Customer Reviews

Mozart - Così fan tutte / Fleming, von Otter, Scarabelli, Lopardo, Bär, Pertusi, Solti

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Solti gives a magnetic reading of Cosi Fan Tutte from start to finish! From the very first chords of the overture, you're mesmerized until the finale. You really feel that everyone is having fun at the performance that night - Solti, Renee, Annie, Frank, Olaf, Pertusi. Everyone is enjoying themselves, including the audience who are incredibly quiet. Unlike many other recordings where audience coughing intrudes into the performance, you only get a ripple of laughter once or twice (which adds to the realism and which again indicates how much the audience loved the performance). There is applause after a few numbers - in particular Fiordiligi's arias and a few other arias and the final ensemble. Some people think that is an irritation, I think it adds to the sense of occasion and fun. Frankly, I always like CDs where there is applause at the end. Otherwise, it sounds "dead" after the performance ends.

Renee Fleming produces a ravishingly beautiful tone. Her long beautiful phrases are incredible. Before I heard this recording, I didn't really take much notice of Renee Fleming. "Bah! Another hype!" I thought. But oh how wrong I was. Renee Fleming is destined to take her place among legends such as Christa Ludwig, Scwarzkopf, and Joan Sutherland. Her voice is gorgeous. No wonder she has reputedly one of the most beautiful voices in the world. Annie Von Sofie is, as usual, a rock solid performer. She nevers gives anything less than excellent and in this recording it shows. Her arias are beautifully sung, fleet and agile. She is just a shade less opulent than legendary Christa Ludwig in the Bohm EMI set. Frank Lopardo is astonishing as Ferrando. His exquisite shading of his part took everyone by surprise. It is a stunning performance and the audience goes wild with applause after all his arias. His pianissimi is just incredible. I doubt you'll ever hear a better recorded Un Amorosa. Gorgeously sung. You'll be completely seduced by his singing. No wonder Fiordiligi caved in!!Olaf Bar is excellent as Guglielmo although he doesn't reach the distinction of Lopardo and Fleming. Still, we are comparing him with two singers of exceptional distinction. That doesn't mean he is bad. He is outstanding. The remaining singers are also excellent. Scarabelli in particular sounds her part in Despina - the characterization is superb. You can hear her character from the singing.

Much as I admire the Bohm set, I feel that this set really surpasses it. I have both recordings by the way. I love Mozart and I couldn't live without both. in particular, I love Christa Ludwig, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf in the Bohm set. However, if pressed, I would choose the Solti as the top pick. Whenever I feel down, listening to the Solti set always brightens up my day simply because of the happiness that the performers exude. So you have my verdict.

I've seen this opera several times and I've heard excerpts from other recordings as well, and I've concluded that this recording is absolutely the most brilliant I've heard. The more I listen to it, the more I love it. Why?

1) Lopardo is the most musically expressive tenor I've heard sing this part -- his rich, mellow voice sounds light and flirtatious when he's wooing, and it sounds intense and positively anguished when he's singing of betrayal. But he has great comic timing, too, and one can almost see him smugly buffing his nails against his lapel when he wins his lady. He has an amazing range in terms of dynamics, style, and musicality. Every other time I've heard "Un'aura amorosa," it's been breezed through somewhat superficially. But Lopardo starts tenderly and grows to a full-bodied intensity, and then transitions with a beautiful diminuendo into the reprise. It's breathtaking.

2) All the female singers are fabulous. Renee Fleming is perfect -- beautiful voice, wonderful control. And Scarabelli is saucy, flirtatious, and utterly wonderful.

3) Solti's direction is perfect for this opera. It never, ever drags, even when some arias are taken slower than usual. The direction never becomes monotonous, and the full range of emotion in this opera is explored: Cosi starts out light and frivolous, and becomes increasingly more serious, and Solti follows through with that. The comic parts are allowed to be comic. The tragedy of the ending comes through even through the lightness of the opera.

This is truly a brilliant recording of some of the most beautiful music ever written. Treat yourself.

This is the best recording of the opera. Solti's (DECCA) set beats the EMI set by Bohm. Here is my comparision

Conductor: Advantage: DECCA! Both did a great job with keeping the music "fast paced" when needed and the score light. Solti's speed is marginally faster. His overture sends a spine tingling sensation of theatrical expectations down your spine. Bohm is slower and a bit staid. Listen to the finale of Act 1. Solti's is a thrilling performance - you will be thrilled listening to it. With Bohm, there is greater clarity of detail but you miss out on the excitement.

Fiordiligi: Advantage: EVEN. Schawrfkopf legend as Fiordiligi is long known. But so is Renee Fleming. Both have their own styles and both are fabulously wonderful.

Dorabella: Advantage: EMI! Make no mistake. Von Otter is fantastic and she is marvellous as Dorabella. But Christa Ludwig is untouchable. She is just hors concours in sheer vocal opulence. So Von Otter finishes second to Ludwig. That is not to say she did badly. She was fabulous and the applause she gets from the audience is testimony to her fabulous singing. But she just sounds a shade lean next to Ludwig.

Ferrando: Advantage: DECCA! Loprado wins hands down. EMI's Ferrando is great. But as Von Otter is beside Ludwig, so is Kraus beside Lopardo. Listen to Un amorosa. Lopardo is untouchable. Also, EMI doesn't have Ah Leggio which Lopardo sings with amazing beauty, a pleasure to hear for once.

Guglielmo: Advantage: EVEN!

Sound: Advantage: DECCA! Although the Bohm stereo holds up and sounds just fine, better than fine-it sounds great, the Solti recording is briliant in its digital power.

Completeness: Advantange: DECCA! The Bohm set has some cuts two arias have been discluded. Bohm does not include Ah Leggio which is wondrously sung by Lopardo.

For any fan of this opera, not getting both the Giulini and Solti recordings is foolish. I adore and listen to them both very frequently. This is the most brilliant opera ever composed...and both recordings shine. I recommend both, but place the EMI set ahead of the DECCA set.

The Bohm set has long been considered the definitive Cosi Set. However, the DECCA set has eclipsed the Bohm set (though I would say only marginally). FIVE STARS for both! It IS a hard choice. Get BOTH if you have the means. Otherwise, I would recommend the Solti's marginally over the Bohm because of Solti's completeness, sense of joy and excitement which is marginally lacking in Bohm.

COSI VAN TUTTE remains one of Mozart's most brilliant compositions, with more elegantly fluid arias, duets, trios, and ensembles than any one opera has a right to own! This 3 CD set is as fine as they come. Part of the reason is that the electricity of this live performance is something that somehow eludes studio recordings. Or is it just the opera, or the incredibly intelligent conducting of Sir Georg Solti, the warm Chamber Ensemble of Europe sound and responsiveness, or the cast that is still the dream cast for this particular opera? Whatever the explanation, this recording succeeds on every level. The tenderness of young lovers is sincere, the comedy is very much in evidence, and the purely vocal elements of uncommon difficulty sound simple in the hands of this cast. Renee Fleming is simply a radiant Fiordiligi, Anne Sofie von Otter sings Dorabella with such refinement and beauty of tone (has the trio 'Soave sia il vento" ever floated as beautifully as here?), Olaf Bar and Frank Lopardo fit the roles of the men suitors vocally and dramatically (and the interplay with their paramours is without peer), and the Despina of Adelina Scarabelli and the Don Alfonso of Michele Pertusi not only match the demands of their roles, they also deliver fine comic timing. This is still the reigning recording of this beloved opera (it dates back to 1996) and even if other recordings are in your library, this one belongs at the beginning of the Mozart section!

This is probably my favorite live recording so far. I decided to try this because I'm a fan of Solti's style. It might not quite live up to the hype generated by having such a star-studded cast, but it's certainly a very good performance.

The strongest point of this recording is Solti's lively pace and the rich sound he gets out of his orchestra and singers. It's definitely opera at it's grandest. But also at it's most theatrical. In contrast to most studio recordings, you get more of a feeling of drama.

I originally hesitated in buying this recording because I feel that Renee Fleming is somewhat unreliable. While she is capable of great expression, sometimes the tone of her voice is less than beautiful and her intonation can be less than perfect. I'm glad it didn't stop me in the end, because this is probably the finest performance I've ever heard her give. I think her Fiordiligi is probably on par with Schwarzkopf's.

Perhaps the biggest (well, I guess I should say, only) disappointment of this recording is Bar, the Ferrrando. Well, that's a bit harsh, because he does perform ably, but his Ferrando just isn't anywhere near Jerry Hadley's calibre. While I'm glad that this performance includes the oft-neglected "Ah lo veggio," Bar's flailing is just not attractive.

In short, I think if they had gotten Jerry Hadley to play Ferrando for this recording, I might well be disposed to call it the definitive Cosi of our time. As things stand, though, it's only 1/4 of what I consider the essential Cosi collection:
Bohm/Schwarzkopf for the best Fiordiligi
Mackerras/Lott, Hadley for the best Ferrando
Solti/Fleming for the best drama
Jacobs/Gens for the best chamber-opera feel.

Anyway, this is also a good choice as your first Cosi if you don't mind paying more than for the mid-price Bohm set.

I love this performance by Solti for its non-stop momentum, charm, wit and superb singing.Renee Fleming is fabulous as Fiordiligi. She manages Fiordiligi's killer aria, Come O Scoglio with such care and phrasing that the audiences are absolutely enthralled by her performance.Lopardo is a non pareil of a Ferrando. For once, Ah Leggio is a pleasure to hear. And Un Amorosa has so much honey in it. From lyrical to heroic... absolute wonder.Solti conducts brilliantly. And the Chamber Orchestra of Europe is lithe and pointed. A brilliant set. 'Live' recording conveys a sense of occasion unlike many studio bound recordings which has an earnest but dull feeling.
The most thrilling part of the opera is the sextet Dammi Un,... listen to it. You will want to buy the set.The Bohm version is brilliant too but incomplete. Ah Leggio is omiited. But Ludwig is hors concours in Sheer Vocal Opulence. Schwarfkopf is terrific. Between the two, I would prefer the Solti set for the joy it conveys, the sense of occasion, the excitement and its completeness.

There are countless bad recordings of Mozart's most sublime opera out there; this recording most assuredly does not join their ranks. Renee Fleming is inarguably the star; her command of technique and beautiful, plangent voice are an absolute joy to listen to. But the highlight is the ensemble, as it should be. All ensemble pieces are brilliantly paced and perfectly blended; Fleming and Von Otter blend beautifully. The only minus of this recording is the men; seperately they are not all you would wish. The Ferrando is particularly pinched on Un'aura. But overall, a superb recording.

The Penguin Guide says that Solti's Cosi Fan Tutte is better than his classic le Nozze di Figaro. And I agree!! It's a mystery to me that Cosi Fan Tutte should be a less popular opera than Figaro because Mozart's melodic powers is at his 100% best in Cosi. The ensemble writing in Cosi is in particular outstanding (some critics rate it as the best among all his operas). Perhaps women find the libretto offensive and hence, the "lower" popularity of Cosi. I am inclined to like Cosi better than Figaro. This is one recording which works for Solti and is made for Solti. Tempi are very finely judged. Arias are beautifully sung by the artists. Renee Fleming is absolutely the Fiordiligi iof her generation. Her voice is as someone once put it, a dream in cream and gold - in my view, more gorgeous than even Te Kanawa. Her top notes are powerful and her pianissimo exquisite. Rich, creamy voice. She stands out from all the outstanding singers in this set. Frank Lopardo is the other standout. He is not daunted by the high tessiture of Ferrando and his pianissimo is peerless. This is my favorite Cosi and the Cosi version that made me like Cosi better than Figaro. Yes, I like Solti's Cosi better than his Figaro.

This recording decision was made by Decca and Solti because of the presence of an exceptionally strong cast - Rennee Fleming (currently the most acclaimed Mozartian Soprano around), the amazing Von Otter, Scarabelli, the wonderful Lopardo, Bar, Pertusi. And the end result? An exceptionally stunning performance! Unlike other sets which are studio recordings, this is recorded! And you feel the sense of live occasion here.

The Chamber Orchestra of Europe is plays fabulously! A background note - it draws its 50 members from 15 of the world's most distinguished orchestras. It's aim is music making at the highest level. And indeed, you will hear music making of the highest level in this brilliant performance of some of Mozart's most sublime music. Renee does her Come Sciogli with miraculous breath control. She hits the highest notes with absolute confidence. The finale of act one canon is absolutely, brilliantly stunnibg. I was blown away by the performance. Tempi were quick but the soloists were up to task and Renee Fleming sings absolutely brilliantly, her voice acting as a canopy to the others at times but never overpowering them. The sister duet with Von Otter is also brilliantly sung. Frank Lopardo is the finest Ferrando ever recorded!!!!! His Ah Leggio is done effortlessly and amazingly. Olaf Bar's sense of fun with Guglielmo matches Lopardo's Ferrendo brilliantly. Despina and Alfonso are played by native Scarabelli and Pertusi which helps. Their singing is outstanding. London Voices sings with a great sense of fun in the choruses. You will enjoy it. And of course, in addition to the all-star cast, a star orchestra and outstanding choir, we have a star conductor SIR GEORG SOLTI. Solti conducts and paces this Cosi Fan Tutte marvellously. Tempi are quick but never rushed. There is a sense of excitement and dynamism throughout.

Another feather in the cap for the late Solti. This Cosi Fan Tutte is brilliantly performed and brilliantly recorded. A must for all Cosi Lovers. If you want to own only one set of Cosi Fan tutte, this set is the one to own. You will not be disappointed

Compare.... in Come Scoglio, when Schawrzkopf hits the high B, she switches register and her vocal timbre changes! Not a very beautiful note. This is in Bohm's 1962 performance (recorded close to the end of her career).

In Solti's set, Fleming hits the high B with sumptuous and full tone - beautiful beyond imagination.

I prefer the Solti. Sound quality is better too.