Mozart - Le nozze di Figaro / Gens, Ciofi, Kirchschlager, Regazzo, Keenlyside, Concerto Köln, Jacobs [Hybrid SACD] [Hybrid SACD - DSD, Import]

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Composer), Rene Jacobs (Conductor), Veronique Gens (Performer), Patrizia Ciofi (Performer), Angelika Kirchschlager (Performer), Lorenzo Regazzo (Performer), Simon Keenlyside (Performer), Kobie van Rensburg (Performer), Marie McLaughlin (Performer), Antonio Abete Nuria Rial (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Veronique Gens, Patrizia Ciofi, Angelika Kirchschlager, Lorenzo Regazzo, Simon Keenlyside, et al.
• Conductor: Rene Jacobs
• Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
• Audio CD (August 10, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 3
• Format: Hybrid SACD - DSD, Import
• Label: Harmonia Mundi Fr.
• ASIN: B0001HZ8X6
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #332,095 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

René Jacobs has done it again. Following on the heels of his superb Cosi fan tutte, he now offers a Nozze di Figaro which is alive and vibrant; it seems to be happening in real time. There's so little artifice in the characters' recitatives and the rhythm is so conversational that we get the impression of real people, in a real pickle of a situation. The singing/acting is stunning, with Simon Keenlyside's Count the best on CD (a dangerous man just in control of his anger), Veronique Gens' Countess girlish and womanly in equal measure, the Cherubino of Angelika Kirchschlager extraordinarily well sung and properly boyish, Patrizia Ciofi's Susanna witty and wise and Lorenzo Regazzo's Figaro slightly darker than others, but all the more interesting for it. Throughout, the pianoforte not only accompanies but acts as commentator on the action. I don't find it intrusive but some might. Jacobs' instrumentalists play with real energy and brightness. This is a performance which feels as if it's being seen as well as heard. Just grand. --Robert Levine

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A new favorite, September 8, 2005

By 

Virginia Opera Fan (Falls Church, VA USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Mozart - Le nozze di Figaro / Gens, Ciofi, Kirchschlager, Regazzo, Keenlyside, Concerto Köln, Jacobs [Hybrid SACD] (Audio CD)

Buy this recording before some marketing genius decides to delete it! Jacobs direction crackles with energy and reminds me just how dangerous and subversive the opera must have appeared to the late 18th century listener. The youthful cast possess prime vocal equipment and characterize strongly. The relationship between Figaro and the Count comes across as more than just buffo sparring - these guys are playing for keeps. Veronique Gens as the Countess is on a dramatic par with my long time favorite, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, with the additional virtue of sounding like the still teenaged Rosina. The period orchestra adds pungent character and plays beautifully. In multi-channel SACD, the sense of a staged performance is palpable. For example, Basilio's first entrance gives an uncanny impression of the character arriving from deep in the wings. I have fourteen other Figaros in my collection and this new arrival already challenges my old favorites conducted by Giulini and Leinsdorf - the latter sadly out of the catalogue again.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars lovely performance. Buy this SACD now!, March 24, 2005

By 

MBA_Overlord "mba_overlord" (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mozart - Le nozze di Figaro / Gens, Ciofi, Kirchschlager, Regazzo, Keenlyside, Concerto Köln, Jacobs [Hybrid SACD] (Audio CD)

My wife and I (she's a musicologist who teaches Mozart at an Ivy League university) have thoroughly enjoyed this performance of Figaro. The cast is youthful sounding and energetic. I commend the singers for actually interpreting the music rather than treating it as a static museum piece. You can easily hear the lively interpretations of each of the main characters. Figaro should sound like an impish trouble maker. The recording nicely captures the essence of theatrical opera experience.

I also own an older recording of this opera with an all star cast consisting of Kiri Te Kanawa, Frederica von Stade, Samuel Ramey, and Kurt Moll singing with the London Philharmonic Orchestra led by Georg Solti. The René Jacobs Figaro easily surpasses this recording from a sonic and artistic standpoint. Te Kanawa and von Stade both possess lovely voices. Nevertheless, you never get the sense that they are really trying to interpret their characters at all. The performance is mannered and stilted despite all the pretty voices associated with it.

As for sound, this set represents one of harmondia mundi's better efforts. Sound staging is capacious and you can hear the players nicely arrayed. The period orchestra sounds lovely . . . the strings are especially vibrant and warm. We need more recordings like this one. Bravo Harmonia Mundi!

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Delicatessen, February 26, 2008

By 

Manuel Sanchez (Spain) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mozart - Le nozze di Figaro / Gens, Ciofi, Kirchschlager, Regazzo, Keenlyside, Concerto Köln, Jacobs [Hybrid SACD] (Audio CD)

Amazing recording which will make you enjoy Mozart as you've never imagined. Worth every cent.