Customer Reviews

Mozart: Die Zauberflöte / Upshaw, Hoch, Rolfe Johnson, A. Schmidt, Hauptmann, Bär; Norrington

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

 

 

In his accompanying essay to this edition of “Die Zauberflöte” (The Magic Flute), Peter Branscombe reaches two conclusions, one of which I can wholeheartedly agree with, the other of which I find to be all too positive. After exploring the avenues and sources which led Emanuel Schikaneder to put together his libretto, he states baldly, “Certainly, there are minor inconsistencies, but once one has grasped that it is through and with the hero that one experiences the events […], the story offers little in the way of difficulties.” Here I beg to differ. The plot of this “opera” (I would as gladly have said “musical”) is, to my mind, thoroughly illogical and confused and is only held together by the threadbare love-story between Tamino and Pamina, although there appears to be no motivation behind that either. It is, in fact, surely only Mozart’s grandiose music and the brilliant stage fireworks which make this piece so popular.

Branscombe’s second conclusion, however, is perfectly in order: “[…] Notwithstanding the solemnity of some of the temple scenes, ‘Die Zauberflöte’ was conceived and performed by Mozart and Schikaneder as a swiftly-moving drama. Everyone involved in this recording would surely agree that that is how it makes its most vivid and magical effect.” Roger Norrington and his period-instrument ensemble make sure that this performance never gets bogged down, there is always fast-moving action and transparent-as-glass playing; and the excellent soloists and choir (whose texts are, for an English ensemble, incredibly well pronounced, I might add) ensure that there is never a dull moment. The quality of the singing and of the spoken roles is, in my humble opinion, first-rate (although I have never had the opportunity to compare this recording with any other version): Beverly Hoch is a delightful Queen of the Night who achieves the high notes in her arias with absolute ease and sovereignty. Dawn Upshaw is a charming but woe-begone Pamina. The male roles are equally well cast, with a superb Anthony Rolfe-Johnson as Tamino, Cornelius Hauptmann as Sarastro and Andreas Schmidt as the comic figure Papageno. I particularly enjoyed Guy de Mey as Monostatos; Olaf Bär and Catherine Pierard (as Papagena) have a comparatively minor part to play but are thoroughly convincing. The groups of three (ladies, boys, priests and slaves) are quite brilliantly done: I thought the idea of employing three well-known early-music sopranos (Tessa Bonner, Evelyn Tubb, Caroline Trevor) as the three boys worked really well, their voices having just the right mixture of innocence and maturity. Sarastro’s lions are played by real lions from London Zoo!

The recording was made at London’s prestigious Abbey Road studio in December 1990 and is technically satisfying. The microphones are placed at a certain distance from the singers, creating something of a stage effect. The only slight disadvantage is the difference in dynamic between some of the spoken asides and the really loud passages: after adjusting the volume to hear the spoken dialogue comfortably, my ears were nearly blasted by the noise (chord and thunderclap) at the first appearance of the Queen of the Night. Here it is perhaps not only one’s ears but also one’s loudspeakers that are in danger.

The booklet contains the complete libretto in German and English, but unfortunately offers no information whatsoever about the members of the ensemble nor about the instruments used.

Norrington's conducting, in this 1990 recording, runs the gamut from fast to really fast. If you don't mind the fleet tempi, you will find that his direction is dramatic, well nuanced, with attractive phrasing and good balance. There is lots of very well done dialog and sound effects. The chorus, various women, armored men, boys, priests etc. are all much better than average.

Tamino has been recorded by a number of elegant singers (Wunderlich, Simoneau, Dermota, Haefliger, and Blochwitz). I find Anthony Rolfe Johnson's singing in no way inferior to theirs. He has an attractive voice, and sings with feeling, employing nuanced phrasing and pleasant legato. The Papageno, Andreas Schmidt, has a warm mid-range baritone voice; he also sings with feeling, while not exhibiting any notable flaws or deficiencies, and does a nice job of capturing his character's feckless personality.

Beverly Hoch (The Queen of the Night) has a reasonably pleasant voice of moderate size and handles the coloratura well. She sounds distinctly uncomfortable in the dramatics of her second aria. Dawn Upshaw (as Pamina) sings beautifully in the ensemble pieces, however, her "Ach ich Fuhl's" doesn't work; the technique is fine - it just never engages the listener.

Cornelius Hauptmann is a somewhat understated Sarastro. He does better in the slower paced "Isis und Osiris" than in the quickly paced "In diesem Heil'gen Hallen". While his singing is entirely adequate, it fails to leave much of an impression. Olaf Bar excels as the Speaker.

The recorded sound is excellent.. If you find Norrington too fast, try Gardiner or Christie for other good "historically informed" Flutes. If you want a fine German Romantic rendition, look to Klemperer or Boehm (1955 or the 1964 with Wunderlich.) . If you want a "not too romantic, not too historically informed" but very fine recording, try Abbado's.

This is the reissue of Mozart: Die Zauberflöte, originally published in 1991. As with just about all the Classical and early Romantic repertoire Norrington and his London Classical Players tackled in those years (the late 1980s and 1990s), it ditches away all time-honored interpretive traditions and, as a result, is provocative, challenging to one's habits and expectations, often illuminating, always interesting - but not always entirely convincing. See my lenthy and detailed review under the original (and as I write, cheaper) entry. You can also find it paired with Norrington's equally challenging and interesting Don Giovanni: Mozart: Don Giovanni (Prague and Vienna Versions); Die Zauberflöte.

Any of hte great Mozart operas is a good place to start with period-style performance, because fast tempos and zingy violins can't ruin their inspiration and often adds dramatic zest. Clearly that's what Norringotn is aiming for here with his fast pace, but he's thrown out the opera's depth and drama in the bargain. William Christie is equally quick in his Zauberflote on Erato, but listen to the huge difference it makes when a conductor imparts wit, pathos, inner detail, and intenisty--all the things Norrington lacks. In one number after another he simply skips over the surface, blithely indifferent to Mozart's greatness.

That's a double shame becasue his cast is nearly ideal. Anthony Rolfe-Johnson is the best lyric tenor of his generatoin in England, and he tries his best with Tamino, but the tempos are so quick and the conducting so bland that he hasn't got time to make his points. The same is true for Dawn Upshaw as Pamina and Andreas Schmidt as Papageno. They are all wonderful artists, but here their portrayals are barely sketched in. I suppose this set will have its admirers, but for me, a Zauberflote without magic seems pointless.

Previous reviewers make several good points, but in my opinion miss the essence of this great recording. Norrington is not so much interested in "depth and drama" as one reviewer notes, but is interested in the music and its character. The clarity and voicing of the orchestral parts is given particular attention, and the balance between the singers and the orchestra is weighted much more evenly than in other recordings. This is not a vehicle for great singers to have their way with the music. In fact, I do not find the singers particularly special. Lucia Popp's Queen is much, much better, the women as one reviewer notes are all a little weak, and Wunderlich, Gedda, and Schreier are all better tenors. I would have preferred boys for the 3 Spirits and the dialogue would be better let out altogether in my opinion. But the interplay between the instruments and the voices, the momentum and dynamics, the multiplicity of character of the music is unsurpassed. Mozart would have smiled to hear this performance.

In general, this $20-list-price recording of "The Magic Flute" made a good first impression on me, although some of the British singers spoke the dialogue with an audible accent. Beverly Hoch as the Queen of the Night did excellent on the high pitches (Nr. 4: "Oh zittre nicht, mein lieber Sohn") but the 3 Ladies sounded rather monotone. The tempo was extremely high (especially Nr. 21, Rezitativ, Andante, Allegro: "Die Strahlen der Sonne").

I loved every part of it. I think it is the best opera by Mozart and was well performed.

I thought it was neat because it was cool when Papapgaino had the pad-lock on his mouth. When he was singing to Tumino. It sounded really funny.