Customer Reviews

Mozart - The Magic Flute / Price · Serra · Schreier · Moll · Melbye · T. Adam · Sir Colin Davis

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

 

 

This is the "music only" version of Davis' recording .... It is DDD format (i.e., recorded digitally, as well as processed and produced), and has tremendous presence and clarity. The cast is exactly the same as the complete version (Moll, Schreier, Price, Serra, etc.), excellent musicians who know how to sing in German. If you want to listen to this opera, instead of study it with libretto, get this version, cut through the spoken dialogue....

For anyone who is a Mozart fan, this version of "The Magic Flute" is an essential recording to own. From the very beginning, I was entranced by the beautiful music of this wonderful, fairy-tale like opera. Schreier as Tamino is my mind's epitome of a handsome and romantic prince. Margaret Price's Pamina is the woman Mozart surely would have chosen himself. Her portrayal as a lovelorn, beautiful, and confused young princess is one of the most wonderful I've heard in opera. Her voice is warm and lovely, and conveys every emotion perfectly; I've recently seen Bergman's version of the Magic Flute and felt as though I'd already watched the opera, so good is Price's interpretation on the cd. I would give it six stars if I could! It is definitely the best recording of The Magic Flute out there.

This version of Mozart's Die Zauberflote is excellent. A well-known cast of singers and a renowned orchestra and conductor make this recording one of the best I have ever seen. When I first started to dabble into this opera this was the 1st one I ever heard. Kurt Moll as Sarastro is good but he has sung it so many times it feels like he is sick of doing it but nonetheless he's excellent. Peter Schreier as Tamino is brilliant and full-toned as the best Tamino I have every seen. Margaret Price as Pamina is also very good. Luciana Serra as the Queen of the Night is the best I have ever seen. Her coloratura is sung effortlessly and she pulls the role off very well. The rest of the cast is good but are pretty much unknown (except: Marie McLaughlin as the 1st lady, Ann Murray as the 2nd lady and Robert Tear as Monostatos.) My 2 peeves of this recording is: no dialogue (which most recordings lately don't) and the rather slow tempos of Colin Davis. My verdict: buy this version over its overly expensive counterpart (the one w/ the dialogue and libretto) which can cost an upward of 80$ used.

very good value CD - a good recording at a very cheap price.

Die Zauberflote may be Mozart's greatest creation, of all the remarkable music that he produced. Mozart used this opera as vehicle to express many of the Masonic ideals he believed in, and bring to life his utopian vision of a world where love, virtue, and light would triumph over hatred, vengeance, and darkness. In this way, the Magic Flute remains today one of the most beloved and enduring products of the Enlightenment. There are more recordings of this famous opera than one could ever hear, but I adore this particular version, for its warmth, clarity, and vivacity. This recording features the reknowned Luciana Serra ( as Queen of the Night) and Dame Margaret Price (as Pamina), who are both undeniably brilliant, as is Kurt Moll (Sarastro), one of the most acclaimed baritones of all time. It doesn't hurt to have hightly respected Mozartian Colin Davis at the helm of the Staatskapelle Dresden either, who perform Mozart's score with tremendous precision and elegance. While this may not be the definitive version of The Magic Flute for some, it is undoubtedly one of the very finest available today. In one of the most moving arias in all opera, Tamino and Pamina sing, "By the power of music we walk cheerfully through the dark night of death." Although Mozart sadly left this world only a few months after completing the Magic Flute in 1791, he achieved an immortality of sorts, for Mozart's spirit lives on in the hearts and minds of all who cherish his glorious music. A terrific buy!

This recording is acceptable, but the only performer to stand out to any degree is Margaret Price as Pamina. For the casual listener who wants to try out this opera, it works just fine. For someone looking for a quality recording, I would suggest investing elsewhere.

Tamino is generally blaring, without any great musicality. On this recording is also the weepiest Papageno I have ever heard, bending pitches left and right, even in brighter moments in the music, to the point at which it becomes irritating and even detracts from the music. Sarastro is disappointingly stony, his two beautiful arias sung as though they were a rather boring routine he would as soon abandon as not.

On the other hand, the three ladies blend well and are one of the better aspects of the recording. The silken lines of the quartet just prior to the trials are executed with a degree of elegance. However, I cannot bring myself to recommend this recording to anyone interested in an exceptional Zauberflote. Do what my grandmother did for me--buy it for one of your children, if they would like a recording of it and the better versions are pricier than you should like.

This is my first exposure to the complete 'Die Zauberflote.' Well, complete sung parts at least. I have only been listening to 'Die Zauberflote' for three years, but it is one of my most treasured experiences of music. The overture alone has been a life-changer.
Colin Davis' version is very classical and moderate. It isn't as heavy and exuberant as Karajan's version, but as a 'normal' version, it is as good as any. The low point of the CD is sadly a very important feature of the opera, the Queen of the Night. While she is more or less in tune (I say more or less for a reason), she runs out of breath and doesn't have enough power for such a dark character.
Oh, there's another low point. Monostatos. His tone in this version is rather annoying, and slacker-ish.
Pamina and Tamino sing quite fine. Sarastro is deep and solemn; a very good first experience of this 'beyond good and evil' character.
I've heard some people diss this CD, but perhaps they formed their ideas based solely on the Queen of the Night's performance, or that no libretto or translations are enclosed. It's not a bad CD at all, and at such a low price for a double CD, it's a feel-good buy. This is a very safe version with regards to tempo.
As for the music itself, one version is simply not enough. You'll need to buy more after this purchase. The overture and Sarastro's 'songs' are the highest points for me, as well as the arias of Konigin der Nacht; I go to extremes. Pamina's and Tamino's arias are more middleground but still very uplifting (well, 'Ach ich fuhl's' is hardly a happy piece). Papageno is of lesser profundity, and that is just as well.
Overall, a well-done 'Die Zauberflote,' definitely worth the price, but be ready to get more versions afterwards, if only to hear the Queen of the Night at her finest (Karin Ott under Karajan was really powerful).

Davis's conducting, in this 1984 recording, is well paced, moderately nuanced, with attractive phrasing and good balance in the ensembles. It has no notable flaws, but seems to lack much involvement in Act I. There is plenty of dialog, handled in a generally tasteful manner. The various women, armored men, boys, priests etc. are better than average. The principal singers blend well and tend to sound better in the ensembles than in the big arias.
Tamino has been recorded by a number of elegant singers (Wunderlich, Simoneau, Dermota, Haefliger, and Blochwitz). Peter Schreier does a good journeymanlike job, singing with a nice legato and nuanced phrasing; however he frequently shows strain and a slightly pinched tone in the upper range. As Papageno, Mikael Melbye (a Danish baritone who has not recorded much) has a light but pleasant baritone voice. His singing, while completely adequate, is not exceptional in any way
Luciana Serra (The Queen of the Night) has an unusual voice and sings unevenly. In her first aria, she handles the coloratura with considerable aplomb; but the slow introduction is rocky. She will be singing with style and finesse (in her rather wiry voice) one moment and suddenly will produce tones and pitches far from what Mozart wrote or (I suspect) what she intended. Her second aria is more consistent, but she still lacks the appeal of the great Queens of the Night (Dessay and Streich). Margaret Price (as Pamina) sings loudly and gracelessly in the duet "Bei Maennern. Her enunciation and legato in "Ach, ich fuhl's" are poor, and her voice lacks an attractive tone in the higher register. She generally sings well enough in the ensemble pieces
Kurt Moll (as Sarastro) uses his deep and sonorous voice to exceptional effect. He projects profound nobility, rectitude and integrity and easily garners the "best singer" prize in this recording. His Sarastro is excelled only by Rene Pape and Alexander Kipnis.
Unless you are a particular fan of one of these singers, there is really no reason to get this recording. If you want a fleet, historically informed Magic Flute in modern sound, look to Gardiner, Norrington (very fast) or Christie (not so fast). If you want a fine German Romantic rendition, look to Klemperer or Boehm (1955 or the 1964 with Wunderlich.). If you want a better "not too romantic, not too historically informed" but very fine recording, try Abbado's.

OOOPS! Amazon.com, the one-star is for your poor product information. This CD (wonderful as Sir Colin is!) turned out to be the incomplete opera! You need to publish that the $66. Sir Colin one includes the libretto and is "complete"; "incomplete" includes all arias, but no libretto or recitatives; "highlights" include only the popular arias or greatest hits of that opera.

Right now your website is confusing, with the multiple recordings of a given work.


Thank you.
Cynthia DeCuir