Klemperer: Mozart – Le Nozze Di Figaro (3 CD, FLAC)

Audio CD
Number of Discs: 3
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: EMI
Size: 829 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: no

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Le Nozze di Figaro, K. 492

New Philharmonia Orchestra
Studio No. 1, Abbey Road 1970 Studio
Otto Klemperer

John Alldis Choir

Annelies Burmeister mezzo-soprano (Marcellina)
Werner Hollweg tenor (Basilio)
Willi Brokmeier tenor (Don Curzio)
Michael Langdon bass (Bartolo)
Clifford Grant bass (Antonio)
Margaret Price soprano (Barbarina)
Teresa Cahill soprano (Maiden)
Gabriel Bacquier baritone (Count Almaviva)
Elisabeth Soderstrom soprano (Countess)
Reri Grist soprano (Susanna)
Geraint Evans baritone (Figaro)
Teresa Berganza mezzo-soprano (Cherubino)
Kiri Te Kananwa soprano (Maiden)
Henry Smith continuo

Disc 1
01. Overture
02. Act 1. Cinque … dieci… venti (Figaro/Susanna)
03. Cosa stai misurando (Figaro/Susanna)
04. Se a caso Madama (Figaro/Susanna)
05. Or bene; ascolta e taci! (Figaro/Susanna)
06. Se vuol ballare (Figaro)
07. Ed aspettaste il giorno (Bartolo/Marcellina)
08. La vendetta, oh, la vendetta (Bartolo)
09. Tutto ancor non ho perso (Marcellina/Susanna)
10. Via resti servita (Marcellina/Susanna)
11. Va la, vecchia pedante (Susanna/Cherubino)
12. Non so piu cosa son, cosa faccio (Cherubino)
13. Taci, vien gente! (Susanna/Cherubino/Conte/ Basilio)
14. Cosa sento! (Conte/Basilio/Susanna)
15. Basilio, in traccia tosto di Figaro volate (Conte/Susanna/Cherubino/Basilio)
16. Giovani liete (Coro)
17. Cos’e questa commedia? (Conte/Figaro/Susanna/Coro)
18. Evviva! Evviva! (Figaro/Susanna/Basilio/Cherubino/Conte/Coro)
19. Non piu andrai farfallone amoroso
20. Act 2. Porgi, amor (Contessa)
21. Vieni, cara Susanna (Contessa/Susanna/Figaro)
22. Quanto duolmi, Susanna (Contessa/Susanna/Cherubino)
23. Voi, che sapete (Cherubino)
24. Bravo! Che bella voce! (Contessa/Susanna/Cherubino)
25. Venite, inginocchiatevi (Susanna)
26. Quante buffonerie! (Contessa/Susanna/Cherubino/Conte)
27. Che novita (Conte/Contessa)
28. Susanna, or via sortite (Conte/Contessa/Susanna)
29. Dunque voi non aprite? (Conte/Contessa)

Disc 2
01. Aprite, presto, aprite (Susanna/Cherubino)
02. Tutto e come il lasciai (Conte/Contessa)
03. Esci ormai, garzon malnato (Conte/Contessa)
04. Signore! Cos’e quel stupore? (Susanna/Conte/Contessa)
05. Signori, di fuori (Figaro/Conte/Susanna/Contessa)
06. Ah! Signor, signor! (Antonio/Conte/Susanna/Contessa/Figaro)
07. Voi signor, che giusto siete (Marcellina/Basilio/Bartolo/Susanna/Contessa/Figaro/Conte)
08. Act3. Che imbarazzo e mai questo! (Conte/Contessa/Susanna)
09. Crudel! Perche finora (Conte/Susanna)
10. E perche fosti meco (Conte/Susanna/Figaro)
11. Hai gia vinta la causa!… Vedro, mentr’io sospiro (Conte)
12. E decisa la lite (Don Curzio/Marcellina/Figaro/Conte/Bartolo)
13. Riconosci in quest’amplesso (Marcellina/Figaro/Bartolo/Don Curzio/Conte/Susanna)
14. Eccovi, o caro amico (Marcellina/Bartolo/Susanna/ Figaro)
15. Andiam, andiam, bel paggio (Barbarina/Cherubino)
16. E Susanna non vien!… Dove sono (Contessa)
17. lo vi dico signor (Antonio/Conte)
18. Cosa mi narri? (Contessa/Susanna)
19. Sull’aria (Contessa/Susanna)
20. Piegato e il foglio (Contessa/Susanna)
21. Ricevete, o padroncina (Coro)
22. Queste sono, Madama (Barbarina/Contessa/Susanna/Antonio/Conte/Cherubino/Figaro)
23. Ecco la marcia, andiamo! (Figaro/Susanna/Conte/Contessa)
24. Amanti costanti (Due Ragazze/Coro/Conte/Figaro)

Disc 3
01. Act 4. L’ho perduta, me meschina! (Barbarina)
02. Barbarina, cos’hai? (Figaro/Barbarina/Marcellina)
03. Madre!… Figlio! (Figaro/Marcellina)
04. Son quelli che invitasti a venir (Basilio/Bartolo/Figaro)
05. In quegli anni (Basilio)
06. Tutto e disposto … Aprite un po’ quegli occhi (Figaro)
07. Signora! Ella mi disse … (Susanna/Marcellina/Contessa/Figaro)
08. Giunse alfin il momento … Deh vieni non tardar (Susanna)
09. Perfida! E in quella forma meco mentia? (Figaro/Cherubino/Contessa)
10. Pian, pianin … (Cherubino/Contessa/Conte/Susanna/ Figaro)
11. Partito e alfin l’audace (Conte/Contessa/ Figaro/Susanna)
12. Tutto e tranquillo e placido (Figaro/Susanna)
13. Pace, pace, mio dolce tesoro (Figaro/Susanna/Conte)
14. Gente, gente, all’armi, all’armi! (Tutti)

Ladies and Gentlemen, THIS. IS. MOZART.

Despite having a tempo that is too fast for some of the arias, the recording features such a stellar voice cast that perfect absolution from Mozart has been conferred! The voices were all lyrical-singers of the highest quality, and they so complemented each other that you can literally HEAR the different voice both separately AND in harmony. Just as Mozart would’ve intended. There isn’t one single wobbly note anywhere, every singing is pure as the heavenly music of Mozart could be.
I bought this because Barbara Bonney sang the lead role of Susanna. And what can I say? That woman’s voice should be illegal. It’s incredible what such a little Soubrette but angelic soprano could do with her singing. I literally can listen through the recitatives because of her. When she sings parts that are meant to be dramatic, she never goes over the top but her technique is just astounding. When she harmonizes with other voices, her voice touches all the right places, it literally accommodates the other voices just like an instrument would, you can hear her as clearly as you can hear the other voices. Someone I’ve came across once said that only Barbara Bonney can interpret Mozart. At first I thought (as anyone would): that’s an exaggerated statement to make! But after getting into listening to her, I would have to agree. She is the star that was destined to fall with the star of Mozart. She was just (exactly!) 200 years behind, and yet, mankind benefited from this!
Petteri Salomaa is just as good as Bryn Terfel in singing Figaro, perfect phrasing.
Arlene Auger was also clearly chosen in order to harmonize with the rest of the voice cast. She has a lighter voice than most well-known Contessas such as Renee Fleming or Kiri Te Kanawa. But her voice fits perfectly with the other voices, and it is beautiful. If they had cast a stronger mature voice it would’ve fell out of place.
Another thing I was worried about initially reading the reviews is that the voices were all not loud enough for you to hear. But it was not so at all. In fact, I had much less trouble listening to this recording in terms of volume than the recent purchased recording of La Traviata with Contrubas and Domingo, or Turandot with Domingo. Because in those recording the volumes are just not even. For example Domingo and the music are much louder than some of the lead singing arias (I could barely hear Contrubas when she sang the “Piange…Piange…” duet, she just whispered the song and I couldn’t hear a thing). In Le Nozze di Figaro, everybody sang on approximately the same volume on the average, so you just need to crank up the volume to a listenable range, and just leave it there. No problem whatsoever.
The only singing that was not completely on par is the singing of Basilio. Feller has the right voice, but bad interpretation. Some of the phrases do not need to be in pianssimo at all but he sang pianssimo, which actually inhibited some of the most beautifully sweeping music of Mozart. For example when he sings “perdonate, oh mio signor,” there is no reason why “perdonate” should be in such a pianssimo mode. Musically, the sweeping upward and increasing the dynamics into mezzo-forte on that last note in that phrase would carry the music better. Feller sang all of his parts way too gently even though he had such a nice timbre.
This CD also has “appendices” which composed of several arias that are in a different version. So for example in CD two you are going to hear two versions of the famous Contessa aria “Dove…sono…” and a much longer, beautiful version of “Deh vieni, non tardar” in the last track of CD3 sung once again by the divine Bonney. So quite a collection!
But regardless, I would say that this recording IS the definition of Mozart: lyrical yet emotive, light yet heavenly. If you have to have one recordings from Mozart, this would be it. I also love the fact that there is a booklet included that has all of the libretto in four languages: Italian, English, German and French. So you could literally pick up some Italian listening along.