Search - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart :: Mozart: Cosi Fan Tutte

This Caliber Bel Canto Discontinued Until Further Notice

Mark E. Farrington | Albany, NY | 10/10/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This little-known COSI is Karl Bohm's first of three studio versions; the best known is the 1962 EMI Legge-Schwarzkopf, which is more "complete." Still, in this 1955 edition we behold the legendary post-war Vienna Mozart "Colony," the likes of which never existed again. (Della Casa's Fiordiligi has to be heard to be believed.) Bohm's tempi are more expansive and "Viennese" than in the 1962 or the DG '74 set. And the Vienna Philharmonic shines like burnished gold in twilight.



The sound is vivid and warm, as a fine German-pressed LP would sound on a top-flight system...And no wonder: close headphone listening reveals ambient vinyl noises- more noticeable in some spots than in others, and never enough to be distracting- but clearly, this set is based on vinyl sources. The liner notes play dumb about this, but probably the master tapes were either lost, stolen, or damaged.



In any case, it's obvious that a lot of care was lavished upon getting the best possible sound (from test pressings in the Decca vaults?) : none of that excessive Cedar-ing or No Noise-ing that can suck the "color" and life out of the music.



And what music. This is Bel Canto and concentrated melos, such as has been abolished by International Law, and through which we shall never live again.

"

A superb, old-school "Cosi" in fine early stereo sound

L. E. Cantrell | Vancouver, British Columbia Canada | 06/10/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Source: 1955 studio recording made at the Redoutensaal, Vienna.



Sound: This was a state-of-the-art recording at the very beginning of the stereo era. As stereo players were still few and far between in 1955, it was originally issued on Lp in two versions, mono and stereo. The old Lp mono version--in what was then called "high fidelity"--easily held its own against stereo versions of the 1960s and 70s. The digital remastering of this stereo version appears to have taken place in 1999 and, so far as I am concerned, was highly successful.



Cast: Fiordiligi - Lisa della Casa; Dorabella - Christa Ludwig; Ferrando - Anton Dermota; Guglielmo - Erich Kunz; Don Alfonso - Paul Schoeffler; Despina - Emmy Loose. Conductor: Karl Boehm with the Wiener Philharmoniker and the Wiener Staatsopernchor.



Text: This performance reflects the standard performing edition in use at the time it was recorded. Subsequent recordings have restored most cuts and frankly, in my opinion, have not been substantially enhanced by the restorations. Those of you who take a completist stance, feel free to disagree vehemently.



Documentation: Barebones. No libretto. Summary of the plot keyed to the track listings. A "fact file" presents odds and ends about the history of the opera. Track list with timings.



Format: Disk 1 - Act I, tracks 1-22; 74:30. Disk 2 - Act I (continued), tracks 1-2; Act II, tracks 3-19; 68:24.



A casual look at the catalogue suggests that Karl Boehm devoted every alternate weekend to recording yet another Mozart opera. This is the first of his recorded versions of "Cosi fan tutte." For all intents and purposes it is his forgotten Mozart opera. That is a shame because in many ways it is the best of the bunch. It so happens that a mono Lp version of this performance was the first "Cosi" that I ever heard. To this day I have never discovered a performance to match it.



The festival-quality cast is a perfect microcosm of the post-WWII golden age of the Vienna State Opera. The wonderful pairing of Lisa della Casa and Christa Ludwig is simply not to be matched elsewhere. Their big opening duet, "Ah, guarda sorella" is perfect--just perfect. Anton Dermota's voice is a bit heavier than those of the subsequent generation of Mozart tenors. It is not especially beautiful. He is not long of breath, so he doesn't astound us with long passages on a single gulp of air. He certainly does not add elaborate and picturesque decoration to Mozart's written vocal runs. All he does is sing the music exactly right. He is simply the best Mozart tenor ever to be recorded, that's all. Paul Schoeffler was a great master. Here he sounds just fine as someone a generation older than the rest of the cast, smarter, too, and more than a little vicious. Emmy Loose, now largely forgotten, was always a treat in character roles. I can't think of a better Despinetta. Ordinarily, I have no use whatsoever for Erich Kunz but here, for once, he turns in a respectable performance as Guglielmo.



Boehm was a great master of the old school. He keeps the show moving briskly and on point. The Vienna Philharmonic sounds terrific, as it certainly should in music that is at the very core of its repertory.



The date of the recording makes it clear that it long precedes any scholarly re-evaluations or piffling desires to return to period instruments and performing practices. Everybody concerned was simply attempting to serve up the very best "Cosi fan tutte" of which they were capable. And succeeding.



Grab this one while you still can!



Five stars."

Drop dead gorgeous....

Howard G Brown | Port St. Lucie, FL USA | 01/24/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"...but you already know that. Lisa Della Casa -- there is no one like her today: beautiful woman, beautiful voice, heard to perfection in this very inexpensive recording from Vienna's Golden Years.



This is a terrific recording on many levels: as an introduction to opera, as an addition to your 'primary' recording of Cosi, as an album of gorgeous singing among all concerned, not to mention the contribution of the Vienna Philharmonic.



The joy of music radiates from these silver platters; get them while you can."