Search - Moll, Schreier, Rothenberg :: Mozart - Die Zauberflöte / Schreier, Rothenberger, W. Berry, Miljakovic, E. Moser, Moll, T. Adam, Brockmeier, Sawallisch

The Best Magic Flute Recording Of All Time

10/04/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In 1973, Austro-German conductor Wolfgang Sawallisch and the Munich Bavarian State Opera put together the greatest production of Mozart's "The Magic Flute." Thanks to the EMI label, this wonderful performance was captured first on LP and reissued on cd on this exquisite book courtesy of the Black Dog Opera Library, which specializes in operas with their complete libretto, illustrations, photographs and commentary. For any fan of opera and of Mozart's "The Magic Flute", which is generally regarded as his best opera, this is the cd to own. It is an absolute must because it is perfect in its music, vocal cast and orchestration.ABOUT THE OPERA: The Black Dog Opera Library is an innovative way to introduce the untrained ear to opera. Children, young adults as well as adults who want to get into opera should consider collecting the various "opera books" available under this label. The Magic Flute was Mozart's final opera and his best. It tells a fairy tale of good versus evil in which the heroic prince Tamino, the beautiful Pamina, the good wizard Sarastro and the comic bird-man Papageno defeat the Queen of the Night and her forces. The music can reach sublime heights of profound emotion and spirituality, moments such as Sarastro's arias and the chorus of his priests and the trial of fire and water that Tamino and Pamina undergo to achieve purification. There are tender love songs such as Tamino's aria "Dies Bildnis", Pamina's lament "Ach Ich Fuhls", Sarastro's God-like arias (one critic of Mozart's day found that Sarastro's baritone bass was like hearing the voice of God) and the comic and bouncy tunes of Papageno. There is also the two high-flying coloratura arias for the soprano singing the Queen of the Night "O Zittre nicht" and the fiery vengeance aria "Der Holle Rache". This book provides us with illustrations and photographs of relation to the opera- the original playbill to The Magic Flute when it premiered in December in the 1790's at the small Theatre Der Wein in Vienna. The atmosphere of that theatre, headed by the impresario/actor/librettist Emmanuel Schikaneder was rowdy, spirited and a lot like a Las Vegas dinner show. It was a theatre directed to a lower-class audience, as represented in the 1984 Milos Forman film "Amadeus". The popularity of The Magic Flute, however, has never diminished with time. It is still highly entertaining and profoundly moving, performed in various brand-name opera houses around the world, most commonly in the Vienna State Opera. In addition to important information on Mozart's life and the making of The Magic Flute, the book contains bios and photos of the cast who sings this recording.ABOUT THE SINGERS: Perhaps one of the reasons why this recording is so brilliant and faithful to Mozart is due to the fact that the forces behind it are essentially German. The conductor, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Peter Schreir (Tamino) and Anneliese Rothenberger (Pamina) Kurt Moll (Sarastro) and Walter Berry (Papageno) are all German. Their talents and German flair enable this "Singspiel" (song play) to be delivered with tremendous passion and high art. The spoken parts are like that of lines on a German play but when they break out into song, fireworks happen. Notice especially Edda Moser's interpretation of The Queen of the Night. She is by far the best Queen of the Night of them all, surpassing the other sopranos who have contested for the absolute version- sopranos such as Lucia Popp, Beverly Sills, Edita Gruberova, June Anderson and others, although each of these ladies have done really well for themselves. But Edda Moser brings real fire to the role. In her, we have the real Queen of the Night- neurotic characterization, scheming villain, raging majesty. Edda Moser's dramatic, Wagnerian voice is integrated with her sublime lyricism and soaring coloratura. Her "Der Holle Rache" is the finest version out there. The high F's are there, the fury and the fire in her vengeance song are all there. After hearing Edda Moser sing that you won't want to run into her in a dark alley. As for the other singers, we have the best in Peter Schreir as Tamino. Noble, lyric and heroic, his character of a princely savior is excellent, proven when we hear him sing everything from "Dies Bildnis" to the magical moments when he first plays his magic flute and gathers animals around him to his reunion with Pamina in the trial of fire. Kurt Moll's Sarastro is benign, soothing and fatherly, and like that 19th century critic once said, like the voice of God. Anneliese Rothenberger's Pamina is so poignant, so beautiful and lyric that we understand why she was in demand in various 1950's performances in Europe and America, even on film (Die Fleidermaus, Der Rosenkavalier). Anneliese Rothenberger was one of the rare breed of sopranos who made the transition from German operetta to German opera with ease and style. Her light, lyric voice is glorious in its upper extensions and equally as impressive when she spins out the long flowing lines. Without a question, this is the definitive Magic Flute."

The Ultimate Studio Recording

Rudy Avila | Lennox, Ca United States | 01/19/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The reviews for this particular Magic Flute recording are accurate. It is by far the greatest studio recording of Mozart's opera masterpiece. The strong cast of singers are in excellent form, the music is orchestrated beautifully and true to Mozart's technique under the baton of Maestro Wolfgang Sawallisch and the Bavarian State Opera orchestra of Munich. High-quality performance by seasoned German singers- bass Kurt Moll is the definitive spiritual leader Sarastro, Peter Schreier is a very talented lyric German tenor in the tradition of Fritz Wunderlich, Anneliese Rothenberger's Pamina is well-delivered by a soprano who has sung German repertoire all her life with enormous success and dynamic skills (Anneliese Rothenberger appeared in the Salzburg Festival film of Der Rosenkavalier in 1963 with Karajan conducting and in the British film "Oh Rosalinda" but better known as Strauss' Die Fledermaus" with Pressberger director (the same guy who directed the ballet movie "The Red Shoes")Walter Berry's baritone stylings in his comic role of Papageno is undoubtedly the best and Edda Moser's Queen of the Night is by far the best interpretation.This studio recording remains true to Mozart's original concept. The Magic Flute is an opera of sublime, spiritual beauty. Although it is set up to appear like a children's fantasy, it is in fact Mozart's loving tribute to Freemasonry, which was his religion and a laud to the philosophies of the Enlightenment. Although Freemasonry was frowned upon and even censored by Catholic imperialists such as the Austrian Empress Maria Theresa, it received worldwide recognition and many great figures in history have been Freemasons, among them Benjamin Franklin, Franz Joseph Haydn, Beethoven and even Emperor Joseph, Maria Theresa's son who "recalled" his mother's censorship of the Freemasons and was friends with Mozart himself. The libretto was written by Emanuel Schikaneder, himself a Freemason in its text we find a lot of Freemason thought- equality, courage,pacifism, reason, spirituality. Nevertheless, there are some anti-feminist lines and that was only because chauvinism was rampant at the time. We cannot dismiss the fact that in the opera Pamina and Tamino are both initiated into Sarastro's Order and are both glorified after the Trial of Fire and Water. The music Mozart wrote for this, though written in the standard classical form he had perfected himself, is still powerful and divinely beautiful. He was even treading on new ground he had never experimented before, not even with his Le Nozze Di Figaro or Don Giovannni. For example, the variety in orchestral effects-the virtuoso, peaceful and lyric passages for flute (the flute remains the principal instrument) to the dark intensity of the music for the Queen of the Night, the music for the Trial of Fire and Water, in which Two Guards stand in vigilance at the gate, is Lutheran or even Bach-like in its structure. The chorus music for Sarastro's Priests, especially at the end of Act 1, is glorious. Mozart's balance of light whispers in the strings and flutes to the climatic finale in which evil is defeated and goodness reigns is spectacular. The Magic Flute is the first German Romantic Opera, even before the visably German Romantic operas as Beethoven's Fidelio or Weber's Die Frieschutz. Wolfgang Sawallisch is an eminent German conductor with a flair for this type of music. This book-cd contains illustrations and photographs of classic productions of The Magic Flute, valuable information on Mozart and the making of The Magic Flute (completed in 1791)and bios on the singers who make this recording the very best in catalogue. Edda Moser as Queen of the Night is the greatest. She takes on the role with powerful Wagnerian force. She becomes the Queen of the Night in all her real glory. Queens of the Nights from the past made the mistake of only focusing on the lightness and dazzling coloratura (Roberta Peters, Lucia Popp, June Anderson and most recently Sumi Jo) but they forget that in the Vengeance Aria she is ordering her own daughter to kill Sarastro out of revenge. She wields a dagger, she is cursing, she is raging and therefore a heavier, darker voice is needed. Moser's voice has the weight and darkness to sound evil, scheming, furious, powerful, and her coloratura (the high F's)are lazer-sharp and sensational. In contrast, Anneliese Rothenberger's well-schooled lyric soprano voice is softer, charming, sweet, soaring and angelic. Nevertheless, Rothenberger uses chest register to provide a dramatic moment of stress or despair (such as in her Suicide Scene towards the end of Act 2)and her "Ach Ich Fuhls" is appropriately melancholy. Walter Berry, who died recently in 2000, had performed in various comic roles in German opera repertoire- such as Eisenstein in Fledermaus and even Italian roles as Figaro. His mastership of the vocals that require wit and charm are exceptional. What else is there to say ? Get this version and you'll have the greatest version."

Great CD

Jay Jeon | Atlanta, GA United States | 10/11/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"As an avid fan of Mozart's Die Zauberflote, I own 7 different recordings of this divine work of art. Based on all I have heard so far, my conclusion is that there is no "perfect" Zauberflote recording, as with any other opera. Each has its own strengths and weaknesses. Of course, the judgement is based on my own, amateur tastes.As for this one by Sawallisch, I especially love the delightful interpretation of Papageno by Walter Berry, the handsome, noble realization of Sarastro by Kurt Moll, and the sweetness and innocence of the Three Boys played by soloists of the Tolz Boys Choir. Sawallisch's conducting is also superb. The other members of the cast also deliver competitive performances (although I have alternate preferences for their roles -- see below). Overall, I think this is a highly recommendable CD.For those of you curious about what my favorites are for the other roles, they are Wunderlich (Bohm) for Tamino, Deutekom (Solti) for the Queen, and Janowitz (Klemperer) for Pamina."