Search - Stephan Genz, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Sigiswald Kuijken :: Mozart: Arias & Duets

Nice stuff

Larry VanDeSande | Mason, Michigan United States | 04/17/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I'm not much for opera arias and don't have any collections other than this. I bought it to hear the Genz brothers sing together. This collection mixes well known with lesser known arias. It includes the famous mandolin accompanied "Deh, veni alla finestra" from Don Giovanni and "Un' aurua amorosa" from Cosi fan tutti. Other selections may not be familiar to all. But no matter, it's all Mozart. The glory here is practice by the Genz brothers, baritone Stephan and tenor Christoph, and Sigiswald Kuijken's Petite Band. I had some reservations about this thin-sounding group doing Mozart, but they support the singers well in a low-calorie performance. Old timers looking for more meat on the bones won't like it. The Genz brothers perform admirably, especially Stephan, who is clearly the more talented of the pair. His voice and operatic sytle are both more well-developed than Christoph, who relies a bit more on vocal span from piano to forte. All told, this is a relaxing hour with lightweight Mozart sung by a couple guys that enjoy it. It's hardly the last word in Mozart performance but very enjoyable and done so stylishly it improves with repeated hearings."