Search - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Georg Solti, Salzburg Vienna Philharmoniker :: Mozart: Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail / Solti, Venna State Opera Chorus, Vienna PO

Great performance

12/29/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a really great performance. Perhaps if Solti moved a touch faster in Konstanze's first two arias, this recording would have been even better. But hey, this is a nothing when Gruberova's singing as Konstanze is so astonishing!! You have to hear Gruberova to believe it. She spins out the super high sustained pianissimo effortlessly like nobody else can do!!! Her technical mastery of Konstanze's arias is acknowledged to be unsurpassed. She is no doubt a Queen of coloratura and you'll understand why when you hear this recording. Winbergh is wonderful as Belmonte, and with miraculous breath control in his arias. I couldn't believe my ears when I heard him sing. His breath control technique is just incredible. I half expected him to burst like a balloon but no, he just went on singing beautifully. Battles's bewitching Blonde is another star of this recording. Her control of the runs is superb. And she hits the high F at the end of the aria very very firmly. No doubt about it. She can do it. Her silvery voice is the perfect foil to Osmin. Talvela is hilarious and wonderful as Osmin,the eternally frustrated harem . He does the low-lying runs and trills wonderfully. You really feel his character - that his bark is wonderful. Zednik is wonderful as Pedrillo. He fits into this recording. The VPO is as usual, incredible. When you listen to the many recordings by VPO, you always wonder how one orchestra can produce so many types of sound. In this case, the VPO sounds distinctly Turkish (boy, how do they do it?). They show themselves as one of the great orchestras of the world.
Solti's conducting is terrific. He was far ahead of his time. When this recording was released, ill-humour British critics said his tempi were too fast. But look at Mozart period practices today, some of them are even much faster and now lauded by the same critics!!! No, Solti's conducting is not too fast. His tempi are finely and knowledgeably judged, a touch slow at times but that doesn't do this recording any damage."

The best available today

J. Buxton | Waltham, MA United States | 02/15/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I don't understand what The Penguin Guide has against this recording (they don't recommend it), because in my view it is the best recorded performance of this opera available today. Solti has an innate sense for Mozart and with the VPO he puts forth lots of beautiful sound. The soloists are almost beyond reproach. Anytime you can capture Gruberova singing Mozart it is a real treat, Battle is on form, as is Zednik. This is just fun to listen to repeatedly."

Ideally cast and beautifully performed!

Armindo | Greece | 02/26/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Abduction from Serail is a difficult opera to cast: firstly, there are two tenor-soprano couples thus the voices of the performers must differ. This becomes even more important in a recording when one does not see the singers in order to distinguish them; secondly, both sopranos sing stratospheric high notes so we need two superb coloraturas, one of which must have enough lyricism to sing a moving Kostanze. Finally, the part of Osmin is very important therefore a good baritone is also needed.The great maestro Solti found the ideal artists and created an excellent recording of Mozart's beautiful opera. Gruberova is heard at her best here. Her Bellini and Donizetti roles pale in comparison to what she does as Kostanze. Touching, exciting, perfect! Winberg as her lover is moving and, when needed, heroic (though not as beautiful as the legendary Wunderlich). Battle is lovely and has no problems with Blonte's arias. Talvela remains one of the great Osmins on record. Another advantage of this set is that the singers (and not other actors) perform the dialogues. Finally, the digital sound is certainly also a plus. The earlier (1973) DG Bohm recording has an equally great cast but suffers from the "dialogue problem" (this does not prevent me from warmly recommending that recording as well). The recently recorded Christie recording is another great choice."