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Presto News - 13th September 2010Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte from René Jacobs |
 One of the most anticipated releases of the autumn is a new recording of Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute) from René Jacobs. It is his sixth Mozart opera in a projected complete series for Harmonia Mundi and, while always controversial, the series has attracted a lot of followers and this latest one looks set be become one of the biggest sellers of the year.  René Jacobs Die Zauberflöte presents a slightly different challenge to the previous five Mozart operas Jacobs has recorded as, while the excellence of Lorenzo Da Ponte’s librettos for Don Giovanni, Così fan tutte and Le nozze di Figaro is well-documented, there is generally a much lower opinion of Emanuel Schikaneder’s libretto for Die Zauberflöte. This, combined with the fact that Die Zauberflöte is a Singspiel (where the dialogue between arias is spoken rather than sung) has meant that a general trend has grown up to cut as much of the dialogue as possible so as not to “interrupt Mozart’s superior music too much”. Jacobs fiercely disagrees with this opinion and believes that the real drama is in the words, and that Schikaneder text is every bit the equal to Mozart’s music. He therefore doesn’t cut anything, but instead uses various musical effects to enhance the text (and drama) where appropriate. These take the form of sound effects from the orchestra (especially the percussion), improvisation on the fortepiano and vocalising by the singers during the dialogues. In the booklet there is a well-written and very interesting essay by Jacobs which supports this approach, and there is certainly some historical evidence of this sort of technique being expected by Mozart and Schikaneder. So, the big question is does it work? Well, I’d say, with slight reservations, yes. In the theatre or on DVD I think it would work even better as you’d be more drawn into the dialogue passages. On CD, to ears unfamiliar with hearing the dialogues performed in this way, it does sound a bit post-modern at times, but there is nothing worse than being bored, and if you’re performing this opera without cutting any of the libretto, that is a big possibility. But bored you most certainly are not, and the way the dialogues frequently pick up a tempo or end in a key which leads straight into the next aria actually adds to the dramatic whole, and the more times I’ve listened to it the more I am convinced that this really does work. Elsewhere the performance lives up to everything we have come to expect from Jacobs conducting Mozart – the cast of mostly young singers is uniformly excellent with Daniel Behle’s Tamino one of the finest I have heard. Tempos are generally on the fast side compared to what we are used to, and the orchestra (Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin) and chorus (RIAS Kammerchor) on top form. In summary then, an exciting new vibrant recording of a well-known work which has much to recommend it, and much to enjoy within. I’ve put a trailer on the website where Jacobs talks about the dialogues and also what else he is trying to achieve in his new recording. Enjoy!
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 Mozart: Die Zauberflöte, K620Daniel Behle (Tamino), Marlis Petersen (Pamina), Daniel Schmutzhard (Papageno), Sunhae Im (Papagena), Anna-Kristiina Kaappola (Königin der Nacht), Marcos Fink (Sarastro), RIAS Kammerchor & Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, René Jacobs |
Chris O'Reilly - chris@prestoclassical.co.uk |
Watch a short promo videoNew Releases13th September 2010 |
This is just the pick of the recent releases. The New Releases and Future Releases pages are always available for browsing all the new and forthcoming releases. |
 Chopin: Ballades & Piano Concerto No. 2Lise de la Salle (piano)The young French pianist Lise de la Salle's new project is one of the event releases of the Chopin bi-centenary year, a recording which couples the famous Four Ballades for solo piano with a live performance of the Second Piano Concerto, performed with one of the best orchestras of the time, the Staatskapelle Dresden, under its former principal conductor Fabio Luisi. |
 Melani: Mottetti (Motets)Rinaldo Alessandrini (organ & conductor), Concerto ItalianoThis release is a real revelation and a ‘coup de Coeur’! Roman composer Alessandro Melani (1639-1703), whose sacred music is still virtually unknown, composed several absolute jewels in this field and all the works featured here are world premiere recordings. Discover a world full of harmony and musical delicacy, in superb accounts by Rinaldo Alessandrini, who has consistently championed baroque Roman composers. |
 Beethoven: Violin Sonatas Nos. 1-10 (Complete)Renaud Capuçon (violin) & Frank Braley (piano)Renaud Capuçon and Frank Braley have devoted much of their 2009-10 concert schedule to Beethoven’s complete sonatas for violin and piano. “These sonatas are full of memories for me,” says Capuçon. “The ‘Spring’ Sonata was the first piece of Beethoven I played, when I was ten years old. His music is a rite of passage for every violinist.” This complete recording of Beethoven’s sonatas for violin and piano grows from a marathon performance project that Renaud Capuçon and Frank Braley launched in their native France in Summer 2009: some 50 concerts around Europe, all devoted to the Beethoven sonatas. |
 Wagner: Der Ring des NibelungenWiener Symphoniker, Rudolf Moralt (1948-9)Until now, this legendary production has only been available in dubious sound quality, if at all. In 1948 Rudolf Moralt began the first complete “Ring” cycle for the RAVAG broadcasting station. The Vienna “Ring” of 1948/49 is also the first extant ‘live’ or studio recording. |
 Verdi: Rigoletto - DVDDiana Damrau (soprano), Juan Diego Florez (tenor) & Zeljka Lucic (baritone), Sachsische Staatskapelle Dresden, Fabio LuisiIn June 2008, Giuseppe Verdi temporarily replaced Richard Strauss as the presiding genius at Dresden’s Semperoper as baritone Željko Lucic, soprano Diana Damrau and tenor Juan Diego Flórez came together for a new production of Rigoletto, directed by Nikolaus Lehnhoff and conducted by Fabio Luisi, chief conductor of the Semperoper, Dresden, General Music Director-elect of the Zurich Opera, and Principal Guest Conductor of the Metropolitan Opera. |
 Gounod: Faust - DVDAngela Gheorghiu (Marguerite), Roberto Alagna (Faust), Bryn Terfel (Méphistophélès), Simon Keenlyside (Valentin) & Sophie Koch (Siébel), Orchestra & Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Antonio Pappano (conductor) & David McVicar (director)David McVicar's spectacular 2004 production of Gounod’s Faust, featuring a divine cast of opera’s superstars: Roberto Alagna, Angela Gheorghiu, Bryn Terfel, Simon Keenlyside and Sophie Koch. McVicar is one of the most innovative and in-demand directors, and his lush, haunting realised vision of Faust received glorious praise. The production revels in a gothic, seamy Second French Empire setting, with the Act V ballet “haunting the imagination long after” (The Independent). |
 2 New Simon Rattle Box SetsGoing straight into our ongoing EMI box set Special Offer are two new sets from Sir Simon Rattle. Firstly a 5-disc set which gathers together the recordings he has made of composers of the Second Viennese School - Schönberg, Berg and Webern - which includes the mighty Gurrelieder. Secondly a 9-disc set of his Beethoven recordings including the complete Symphonies and his opera Fidelio. |
 Australian Eloquence8 New re-issuesAnother batch of important re-issues from the budget label Australian Eloquence. Includes the 1981 Richard Bonynge recording of John Gay's 'The Beggar's Opera'; Anthony Rooley and his Consort of Musicke performing both John Danyel and the complete Le Chansonnier Cordiforme; two discs featuring Emma Kirkby and more. |
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