DVD Videos

“This is one of the most wondrous and simple stagings of Mozart's elevated Singspiel yet. As its musical attributes are almost as excellent, it's an experience no one with DVD should miss. The action is choreographed in a manner precisely fitting the mood of the moment, serious or comic. Details, such as the dragon, animals responding to Tamino's flute, the arrival of the three Boys, the evocation of fire and water and several others, often invitations to director's bêtises, all march here with the thought-through and pleasing-to-look-at concept. How happy that it should be preserved on video, though a pity it's in 4:3 rather than in widescreen format.
Gönnenwein conducts a reading that fits perfectly with what's happening on stage in terms of unaffected, rhythmically firm and keenly articulated playing from his fine orchestra. Deon van der Walt's Tamino is a well-known quantity but he surpasses himself here in strong tone and finely moulded phrasing. He has a fit partner in Ulrike Sonntag's pure-voiced, moving Pamina. Thomas Mohr, though unflatteringly attired, is a nicely unfussy and gently amusing Papageno. Good and evil, at bottom and top of the range, aren't so happily done. Hauptmann's visually impressive Sarastro lacks vocal presence and tends to unsteadiness. Similarly Frei's formidable figure as Queen of Night produces an edgy, uncontrolled sound. Ladies and Boys are all admirable.
The video direction is sensitive; the sound, for the most part clear and well balanced, suffers from occasional moments of distortion. But that shouldn't detract from your enjoyment of this life-enhancing experience.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“Among the soloists there is no weak link. The singing is consistently firm, clear and stylish, with Philip Langridge masterly in the title-role, Ashley Putnam superb as Vitellia and Diana Montague most moving as Sesto.” Penguin Guide, 2010 */**

“The interplay of the characters has never been more purposefully presented, making nonsense of the old idea of this piece as stiff and static.” The Guardian

“What dominates John Cox's lively 1978 production of Die Zauberflöte for Glyndebourne are the sets and designs of David Hockney...That puts the production firmly on the side of pantomime rather than serious drama, but the excellent casting and the powerful conducting of Bernard Haitink ensure that this is not just a trivial entertainment.” Penguin Guide, 2010 ***

“The singing is first rate and the acting good, and Slack's production brings out the fun of the piece. The conductor, Sir John Pritchard, is at his most animated and magnetic...The youthful Thomas Allen is a superb Guglielmo, and the American tenor Anson Austin is a handsome, open-toned Ferrando” Penguin Guide, 2010 ***

“A rare operatic detour on the part of a great theatre director, Giorgio Strehler, it does bear a distinctive theatrical stamp… Thomas Allen's Giovanni (in splendidly aristocratic form) and Claudio Desderi's Leporello enact a limitlessly fascinating central relationship, and Susanne Mentzer is a delicious Zerlina.” BBC Music Magazine, September 2004 ***