Search - Mozart, Steber, Tucker :: Cosi Fan Tutte

A TERRIFIC 2ND SET

MOVIE MAVEN | New York, NY USA | 04/27/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"True, the orchestra is a big, full one and not the smaller, more currently fashionable size; and the instruments are contemporary and not those of Mozart's period; and the singers, except for the leading lady, Eleanor Steber, were new to Mozart when hired to sing and record these roles; and this recording uses an English translation instead of the original Italian; and, I assume that the score has been abridged since this recording is complete on two CD's instead of the usual three. All of the above being true, I'd still recommend this version of Mozart's most charming music.Certainly the orchestra, under Fritz Stiedry, sounds wonderful--even though the recording was made for Columbia Records 50-odd years ago, it is a big, warm, luscious sound remastered by Sony for their superb Masterworks Series. The artwork is that of the original with a thoughtful essay by The Earl of Harewood and the liner notes are complete with many charming photographs of the original sessions.All of the principal singers are first rate with special marks going to Steber and her tenor, Richard Tucker. The translation is, surprisingly enough, witty and clever. And the singers all enunciate English very well.I think anyone's first choice for an opera recording should be in the original language, but if you can afford to buy two, this one, in English, would make a terrific second set."

Required listening for all opera workshop students!

MusicMad | Metuchen, NJ | 08/18/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This recording is an important historical document of the 1951 Metropolitan Opera production designed by Rolf Gerard and directed by Alfred Lunt (of Broadway's famous Lunt and Fontaine.) One of Sir Rudolf Bing's early successes, it lasted all the way up to 1981, and was repeated 70 times. This production was part of the 1950's trend of making opera more accessible to the Metropolitan public by using an English singing version with some Broadway zip, this one by the ubiquitous Ruth and Thomas Martin, published in the G. Schirmer score. For all of you opera workshop folks singing and staging scenes from Cosi: there are some discrepancies in the text between this recording and that score, so take note! The changes made in the recording are frequently better than what's been published.



The performance is not influenced by scholarship. What's important is that the singers really do inhabit their characters convincingly. The English diction varies between performers, but at least it's always clean: Eleanor Steber rolls every R with imperious conviction (old-fashioned, yes, but good for Fiordiligi); Roberta Peters tends to a more Broadway approach (as the lower class Despina); Blanche Thebom as Dorabella sounds a little wan and flat at times, but she remains charming and a tad ditsy. (Steber and Thebom together sometimes remind me of Wilma Flintstone and Betty Rubble!) Richard Tucker and Frank Guarrera always enunciate clearly and have generous voices for their roles - Tucker's "My love is a flower" (Un aura amorosa) is a particular luxury, and the high tessitura poses no problems. Lorenzo Alvary struggles against a heavy accent, but he usually wins.



There are some stylistic disappointments, mostly in the recitatives, the tempos of which are mostly heavy and ponderous. (The dry block chords by Josef Blatt on the piano are no help.) The singers, however, manage to keep their performances involved and interesting. The conducting of Fritz Stiedry propels the ensembles considerably. (There are many cuts, and no ornamentation, not even any appogiature, but this is all standard for the 1950's.)



The recording is packaged very prettily, with photograghs of the Gerard production, the cast in those wonderful costumes, and the recording sessions. The cast looks as though they were having a grand old time indeed.



On a sad note - if it's true that the Masterworks Heritage series has been discontinued - the world will lose The MET's English Hansel and Gretel (with Rise Stevens and Nadine Conner, and Thelma Votipka as the Witch - my very first opera recording ever); Faust (in French, with Eugene Conley, Cesare Siepi, and Steber - she could sing anything! Fausto Cleva conducting - my favorite Faust recording to date and my second opera recording ever); the very Broadway English Die Fledermaus (Ljuba Welitsch of Salome fame as Rosalinda, Lily Pons as the French maid Adele, Tucker as Alfred the opera tenor); and, most distessingly, the MET's first production of The Rake's Progress with Igor Stravinsky conducting (with Hilde Gueden, Eugene Conley, Blanche Thebom and Mack Harrell)- also my favorite recording of this opera. (I have since learned that this recording IS available on another label, but not in this country. Frustrating!)



Up-and-coming young American singers need to hear what opera was like back in the day, and need to hear who was singing what - it's not enough just to read about it. The old MET recordings are treasures. We need them!"

Gone Forever

Wayne A. | Belfast, Northern Ireland | 11/27/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Sony, Columbia, whatever, abandoned this recording resurrection series and started deleting. This is a wonderful performance and an excellent argument for popularizing opera by singing it in an understandable language. In English Cosi comes across like a hip Broadway musical done "in the style of Mozart" and that ain't bad! Playing Mozart the old way ain't bad either, I'm starting to like this non-historical but enthusiastic approach more and more.



Not a review so much as an alert to pick this up whenever you have a chance and before the used price hits the $100.00 mark."