BaL 2.04.22 - Mozart: The Marriage of Figaro

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

9.30am
Building a Library
Coming not long after the French Revolution (I don't write this rubbish; it's probably someone on work-experience or In Tune - EA), Mozart’s intricate and sublime opera Le nozze di Figaro proved explosive yet rapidly became one of the true masterpieces of the genre. Nicholas Kenyon discusses a wide range of interpretations with Andrew, before settling for what he believes to be the ultimate recording to buy, download or stream.


Available versions:-


Sylvia McNair, Lucio Gallo, Cheryl Studer, Boje Skovhus, Cecilia Bartoli
Wiener Philharmoniker, Claudio Abbado

Patricia O’Neill, Judith Blegen, Sir Geraint Evans
English Chamber Orchestra/Daniel Barenboim *

Andreas Schmidt, Lella Cuberli Joan Rodgers, Cecilia Bartoli John Tomlinson, Günter von Kannen, Hilde Leidland, Graham Clark, Phyllis Pancella, Richard Brunner, Peter Rose
Berliner Philharmoniker, RIAS Kammerchor, Daniel Barenboim *

René Pape, Dorothea Röschmann, Emily Magee, Roman Trekel Peter Schreier
Staatskapelle Berlin & Staatsopernchor, Daniel Barenboim (DVD/Blu-ray)

Rita Streich, Walter Berry, Sena Jurinac, Paul Schöffler, Christa Ludwig, Ira Malaniuk, Oskar Czerwenka, Erich Majkut, Murray Dickie, Karl Dönch, Rosl Schwaiger
Wiener Staatsoper, Wiener Symphoniker, Karl Böhm

Lisa della Casa, Walter Berry, William Wernigk, Anny Felbermayer Alberta Kolm , Gerda Happ, Irmgard Seefried, Erich Kunz, Rosette Anday, Oskar Czerwenka, Sena Jurinac , Paul Schöffler, Murray Dickie
Wiener Philharmoniker, Wiener Staatsoper, Karl Böhm

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Irmgard Seefried, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Karl Böhm

Hermann Prey, Edith Mathis, Gundula Janowitz, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Tatiana Troyanos, Patricia Johnson, Peter Lagger, Erwin Wohlfahrt
Deutschen Oper Berlin, Karl Böhm *

Ingvar Wixell, Claire Watson, Reri Grist, Edith Mathis Walter Berry, David Thaw, Zoltan Kelemen, Margarethe Bence; Wiener Philharmoniker, Karl Böhm (DVD)

Hermann Prey, Mirella Freni, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau , Kiri Te Kanawa, Maria Ewing, Paolo Montarsolo, Heather Begg, John van Kesteren, Willy Caron, Hans Krämer, Janet Perry
Wiener Philharmoniker, Karl Böhm (DVD)

Stéphane Degout; Eleonora Buratto, Christiane Karg, Alex Esposito, Marianne Crebassa, Katharine Goeldner, Umberto Chiummo, Krystian Adam, Chorus of Dutch National Opera, Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, Ivor Bolton (DVD/Blu-ray)

Ezio Pinza, Bidu Sayao, John Brownlee, Eleanor Steber, Jarmila Novotna, Salvatore Baccaloni, Herta Glaz, Alessio de Paolis
Metropolitan Opera, Paul Breisach

Willi Domgraf-Fassbaender, Audrey Mildmay, Roy Henderson, Aulikki Rautawaara , Luise Helletsgruber
Glyndebourne Festival Orchestra and Chorus, Fritz Busch

Eleanor Steber, Bidú Sayão, Jarmila Novotna, Italo Tajo , John Brownlee, Claramae Turner, Salvatore Baccaloni, Alessio de Paolis
Metropolitan Opera Chorus & Orchestra, Fritz Busch

Lorenzo Regazzo, Heidi Grant Murphy, Peter Mattei, Christiane Oelze, Christine Schäfer, Helene Schneiderman, Roland Bracht, Burkhard Ulrich, Eberhard Francesco Lorenz, Frédéric Caton, Cassandre Berthon
Opéra national de Paris, Sylvain Cambreling (DVD)

Ludovic Tézier, Barbara Frittoli, Luca Pisaroni, Isabel Rey
Chorus and Orchestra of the Teatro Real, Jesus Lopez Coboz (DVD)

Nikolai Loskutkin, Krystian Adam, Simone Kermes, Christian van Horn, Maria Forsström, Andrei Bondarenko, Natalya Kirillova, Fanie Antonelou, Mary-Ellen Nesi, Garry Agadzhanian, James Elliott,
MusicAeterna, MusicAeterna Choir
Teodor Currentzis *

Wladimiro Ganzarolli, Mirella Freni, Jessye Norman, Ingvar Wixell, Yvonne Minton, Maria Casula, Clifford Grant, Robert Tear
BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Chorus, Sir Colin Davis *

Ildebrando D’Arcangelo, Dorothea Röschmann, Anna Prohaska, Lauri Vasa, Marianne Crebassa
Staatsoper Berlin, Gustavo Dudamel (DVD/Blu-ray)

Luca Pisaroni, Anett Fritsch, Martina Janková, Adam Plachetka, Margarita Gritskova, Ann Murray, Carlos Chausson, Paul Schweinester, Franz Supper, Christina Gansch, Erik Anstine
Wiener Philharmoniker & Konzertvereinigung Wiener, Dan Ettinger (DVD/4k Blu-ray))

Irmgard Seefried, Renato Capecchi, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Maria Stader, Hertha Töpper, Lilian Benningsen, Ivan Sardi, Paul Kuen, Georg Wieter, Friedrich Lenz, Rosl Schwaiger
Radio-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, RIAS Kammerchor, Ferenc Fricsay *

Paul Schöffler, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Eric Kunz, Irmgard Seefried, Hilde Güden, Sieglinde Wagner, Peter Klein
Wiener Staatsoper, Wiener Philharmoniker, Wilhelm Furtwängler

Bryn Terfel, Alison Hagley, Rodney Gilfry, Hillevi Martinpelto, Pamela Helen Stephen
Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Soloists, John Eliot Gardiner (DVD)

Anthony Rolfe Johnson, Anne Sofie von Otter, Amanda Roocroft, Rodney Gilfry, Hillevi Martinpelto, Alison Hagley, Bryn Terfel, Michael Schade, Gerald Finley
English Baroque Soloists & Monteverdi Choir, John Eliot Gardiner *

Giuseppe Taddei, Anna Moffo, Eberhard Wächter, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Fiorenza Cossotto
Philharmonia Chorus & Orchestra, Carlo Maria Giulini

Piero Cappuccilli, Heather Harper, Gillian Spencer, Fernando Corena, Joy Hackett, Elisabeth Söderström, Giorgio Tadeo, Edda Vincenzi, Teresa Berganza, Ernest Blanc, Hugues Cuénod, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf
Philharmonia Orchestra, Philharmonia Chorus
Carlo Maria Giulini (live 1961)

Sesto Bruscantini, Graziella Sciutti, Franco Calabrese, Sena Jurinac, Risë Stevens, Monica Sinclair, Ian Wallace, Hugues Cuénod, Daniel McCoshan, Gwyn Griffiths, Jeannette Sinclair
Glyndebourne Festival Chorus & Orchestra, Vittorio Gui *

Benjamin Luxon (Don Giovanni), Stafford Dean (Leporello), Horiana Branisteanu (Donna Anna), Rachel Yakar (Donna Elvira), Leo Goeke (Don Ottavio), Elizabeth Gale (Zerlina)
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Bernard Haitink (DVD)

Bo Skovhus, Marina Mescheriakova, Judith Halász, Renato Girolami, Michelle Breedt, Gabriella Sima, Janusz Monarcha, Michael Roider, Alexander Klinger, Orsolya Sáfár, Peter Köves
Nicolaus Esterházy Sinfonia, Michael Halász

Anton Scharinger, Barbara Bonney, Thomas Hampson, Charlotte Margiono, Petra Lang, Ann Murray, Kurt Moll, Philip Langridge, Christoph Späth, Kevin Langan, Isabel Rey
Concertgebouw Orchestra, Netherlands Opera Chorus, Nikolaus Harnoncourt *

Mari Eriksmoen, Andrè Schuen, Christine Schäfer, Bo Skovhus, Elisabeth Kulman
Concentus Musicus Wien, Arnold Schoenberg Chor, Nikolaus Harnoncourt (DVD/Blu-ray)

Isabel Rey, Carlos Chausson, Eva Mei, Rodney Gilfry, Liliana Nikiteanu, Elisabeth von Magnus, Robert Holl, Volker Vogel, Martin Zysset, Werner Groschel, Lisa Larsson
Opernhaus Zürich, Nikolaus Harnoncourt (DVD/Blu-ray)

Ildebrando D’Arcangelo, Anna Netrebko, Bo Skovhus, Dorothea Röschmann, Christine Schäfer, Marie McLaughlin, Franz-Josef Selig, Patrick Henckens, Oliver Ringelhahn, Florian Boesch, Eva Liebau
Konzertvereinigung Wiener Staatsopernchor & Wiener Philharmoniker, Nikolaus Harnoncourt (DVD)

Simon Keenlyside, Véronique Gens Patrizia Ciofi, Lorenzo Regazzo, Angelika Kirchschlager, Marie McLaughlin
Collegium Vocale Gent, Concerto Köln, René Jacobs

Rosemary Joshua, Luca Pisaroni, Pietro Spagnoli, Annette Dasch, Angelika Kirchschlager
Concerto Köln & Choeur du Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, René Jacobs (DVD/Blu-ray)

China National Centre for the Performing Arts Orchestra & Chorus, Lü Jia (DVD)

Walter Höfermeyer, Annelies Kupper, Benno Kusche, Clara Ebers, Sena Jurinac, Irmgarth Barth, Max Proebstl
Bavarian Radio Orchestra, Eugen Jochum *

Ludovic Tézier, Barbara Frittoli, Ekaterina Siurina, Luca Pisaroni, Karine Deshayes, Ann Murray, Robert Lloyd
Paris Opera Orchestra & Chorus, Philippe Jordan (DVD/Blu-ray)

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

(CONTINUED)

Erich Majkut, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf , Erich Kunz , Hilde Czeska, Marjan Russ, Anny Felbermayer, Wilhelm Felden, Marjan Rus, Elisabeth Höngen, Sena Jurinac), George London, Irmgard Seefried, Erich Kunz, Rosl Schwaiger
Chor Der Wiener Staatsoper, Wiener Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan

Ileana Cotrubas, José van Dam, Tom Krause , Anna Tomowa-Sintow, Frederica von Stade, Jane Berbié, Jules Bastin, Heinz Zednik, Kurt Equiluz, Zoltán Kéléman, Janet Perry
Wiener Staatsopernorchester und-Chor, Herbert von Karajan *

Mirella Freni, Jose Van Dam , Elizabeth Harwood, Frederica von Stade, Jane Berbié, Paolo Montarsolo, Michel Sénéchal, Willy Caron, Zoltán Kéléman, Elke Schary
Wiener Philharmoniker, Wiener Staatsoper, Herbert von Karajan *

Anna Tomowa-Sintow, Janet Perry, Ileana Cotrubas, Zoltan Kelemen , Kurt Equiluz, José van Dam , Jane Berbié, Jules Bastin, Frederica von Stade, Tom Krause, Heinz Zednik
Wiener Staatsoper
Herbert von Karajan

Walter Berry, Renate Holm, Renato Cesari, Victoria de los Ángeles, Christa Ludwig
Teatro Colón, Istvan Kertész

Hilde Gueden, Cesare Siepi Lisa della Casa, Alfred Poell, Suzanne Danco
Wiener Philharmoniker, Erich Kleiber

Gabriel Bacquier, Elisabeth Söderström, Reri Grist, Geraint Evans, Teresa Berganza, Annelies Burmeister, Werner Hollweg, Willi Brokmeier, Michael Langdon, Clifford Grant, Margaret Price, Teresa Cahill, Kiri Te Kanawa
New Philharmonia Orchestra, John Alldis Choir
Otto Klemperer

Diana Damrau, Ildebrando D’Arcangelo, Pietro Spagnoli, Marcella Orsatti Talamanca, Monica Bacelli
Teatro Alla Scala, Gérard Korsten (DVD)

Erich Kunz, Irma Beilke, Hans Hotter, Helena Braun & Gustav Neidlinger
Vienna Philharmonic, Clemens Krauss

Orchestra Filarmonica Marchigiana, Monica Minarelli, Coro Lirico Marchigiano “Vicenzo Bellini”, Barbara Frittoli, Kirsten Schwarz, Paola Antonucci, Ezio Maria Tisi, Elisabetta Lombardi, Enrico Facini, Alessandro Zuppardi, Stefano Rinaldi Miliani, Albert Dohmen, Silvano Paolillo, Arturo Cauli
Gustav Kuhn *

Christiane Oelze, Hubert Claessens Patrizia Biccire, Werner Van Mechelen, Monica Groop, Yves Saelens, Béatrice Cramoix, Harry Van der Kamp, Philip Defrancq, Marie Kuijken, Jean-Guy Devienne
La Petite Bande, Choeur de Chambre de Namur, Sigiswald Kuijken

Lisa della Casa, Annie Felbermeyer, Roberta Peters, Ljubomir Pantscheff, Giorgio Tozzi, Fernando Corena, Sandra Warfield,, Rosalind Elias, George London, Gabor Carelli
Wiener Philharmoniker, Wiener Staatsoper, Erich Leinsdorf *

Cesare Siepi, Elisabeth Söderström, Kim Borg, Lisa Della Casa, Mildred Miller
Metropolitan Opera, Erich Leinsdorf

Roberta Peters, Cesare Siepi, Kim Borg, Lucine Amara, Mildred Miller, Ezio Flagello, Regina Resnik
The Metropolitan Opera & Chorus, Erich Leinsdorf *

Giorgio Tozzi, Hilde Güden, George London, Lisa della Casa, Mildred Miller, Fernando Corena, Regina Resnik, Norman Kelley
Metropolitan Opera, Erich Leinsdorf *

Ferruccio Furlanetto, Dawn Upshaw, Thomas Hampson, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Anne Sofie von Otter, Tatiana Troyanos, Paul Plishka, Anthony Laciura, Michael Forrest, Renato Capecchi & Heidi Grant-Murphy
New York Metropolitan Opera Chorus & New York Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, James Levine *

Graziella Sciutti, Geraint Evans Hilde Güden, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Evelyn Lear, John van Kesteren, Peter Lagger, Patricia Johnson, Siegfried Rudolf Frese, Barbara Vogel, Martin Vantin
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Lorin Maazel (DVD)

Alastair Miles, Nuccia Focile, Alessandro Corbelli , Carol Vaness, Susan Mentzer, Suzanne Murphy, Alfonso Antoniozzi, Ryland Davies, Rebecca Evans, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Sir Charles Mackerras

Danielle Borst, Nicolas Rivenq, Hubert Claessens, Sophie Marin-Degor, Stuart Patterson, Valerie Lecoq, Claudine Le Coz, Philippe Cantor, Patrick Donnelly, Laura Polverelli
Grande Ecurie et la Chambre du Roy, Jean-Claude Malgoire *

José van Dam, Barbara Hendricks, Ruggero Raimondi, Lucia Popp, Agnes Baltsa, Felicity Palmer, Robert Lloyd, Aldo Baldin, Neil Jenkins, Donald Maxwell, Catheryn Pope
Academy of Saint-Martin-in-the-Fields, Ambrosian Opera Chorus, Neville Marriner

Michele Pertusi, Marie McLaughlin, Lucio Gallo, Karita Mattila, Monica Bacelli
Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Zubin Mehta

Michele Pertusi, Marie McLaughlin, Lucio Gallo, Karita Mattila, Monica Bacelli
Israel Philharmonic Orchestra
Zubin Mehta

Sesto Bruscantini, Teresa Berganza, Mario Petri, Sena Jurinac, Teresa Stratas, Nucci Condo, Agostino Lazzari, Giorgio Tadeo, Lilia Reyes, Alfredo Mariotti, Angelo Degli Innocenti, Licia Scarpelli, Rosetta Arena, RAI Orchestra & Chorus
Zubin Mehta *

Natale de Carolis, Roberto Frontali, Maria Pia Ionata, Ingrid Kertesi, Jozsef Mukk, Patrizia Pace, Donato di Stefano
Hungarian State Opera Orchestra, Pier Giorgio Morandi

Thomas Hampson, Sonya Yoncheva, Angela Brower, Christiane Karg, Luca Pisaroni, Maurizio Muraro, Anne Sofie von Otter, Rolando Villazón
Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Yannick Nézet-Séguin *

József Dene, Ursula Reinhardt-Kiss, Uwe Kreyßig, Magdelena Falewicz, Ute Trekel-Burgkhardt, Ruth Schob-Lipka, Rudolf Asmus, Frank Folker
Komische Oper Berlin, Geza Oberfrank (DVD)

Petteri Salomaa, Barbara Bonney, Håkan Hagegård, Arleen Augér, Alicia Nafé, Della Jones, Carlos Feller, Eduardo Giménez, Francis Egerton, Enzo Florimo, Nancy Argenta, The Drottningholm Court Theatre Chorus
The Drottningholm Court Theatre Orchestra, Arnold Östman *

Erwin Schrott, Miah Persson, Gerald Finley, Dorothea Röschmann, Rinat Shaham, Graciela Araya, Jonathan Veira, Philip Langridge
Royal Opera House, Antonio Pappano (DVD/Blu-ray)

Christopher Purves, Rebecca Evans, Yvonne Kenny, William Dazeley, Diana Montague
Philharmonia Orchestra, Geoffrey Mitchell Choir, David Parry (sung in English)

Cesare Siepi, Nadine Conner, Giuseppe Valdengo, Victoria de los Ángeles, Mildred Miller
Orchestra and Chorus of the Metropolitan Opera House, New York, Fritz Reiner

Rolando Panerai, Rita Streich, Heinz Rehfuss, Teresa Stich-Randall, Pilar Lorengar
Orchestre de la Societé des Concerts du Conservatoire, Hans Rosbaud *

Cesare Siepi, Nadine Connor, Frank Guarrera, Victoria de los Angeles, Mildred Miller
Orchestra & Chorus of the Metropolitan Opera, New York, Max Rudolf

William Stone, Kaaren Erickson, John Cheek, Janet Perry, Helena Berembau
Rico Saccani *

Tom Krause, Arlene Saunders, Heinz Blankenburg, Edith Mathis, Elisabeth Steiner, Maria Von Ilosvay, Kurt Marschner; Philharmonic State Orchestra Hamburg, Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt (DVD)

Lucia Popp, Kiri Te Kanawa, Frederica von Stade, Samuel Ramey, Thomas Allen
London Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Georg Solti *

Eleanor Steber, Cesare Siepi, Frank Guarrera & Nadine Conner
Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Fritz Stiedry

Walter Berry, Anneliese Rothenberger, Hilde Güden, Hermann Prey, Edith Mathis
Staatskapelle Dresden, Otmar Suitner

Sally Matthews, Vito Priante, Audun Iversen, Lydia Teuscher, Isabel Leonard, Andrew Shore, Ann Murray, Alan Oke
The Glyndebourne Chorus & Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Robin Ticciati (DVD/Blu-ray)

Mirella Freni, Heinz Blankenburg, Gabriel Bacquier, Leyla Gencer, Edith Mathis
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra & The Glyndebourne Chorus, Silvio Varviso

Bidú Sayão , Jarmila Novotna, Ezio Pinza, John Brownlee, Salvatore Baccaloni, Eleanor Steber, Irra Petina, Marita Farell, Alessio De Paolis, John Garris, Louis D’Angelo
Metropolitan Opera Chorus, Metropolitan Opera
Bruno Walter

Ezio Pinza, Esther Réthy, Mariano Stabile, Aulikki Rautawaara, Jarmila Novotná
Wiener Philharmoniker, Wiener Staatsoper, Bruno Walter

Carlos Álvarez, Diana Damrau, Golda Schultz, Markus Werba, Marianne Crébassa, Anna Maria Chiuri
Teatro alla Scala, Franz Welser-Möst (DVD/Blu-ray)

(* = download only)

[Lordgeous]

There's not enough!

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

There's not enough!

It took nearly all day.

[Lordgeous]

Bravissimo!

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

I have several recordings of this wonderful opera:
Furtwängler, Kleiber, Colin Davis, Gardiner, and the Böhm/Unitel DVD. All brilliant in different ways, but if I had to choose one, it would be the Böhm, with a stunning set of soloists: Prey, Freni, Kanawa & DFD.

[Wolfram]

While I have no problem with a major cornerstone of the repertoire like The Marriage of Figaro getting another outing, it has been covered in various forms more recently than Cosi, which hasn't been done since John Steane reccommened JEG in March 1997. Cosi is long overdue a BAL.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

I’ve just given Act 1 of the Furtwängler a spin. Utterly superb - such a beautifully judged understanding of Mozart’s music. Despite my earlier comment, I think it would be difficult to improve on WF.

[HighlandDougie]

I’ve just given Act 1 of the Furtwängler a spin. Utterly superb - such a beautifully judged understanding of Mozart’s music. Despite my earlier comment, I think it would be difficult to improve on WF.

Especially now that he/she has decided to become gender fluid as per the monster listing (for which, as ever, most grateful thanks) - "Wilhelmina" indeed

[MickyD]

I have a fondness for the Drottningholm/Ostman recording - shame it's now only available as a download.

[Goon525]

Especially now that he/she has decided to become gender fluid as per the monster listing (for which, as ever, most grateful thanks) - "Wilhelmina" indeed

I’d heard only Adolf called her that.

[Lordgeous]

I only have Kleiber. His version first opened my eyes (ears?) to this stupendous work. "All Human Life is Here" - which as I recall used to be The News of The World's boast!

[Bryn]

I only have Kleiber. His version first opened my eyes (ears?) to this stupendous work. "All Human Life is Here" - which as I recall used to be The News of The World's boast!

I wonder whether the 'musical' version broadcast on BBC tv many years ago is available on DVD or Youtube?

[Pulcinella]

Gui, Jacobs, and Solti here.
Does that combination cover all performance styles?

[Goon525]

Gui, Jacobs, and Solti here.
Does that combination cover all performance styles?

I have exactly the same three versions. What are the odds of that?