Mozart: Le Nozze di Figaro [Box set]

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Composer), Sir Georg Solti (Conductor), London Philharmonic Orchestra (Orchestra), Kiri Te Kanawa (Performer), Samuel Ramey (Performer), Frederica von Stade (Performer), Thomas Allen (Performer), Lucia Popp (Performer), Kurt Moll (Performer), Yvonne Kenny (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Kiri Te Kanawa, Samuel Ramey, Frederica von Stade, Thomas Allen, Lucia Popp, et al.
• Orchestra: London Philharmonic Orchestra
• Conductor: Sir Georg Solti
• Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
• Audio CD (March 12, 1984)
• Number of Discs: 3
• Format: Box set
• Note on Boxed Sets: During shipping, discs in boxed sets occasionally become dislodged without damage. Please examine and play these discs. If you are not completely satisfied, we'll refund or replace your purchase.
• Label: London/Decca
• ASIN: B0000041OU
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (47 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #27,930 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #3 in Music > Classical > Opera & Vocal > Divas > Von Stade, Frederica
  • #7 in Music > Classical > Opera & Vocal > Divas > Te Kanawa, Kiri

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

113 of 135 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is the SECOND best Figaro!, October 8, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Seattle) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mozart: Le Nozze di Figaro (Audio CD)

This is a wonderful recording of the opera, but EMI's set by Giulini is slightly better than this Solti (DECCA) set. Here is my comparision

Conductor: Advantage: DECCA! Both did a great job with keeping the music "fast paced" when needed and the score light. I rate Solti higher based soley on what he did with the overture.

Figaro: Advantage: EMI! I love Ramey, but Taddei has a much more commanding and comic presence. He is brilliant in the role, and is one of the greatest tenors of all time. Taddei's intrepretation of Figaro's Act I ending aria is worth the price alone. I have never heard the aria sung with such greatness.

Susanna: Advantage: EMI! Anna Moffo has got to be the best Susanna on record. She is lovely. When I hear her sing Susanna, I imagine- "this must be the Susanna Mozart pictured while writting the opera."

Count: Advantage: EMI! Wachter without a doubt holds the edge here.

Countess: Advantage: EVEN! This is where the tie falls. The DECCA set is worth it alone for the beautiful and stunning performance Kanawa gives, and Schwartzkopf gives the same type of performance on the EMI set. They are both two of the most wonderful sopranos in history.

Layout: Advantage: EMI! This is the biggest downfall of the DECCA set. Everything is lumped together, and most of the tracks are many minutes long. Le nozze di Figaro is a "number opera" and EMI has shorter tracks which make it much easier to skip the recititive if you wish to.

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

Discs: Advantange: DECCA! The Giulini set had been knocked down to two discs because two arias have been discluded. I was going to say "non-descript" arias- but everything Mozart is amazing. These arias will not be missed though, they are sung by two of the more minor characters. However, it's Mozart and they are wonderful pieces, and the DECCA completeness is great.

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.

Still, the DECCA set is an amazing recording and fully deserves FIVE STARS!

Also, the Giulini recording of Don Giovanni is often regarding as the "greatest opera recording ever." Don't waste time on others. I've bought about five other Giovanni recordings and sold them all to used cd stores- there's no point-this is the only one.

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Cast, Great Conductor, Who Could Ask For More?, December 27, 2003

By 

Timothy Kearney (Haverhill, MA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mozart: Le Nozze di Figaro (Audio CD)

This is a recording that people either love or hold in contempt. I happen to be someone who favors this recording. How can a recording with a cast such as this possibly fail? Each of the major performers: Kiri Te Kanawa as the Countess, Frederica von Stade as Cherubino, Lucia Popp as Susanna, Thomas Allen the Count, and Samuel Ramey as Figaro are all known for their interpretations of these roles. Sir Georg Solti conducts the score with vigor and expertise.

Strengths of the recording start with the rousing version of the overture, an orchestral piece that can often be performed too slowly, but has vigor in this recording. Von Stade's renditions of "Non so Piu" in Act I and the well known "Voi Che Sapete" of Act II are excellent. Ramey's rendition of "Non Pui Andrai" where he celebrates Cherubino's decision to join the military is able to convey the humor of the scene. The finale of Act II is well done and the cast captures the craziness of the scene rather well. The Act III aria "Dove Sono" is Te Kanawa at her best. The Act III duet of the Countess and Susanna "Che Soave Zefiretto" (familiar to fans of THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION as the song played over the prison p.a. system) sounds angelic. My only fault with the singing in this recording is that of the tenor role of Robert Tear as Don Basilio, but this may be due more to the fact that this is not all that great a role for a tenor.

The recording has a libretto and is marked according to the disc and track numbers. Unfortunately there is not a table of contents with page numbers, so following the libretto is not always easy.

So why do some people love this recording and others disdain it? Le NOZZE di FIGASRO is one of the most popular operas as well as one of the most recorded works in the classical repertoire. I think we tend to fall in love with the first recording we hear and judge all others based on our first impressions. Figaro is one of the operas that "we always remember our first love." Fans of other interpretations of Mozart may find earlier recordings superior, and since I enjoy them I will not argue the point, but this is certainly a great recording and brings this magnificent opera to life in a magical way.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very lively performance, January 20, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Mozart: Le Nozze di Figaro (Audio CD)

"Lifeless" and "Computer Generated"??

It is obvious that that particular reviewer is a lifeless person. Perhaps he/she is a computer generated person - a robot. That's why he/she cannot hear the feelings that the artists exude in this recording.

This is a famous recording! Kanawa owned the role of the Countess for a decade. Unlike many other singers who sings a broad repertiore, Dame Kanawa chose to focus on a few characters during her long and illustrious career. This was the recording that made her extremely famous. Her Countess is sung with ravishing beauty. Lucia Popp is incredible as Susanna. Without doubt one of the best, if not the best on record. She literally sparkles with life.Fredrica's is a famous classic performance of Cherubino.Samuel Ramey and Sir Thomas Allen round up the all-star cast of this recording.And of course, Sir Georg Solti is in most thrilling and exciting form.

You'll find it hard to find another recording that can rival this classic recording. Giulini's Figaro is another classic. But the annoying thing is that there are some cuts made in the opera. Yes, they are minor cuts but Mozart die-hards would want every second of Mozart's lovely music included.

Detractors - eat your hearts out. This recording has already gone down the hall of fame as a classic recording with a Grammy Award in 1983 and magnificent accolades from the Penguin Guide and Gramophone, not to mention countless others.