Search - Mozart, Dobbs, Eddy :: Abduction From the Seraglio (English)

Clean and atmospherically focused

Sam | Seahurst, Washington | 11/12/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Menuhin's set of `The Abduction from the Seraglio' in English stemmed directly from a staged production at the 1967 Bath festival, of which Menuhin was then the musical director. He makes the performance sparkle from first to last, favoring brisk, well-lifted allegros, so that the fun of the piece comes over vividly. The acting of the principle singers is exceptionally fine too, with Noel Mangin superb as Osmin, commandingly comic yet believable too, not least when in duo with Fryatt, an outstanding Pedrillo. Their drinking duet is hilarious as well as musically sparkling. Mangin sings magnificently, firm and dark over the widest register. Nicolai Gedda, brought in as an international star, fully lives up to expectation, giving on of his finest Mozart performances, poised and stylish, his English accent flawless. The American soprano, Dobbs, similarly brought in as a star, uses her bright, agile coloratura brilliantly. Jennifer Eddy makes and enchanting Blonde, perfect as a defiant English girl.

When is come to style, it is the Menuhin touch which makes all the difference: his pointing of the music is equivalently subtle and refined, besides anticipating the scale of later period performances. There is a generous-but not too generous-allocation of dialogue, and as it is separately banded on CD it can be dispensed with if one wants the music alone/ for the score is absolutely complete, with all Belmont's arias included and the full text given in booklet.

"

Very good mozart performance by any standard

KC | London, England | 10/26/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"'The Abduction from the Seraglio is 'a triumph of love and magnanimity over vindictiveness, covetousness, hate, prejudice and violence.'

Fanfare, USA



'John Fryatt's Pedrillo might well be the best recorded. It is rare to hear a tenor in a comprimario role sing with this kind of tonal beauty and musical skill. His second act aria becomes a highlight in this performance.' American record guide



'Gedda's still in excellent form, the voice clean and perfectly focussed, the breath control superb, the manner dignified and ardent. His Constanza is the American soprano Mattiwilda Dobbs. She sang at Glyndebourne and Covent Garden in the 50's and had eight seasons at the Met, but she recorded very little. She singings beautifully in this set.



CHAN 3081

26 October 2006



The Cast



David Kelsey, speaking part - Pasha Selim

Mattiwilda Dobbs, soprano - Constanza

Jenifer Eddy, soprano - Blonda

Nicolai Gedda, tenor - Belmonte

John Fryatt, tenor - Pedrillo

Noel Mangin, bass - Osmin

Ambrosian Singers

The Bath Festival Orchestra

Yehudi Menuhin -conductor



Recorded in Abbey Road Studios, London

6-15 October & 22 December 1967

Producer - Ronald Kinloch Anderson

Sound engineer - Neville Boyling

Dialogue production - Wendy Toye

"