Customer Reviews

Mozart - Mitridate / Bartoli, Dessay, Sabbatini, Asawa, Piau, Flórez, Les talens lyriques, Rousset

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Mitridate was composed by the teenage Mozart to the set libretto of an opera seria -- and not really a very good libretto. The result is a series of recitatives followed by arias as specified by the usual formula. It is varied only by having a lengthy duet at the end of act two and a shorter quintet at the end of the final act. Generally speaking, the music is brilliant without being profound. It probably isn't possible to breath much life into the drama; what is possible is to provide a brilliant and varied series of arias. This the production under consideration provides brilliantly.

The star of this production is Natalie Dessay, who again demonstrates her ability to steal the show through stunningly brilliant singing and a marvelous voice. Her performance is equaled in technical virtuosity and quality of voice (but not surpassed) by Cecilia Bartoli, though her role lies in spots uncomfortably high for that wondrous instrument. The highlight of the production is the duet mentioned earlier which involves these two performers. Sandrine Piau in a smaller role provides singing of almost equal stature. Brian Asawa, in the role of Mitridate's traitorous older son, provides an amazing display of technique and agility, but he hardly sounds convincing. He actually sounds more like a drag queen with full command of falsetto than like a man - or a woman. Giuseppe Sabbatini I found to be the only disappointment, singing the title role adequately but with a rather unlovely tone.

The period-instrument orchestra performs brilliantly. However, I found that Christophe Rousset let the recitatives drag badly, while some of the arias, especially Bartoli's, were rushed. She can handle the pace without problem - her clearly articulated fioriture has to be heard to be believed -- but she has no way to plumb the musical depths of these brilliantly conceived show-pieces when the pace is so rushed.

All together, an excellent set!

I agree with Skylim's assessment. This is an opera seria filled with wonderful arias. The thing to guard against in such a work is for the singers to take arias out of context and sing them like they might in a concert. That's precisely what happened with this production. No sense of where the story is going at all. Just a string of beautifully sung arias. Good for concert performance. Disastrous for a full opera disc!

All the singers are top-notch. Wonderful voices with wonderful techniques... and singing beautifully all the time. Even when it is wrong to sing beautifully. Pieces like Farnace's Act I aria, 'Venga pur, minacci e frema' are supposed to be menacing and not pretty! And Asawa (Gosh! I love his voice!!!) is anything BUT menacing. Better get Kasarova's Mozart Aria disc and see how this piece is supposed to sound like. Farnace is supposed to be in a towering cold rage and spewing venom here.

A lot of that going around in this recording. And Rousset set strange tempo for many arias. Some of Sifare(Bartoli)'s were too fast, and most of Farnace(Asawa)'s were too slow. Oh how draggy can 'Gia dagli occhi il velo' get? If it was any slower it would be going backward! That slow a tempo could work if the singer infects it with nuance and emotion... unfortunately neither the conductor nor the singer delivered and the aria screams for itself to be fast-forwarded after 15 seconds... if you're patient.

Seems to me only Piau (Ismene) and Dessay (Aspasia) turned in something that does Mozart justice. Juan Diego Florez is the minor character Marzio, and he is fine there. For all 3 CDs at this price.... I regret buying the thing.

The booklet contains the story of how Mozart came to write the opera, synopsis, short bio of the cast (all in English only), and libretto in English and Italian.

The star of the cast in this recording is no doubt the French coloratura soprano Natalie Dessay - she tackles the fiendish pieces with bravura and delicacy which is rare. Cecilia Bartoli is convincing in the role of Sifare although she sounds a bit strained in some of the arias which is in the range normally negotiated by sopranos. Brian Asawa with his mezzoish tone as Farnace and Sandrian Piau as Ismene make this set a delight. The only drawback is the title role which was coarsely sung and with sluggish coloratura. An overall enjoyable recording with excellent support from Les Talens Lyriques.

Si busca un buen Mitridate no lo dude, este es el mejor. Si busca disfrutar de una voces bellísimas, con coloraturas prodigiosas enfrentandose a endiabladas arias: compre este disco. Este disco es una delicia desde todos los puntos de vista, con un cast del que no se sabe si elogiar más a NATALIE DESSAY (Aspasia con sobreagudos atronadores), CECILIA BARTOLI (que presta su extraordinaria sensibilidad a Sifare) BRIAN ASAWA (contratenor de voz muy femenina que interpreta a Farnace) o esos dos lujazos de secundarios que son SANDRINE PIAU (deliciosa Ismene) y JUAN DIEGO FLÓREZ (Marzio de lujo). El Mitridate de GIUSEPPE SABBATINI, menos elogiable, aunque muy notable une a una tecnica interesante una voz no especialmente bella.
LES TALENTS LYRIQUES suenan como una de las mejores agrupaciones barrocas del momento, al mando del atento CHRISTOPHE ROUSSET.
Definitivamente, una grabacion indispensable para cualquier amante de la musica clasica.

This is a very fine recording of Mozart's first opera. To be honest, although there are some wonderful moments the score bears only a passing resemblance to the composer's best work. But when it is good - such as the duet that ends act 2 - it is very, very good. And in this set even the duller parts make for agreeable listening. Rousset gives a really spirited reading and Les Talens Lyriques don't let him down. The cast are absolutely top notch. Cecilia Bartoli has a job on her hands to sind what is in fact a soprano role as Sifare, but she manages with honour and sings her recitatives with wonderful pungency. Natalie Dessay brings mind-boggling fireworks and dramatic urgency as Aspasia, and Brian Asawa, though sounding surprisingly womanly, is appropriately creepy as villan Farnace (until he turns good in Act 3). Giuseppe Sabbatini is surprisingly cast in the title role with a bigger voice than I would have expected. He is tested to the limit by the hideous tessitura of the role but he gets through it - no mean feat - and is a much more exciting vocal presence than other, more authentically "classical" singers would have been. Sandrine Piau sings beautifully as Ismene - it's a shame she isn't photographed in the accomanyhing booklet, as it's nice to put faces to voices. A must for die-hard Mozartians or die-hard fans of the principal singers (thy will not disappoint) and highly recommended for curious Mozartophiles.

Voilà un enregistrement indispensable si on prétend aimer Mozart. Il n'est pas parfait (Brian Azawa, en particulier, est terriblement endormi), mais l'oeuvre est absolument passionnante, pleine de fougue. A 14 ans, Mozart se montre un compositeur expérimenté, visiblement passionné par le sujet et soucieux de faire de chaque air l'expression brûlante de la pssion de chaque personnage. Christophe Rousset, aidé par la remarquable claveciniste Emmanuelle Haim, est un merveilleux guide pour découvrir ce continent trop peu connu de l'art du 18e siècle.

AH! MY DEAR MOZART!!!YOU NEED NOT HAVE WORRIED!!!!!
In the numerous letters exchanged from Mozart to his family there are several mentions of the opera "Mitridate" One such reference was made by Mozart in a letter written to his mother from Milan on October 20, 1770: "I cannot write much, for my fingers are aching from composing so many recitatives. Mama,I beg you to pray for me, that my opera may go well and that we may be happy together again.."

As late as November 24, however, Leopold writes that Wolfgang "has only composed one aria for the primo uomo"(Pietro Benedetti, a male soprano, who sang the part of Siface). In fact there were three castratos in the original casting for this opera: Pietro Benedetti, known as Sartorino(Siface), Guiseppe Cicognani (Farnace) and Pietro Muschietti (Arbate). The countertenor Brian Asawa sings the part of Farnace on this recording; Cecelia Bartoli (Sifare) and Helene Le Corre (Arbate).

The opera was first produced in December 26, 1770,and had a great success. Mozart in a letter to his mother from Milan on January l2, 1771 states: "...The opera, God be praised, is a success, for every evening the theatre is full...." When you consider that Mozart wrote this at the age of 14 (the same age as when he wrote "Ascanio in Alba") one can only marvel at his genius!!!

This recording, with its excellent group of singers ,displays all of his genius so beautifully. The overture and accompaniments, played so well by Les Talens Lyriques, show the influence of Giovanni Sammartini, to whom Mozart apparently responded positively. since they demonstrate an ebullience and energy unsurpassed in his previous operatic works.

Concerning the performance on this recording, the orchestra plays 'cleanly'and in tune, as well as stylistically correct. The Allegros are not too fast, and the Andantes not too slow! The singers are all operatic notables and sing creditably well. I personally have never been fond of Natalie Dessay's voice, but having said this, I must comment that her opening aria 'Al destin, che la minaccia' is outstanding technically, displaying, as it does, great vocal flexibility. Cecilia Bartoli always dramatically intense with her incredibly rich, full-bodied sound. Her role as the son of Mitridate (a 'pants' role) is a masterpiece of singing and acting.

Sabbatini, in the role of Mitridate, is really not a particular favorite of mine. I can think of a dozen tenors, Bostridge being one, that I would rather hear in this characterizaton. Bostridge was magnificent in his portrayal of Belmonte in the Mozart opera 'The Abduction from the Seraglio'; so much passion and fervor; just great. (1997 Christie recording). It seems to me that Sabbatini always OVERPLAYS his part, but there are other listeners who will like this trait! Brian Asawa, who is a countertenor (sopranist, actually), is wonderfully skilled and enjoyable in his role as 'Farnace', the elder son of Mitridate. His arias flow forth with such ease and clarity that it makes one want to hear more from him. I especially like his aria 'Venga pur, minacci'; just fabulous!

Christophe Rousset just does a great job pulling it all together. This disc, to my thinking, should bring this opera to the forefront. Very good liner notes: information in English and text in Italian and English.

This set has some bright moments, but generally speaking the performance is uneven in a sense that some of the main roles are mismatched, despite the fact that most singers perform well in this recording in terms of singing.
The best-casted singers are Sabbatini as the King Mitridate, Piau as the bride-to-be of Farnace, and Florez as the Roman Mission.
Of the other three main protagonists, Asawa and Bartoli's performances do not balance out well - the rebellious son Farnace sounded tame and obedient, while the good son Sifare sounds outrageous most of the time. The queen sung by Dessay displayed a good voice, but rather thin at places where force is needed: once senses the singer's limit in those passages more than others, as for example, Florez as the Roman mission in his only coloratura aria. The voice there sounds much more 'covered' than Dessay's.
Contrary to most views, I am convinced by Sabbatini's portrayal of the King. Unlike Mark Padmore in La Clemenza di Tito for Rene Jacobs, Sabbatini's dramatic coloraturas sit in well for this regal title role, though not as smooth-sounding and lyrical as one would normally expect in a lyrical tenor: he has the fire and the spark in his voice needed for this role.
Cecilia Bartoli's arias are too fast. While this may be viewed as demonastrative of her pyrotechniques, I do not think this is a 'plus' element to the set as a whole. If Farnace's arias are so treated, it would be much more convincing. The recitatives, on the other hand, are quite slack in pace by comparison.

I only knew a few of the arias from this opera before listening to this recording. While the singing here is beautiful, I was left in the cold by the lack of emotion shown by many of the singers. Ever heard Kasarova sing "Venga pur"? There's nothing to match that in this recording.

This opera written by 14 years old Mozart is really entertaining and fantastic. I would say this is my "personal" favorite mozart opera, along with Idomeneo. Recommended without reservation.