Mozart: Die Zauberflöte, K620 (The Magic Flute)

“The two treats here are Dessay's Queen of the Night and the Pamina of the now sadly retired Mannion.” BBC Music Magazine, December 2011 ***

“… this is as idiomatic and as deeply Mozartian a reading of the work as any in the catalogue. … the performance itself, which is euphonious to a degree and falls more sweetly and lovingly on the ear than any I can recall. … All this gives Christie opportunities to shape the work subtly and sensitively … Taken overall, the performance is quick and light-textured - and often quite dramatic … Another strength lies in the shaping, cool and unselfconscious, of the two extended finales …These light and soft textures and graceful phrasing are what above all characterize this recording.” Gramophone Magazine, May 1996

“The orchestral playing and Karajan's sense of hieratic mystery gild the deeply affecting Pamina of Edith Mathis, José Van Dam's noble Sarastro, and the inspired dialogue direction of veteran actor Will Quadflieg.” BBC Music Magazine, January 2011 ****

“The cast of Otto Klemperer's 1964 recording reads almost like a who's who of the opera world at the time...a Flute full of joy and wisdom, with characters who are both unearthly yet recognisably human.” BBC Music Magazine, January 2012

“A likeable performance including a spurious duet for Paragon and Tamino. Apart from that, the cast is excellent and Sawallisch's a sprightly conductor.” BBC Music Magazine, November 2007 ****

“This is certainly the most desirable version using modern instruments to appear since Solti's second recording in 1990. That said, its characteristics are rather nearer William Christie's 1995 period-performance (reviewed above).
Abbado undertook the opera for the first time in performances in Italy in 2005, directed by his son (the production was seen at the 2006 Edinburgh Festival). On this occasion, he conducts a direct, keenly articulated, inspiriting account of the score, obviously aware of what has been achieved in recent times by the authenticists, yet when he reaches the work at its most Masonic – the Act 2 trio and the scene with the Armed Men, Tamino and Pamina – Abbado, directing his beloved Mahler Chamber Orchestra, gives the music its true and wondrous import. The playing throughout is alert and scrupulously articulated.
Casts varied between performances; here Abbado assembled one predominantly chosen from a youngish generation of German-speaking singers, each of whom approaches his or her role with fresh sound and interprets it in impeccably Mozartian style. The Tamino and Pamina are well nigh faultless. Tamino has been taken by many outstanding tenors on disc but Christoph Strehl sings with a Wunderlich-like strength and beauty, and rather more light and shade than his famous predecessor brought to the role. His is a wonderfully virile, vital reading that gives pleasure to the ear, as much in ensemble as in aria. He is partnered by Dorothea Röschmann, who has already appeared as Pamina at Covent Garden, and in many other houses. Her full-throated, positive singing, finely shaped, cleanly articulated, is a true match for Strehl's.
Hanno Müller-Brachmann is a properly lively and amusing Papageno, and delivers the role in a richer bass-baritone than many interpreters provide. He doesn't attempt a Viennese accent in the dialogue (a fairly full version), but brings plenty of simple humour to the part. The high and low roles are well catered for. The Hungarian coloratura Erika Miklósa has been making a speciality of Queen of Night over the past few years and shows just why in a technically secure and fiery account of her two arias. René Pape sings Sarastro: now at the peak of his career, he conveys all the role's gravity and dignity in a gloriously sung performance. Kurt Azesberger is a suitably nasty Monostatos.
Abbado allows a few neatly executed decorations.
The extensive dialogue, spoken in a manner suitable for the theatre, sometimes sounds over-emphatic in the home, with the Papagena as an old woman the worst culprit. The recording is reasonably well balanced. As a whole the performance conveys a welcome immediacy and spontaneity and the daring of Abbado's way with the score is very alluring.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“...a triumphant success. René Pape's magnificent Sarastro dominates the opera, just as intended...But most magical of all are the little vocal ensembles, wonderfully warm and refined...this is above all an affectionately relaxed performance, with Abbado continually revelling in the lyrical beauty of Mozart's wonderful score.” Penguin Guide, 2010 ****

“Abbado… conducts a direct, keenly articulated, inspiriting account of the score… The playing throughout is alert and scrupulously articulated. The Tamino and Pamina are well nigh faultless. …Christoph Strehl… sings with a Wunderlich-like strength and beauty... He is partnered by Dorothea Röschmann... Her full-throated, positive singing, finely shaped, cleanly articulated, is a true match for Strehl's. Hanno Müller-Brachmann is a properly lively and amusing Papageno... René Pape sings Sarastro: now at the peak of his career, he conveys all the role's gravity and dignity in a gloriously sung performance.” Gramophone Magazine, June 2006