Search - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, John Eliot Gardiner, Luba Orgonasova :: Mozart - Die Entführung aus dem Serail / Orgonasova, Sieden, Olsen, Peper, Hauptmann, Minetti; Gardiner

Mostly excellent

J. Luis Juarez Echenique | Mexico City | 09/21/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The more I hear this recording, the more I like it.
At first Gardiner's conducting seemed to me a little reserved, lacking the fun and brilliance of a Beecham, but on second and third hearings I have to accept everything is well judged and well done, and the English Baroque Soloists play magnificently for him.
The jewel of his cast is predictably soprano Luba Orgonasova, a soprano born to sing Konstanze. Her big and agile voice is what this role needs and seldom gets. There are not too many good Konstanzes on record, and she is one of the best.
Lyric tenor Stanford Olsen is a very likeable Belmonte, missing only the aristocratic vocal line of a Schreier or a Wunderlich.
I was less happy with bass Cornelius Hauptmann as Osmin, his voice is too light and unmenacing for this role.
If you want Die Entührung in period instruments (and you should) this is the recording to have. The recent William Christie recording in ERATO is let down by his too light-voiced Konstanze, and the Hogwood recording in L'Oiseau Lyre is rather bland."

Delightful recording of a favorite Mozart opera (Singspiel)

Craig Matteson | Ann Arbor, MI | 06/28/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This opera has always been one of Mozart's most popular. Except, apparently, for the very first performances, audiences have loved it. If you have somehow not heard it yet, I believe you will love it as well. The music is delightful and the story is wonderfully preposterous and provides for many delights. This is an easy opera to love because of the wide variety of music it contains. Lyric love tunes, aching arias, rousing marches, and wonderful ensemble pieces. Oh, and there is no recitative (that half-sung talking in Grand Opera that some people dislike). Instead, the characters converse (although in German).If you are new to opera and want to learn why you should love it, this should be one of your early experiences because it will delight you and encourage further explorations. The "Turkish" music that was so in vogue in Mozart's time, keeps on delighting people today.This performance / recording is very fine. I bought it because of Stanford Olsen who sings Belmote. He sang the tenor in a performance of "Messiah" here in Ann Arbor a couple of years ago and I was most impressed. He is terrific here as well (listen to the aria Mozart said was his favorite of the Singspiel on track 7). Olsen has a beautiful voice with great tone and facility. He sings with intelligence, wit, and delight in the music. I think he should be better known.Cornelius Hauptmann is just magical as Osmin, Luba Orgonasova is a delightful treasure as Konstanze. I can understand why Belmonte goes to all the trouble to rescue her! Cyndia Sieden, Uwe Peper and Hans-Peter Minetti sing their roles wonderfully as well.This recording on two CDs also provides a wonderful booklet that includes a nice essay on the historical background of the Opera (Singspiel, really, since it singing it in German deserved a German word rather than the Italian word opera) and its place in Mozart's life in Vienna, notes on this recording and the edition of the score from which it was performed, and a synopsis of the story. And, thankfully, there is a complete libretto. These are provided in English, French, German, and Italian. There are nice pictures of the main soloists and Gardiner, but I can't find any biographical information on these artists in this booklet and that would have been nice to have. However, a delightful addition that is provided is the inclusion of the silhouettes of the singers who created the main roles in the original production. Most cool.This recording would be a nice addition to your library and you will find it holds up well under repeated listenings. In fact, like all great music, it will reveal more to you with each hearing."

Limpid Waters

Rex B. Faubion | Mountain View, CA United States | 09/18/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have been watching and hearing performances of this opera for over 50 years, good, bad, and indifferent. This recording, however, is absolutely superlative. The roles have been well cast; that is, the vocal timbre seems a good fit for the characters of the opera, and the musicianship of the whole ensemble is almost beyond reproach. The bass (Osmin) has a bit of a reach for those low, low notes, but nearly every bass does (some of what goes on in the opera house borders on disgrace). Above all, Gardiner's strong hand (and I understand that he is a bit of a tyrant) produces the best orchestral textures I have ever heard in this score. It is like looking into a stream or lake where the waters have always been somewhat muddy and now finding them clear, crystalline, rife with activity one didn't know went on down there: darting, quicksilver fish, sporting flashes of color in a limpid pool. Please excuse the purple prose, but I like this recording."