Mozart: The Four Da Ponte Operas- Cosi fan tutte / Le nozze di Figaro / Don Giovanni / Die Zauberflote [Box set, Import]

Mozart (Composer), Kleiber, Krips, Fricsay Bohm (Conductor) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Conductor: Kleiber, Krips, Fricsay Bohm
• Composer: Mozart
• Audio CD (July 19, 2007)
• Number of Discs: 10
• Format: Box set, Import
• 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: Documents
• ASIN: B000GUK00E
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #66,375 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #74 in Music > Imports > Opera & Vocal

Track Listings

1. CosÌ Fan Tutte

2. Le Nozze Di Figaro

3. Don Giovanni

4. The Magic Flute

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic performances for less than a full priced CD, March 2, 2008

By 

Timothy R. Carpenter "kplmeister" (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mozart: The Four Da Ponte Operas- Cosi fan tutte / Le nozze di Figaro / Don Giovanni / Die Zauberflote (Audio CD)

These are the classic Mozart operas recorded by Decca in 1954/55. They are wonderful performances featuring some of the best Mozart conductors and singers of the time: Cosi: Böhm / della Casa, Ludwig, Dermota, Kunz, Schoeffler; Figaro: E. Kleiber / Gueden, della Casa, Danco, Siepi, Corena; Don Giovanni: Krips / Danco, della Casa, Gueden, Dermota, Siepi, Corena, Berry, Böhme; Flute: Fricsay / Streich, Stader , Otto, Haefliger, Fischer-Dieskau, Greindl. All but Magic Flute are with the Vienna Philharmonic. I haven't compared the sound with the Decca masterings, but the sound is good 50's mono. No librettos but individual track listings are provided. At under $20 this is a steal. If you don't already have these performances, BUY THIS!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic 1950's performances in a super-bargain box, December 12, 2009

By 

Ralph Moore "Ralph operaphile" (Bishop's Stortford, UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Mozart: The Four Da Ponte Operas- Cosi fan tutte / Le nozze di Figaro / Don Giovanni / Die Zauberflote (Audio CD)

While none of these four performances might necessarily be a first choice for an individual recording, as a super-bargain box set this is self-recommending, featuring as it does an array of the finest German singers to be found in the mid 1950's conducted by four master-Mozartian conductors in Böhm, Kleiber, Krips and Fricsay respectively. The sound is remarkably clear and the packaging attractive, being the by now conventional format of a sturdy box containing cardboard slipcases. The only obstacle to acquiring this as, or for, a Mozart novice, is the lack of libretto or even synopses; it is obviously assumed that the collector already has them, so if you do decide to give this to a Mozart tyro, remedy the omission. At this price - even cheaper on Marketplace - it is absurd to complain. It is true that some individual performances are less than ideal; Poell's Count Almaviva is blustery and dry of voice, his Italian intermittently Teutonic - a flaw occasionally apparent in other singers, too; in "Die Zauberflöte" Greindl's Sarastro is a little lugubrious and Stader not ideally pure as Pamina but you do get dialogue unlike some contemporaneous versions and there is a sense of ensemble about each opera rather than that impression some more modern recordings give of a random gathering of star singers. But talking of stars, just look at some of the names here: Lisa della Casa, Christa Ludwig, Cesare Siepi, Hilde Gueden, Rita Streich, Suzanne Danco, Anton Dermota; so many great singers sounding as fresh as you could wish. (Here, to select an example at random, Dermota shows off his breath control by delivering the long phrase of "cercate" in "Il mio tesoro" in one breath unlike in other recordings.) The quality of performance, interpretation and sound is high throughout all four operas and this set represents a supreme bargain.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Three of these four are available elsewhere in real stereo., March 1, 2010

By 

Mike Simonsen (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mozart: The Four Da Ponte Operas- Cosi fan tutte / Le nozze di Figaro / Don Giovanni / Die Zauberflote (Audio CD)

Decca/London was experimenting with stereo recordings of complete operas as early as 1954. The three Italian operas recorded in Vienna were done in real stereo, and are available elsewhere in that format. These transfers are of the mono mixes recorded at the same time. Only the DG Flute is mono-only.

All of these performances are first class, and far different from any Mozart you are going to hear 50+ years later. If stereo is unimportant to you, by all means, buy, learn and enjoy.