his own in this star-studded cast.

And what a cast! Even the smaller roles receive the star treatment. Thomas Hampson as the Sprecher, Delores Ziegler and Marjana Lipovsek as two of the Damen, Thomas Moser as the Erster Geharnischter... the list goes on. And Papageno himself is sung delightfully by Anton Scharinger.

Nikolaus Harnoncourt conducts - as always, it is an intelligent conception. The Orchester (Orchester des Opernhauses Zürich) is splendid, and the the chorus does a wonderful job.

This is a recording to treasure. There is so much that is delightful in it. There are other good recordings, but I certainly wouldn't want to be without this one, and not only for the peerless Edita Gruberova's Queen of the Night.

It's peculiar that Harnoncourt decided to replace the stage dialogue for this performance with a fairy=tale-like narration. We are robbed of hearing the singers as actors, and the female narrator is bland to the point of invisibility. No other Zauberflote has ever attempted such a ploy to my knowledge, and it takes quite a lot of bother to program the narration out. That aside, I agree with the other reviewers that the cast is very strong in almost every role, and Bonney remains my favorite of all Paminas, with Blochwitz a vocally strong Tamino in a role that has seen few great portrayals since Wunerlich four decades ago.

However, there's another besetting flaw. Harnoncourt's approach is totally humorless -- he introduces Papageno in slow motion and devoid of smiles, for example. Despite the excellent singing, the overall dramatic impact is nonexistent; it would be hard to imagine a more joyless production. No doubt that's why this Zauberflote sank quickly out of sight and is rarely mentioned as a contender.

This is a great version of one of W.A.M'S most fantastic opera's!
I found the cast enthralling!
Tamino was well played by a beautifully lyric Hans Peter Blochwitz.
Sarastro played well by Matti Salminen, whose lower register rang wonderfully well!
Die Konigin der Nacht played nigh on to perfection by Edita Gruberova. Despite the previous viewers out look. Edita's performance of Konigin der Nacht is one of the most memorable. She has a most dramatic voice combined with awesome coloratura and fioratura make a true Konigin der Nacht
Pamina is played well by Barbara Bonney.
Papageno is sung well by Anton Scharinger, who has a most beautiful voice!
Monostatos is played well by Peter Keller, whose voice ranges from full singing to a nasal sprechstimmer enhancing the role remarkably!
Edith Smith is a very convincing Papagena.
Three lady's and three boy's are also played very well.
The Ochestra play phenominaly well, but being the Orchester des Opernhauses Zurich you would expect it too.
The chorus too is fantastic, the finale sounding sublime the
"Es siegte die Stärke" being highly memorable. All in all a very suond recording

Edita Gruberova IS the Queen of the Night. She makes the whole CD worth it.

I ordered this recording by mistake: the Gardiner "Zauberflote," which I wanted (and eventually got), was pictured so that was what I thought I was getting. I returned this one unopened. Having heard sound clips on the Net, especially the dreadful soprano Edita Gruberova, I had no intention of even giving it a try.