BaL 2.04.22 - Mozart: The Marriage of Figaro

[Ein Heldenleben]

Oh they’ve cut out before the wonderful modulation from the pardon into the finale ultimo in the Ostman. Sacrilege. Jacobs the winner - I give up. A dreadful echoey acoustic unlike anything I’ve ever heard . Both ROH and Glyndebourne are dry acoustics. This isn’t what Mozart opera sounds like in reality ….and I’ve seen dozens of them.

[Barbirollians]

Heavens the Jacobs is dire - the ending just played sounded like an oratorio . Pleased to know it needs avoiding like the plague.

[Alison]

Heavens the Jacobs is dire - the ending just played sounded like an oratorio . Pleased to know it needs avoiding like the plague.

Yes, I have a sick headache now.

[Alison]

Allergy to Teodor Currentzis also confirmed.

[Ein Heldenleben]

Heavens the Jacobs is dire - the ending just played sounded like an oratorio . Pleased to know it needs avoiding like the plague.

Liked the Ostman . Thought the Perdono etc was well done. But despite the undoubted merits of the great Simon Keenlyside that church acoustic in Jacobs is just plain wrong and historically UNinformed performance practice.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Heavens the Jacobs is dire - the ending just played sounded like an oratorio . Pleased to know it needs avoiding like the plague.

We might have avoided all this, with the recommended version and the runners up being listed in advance on the website. For some reason the Kleiber isn’t on the list, even though NK clearly thought very highly of it. I sometimes wonder about the human gremlins who do the R3 webpage.

[Ein Heldenleben]

Allergy to Teodor Currentzis also confirmed.

I quite liked his recent bonkers Salzburg Don Giovanni with its sub Fats Waller fortepiano continuo. (I’m slightly exaggerating)

[RobP]

Stream, but poor sound

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

Sorry forgot this site doesn't allow direct replies to a quote.

You can also stream the Ostman, but it's very difficult to listen to because of the crude early digital sound

[Ein Heldenleben]

Welcome Rob . Apologies that we happy few are collectively a tiny bit put out by the BAL choice …
A not unprecedented occurrence.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

I quite liked his recent bonkers Salzburg Don Giovanni with its sub Fats Waller fortepiano continuo. (I’m slightly exaggerating)

Talking of continuos, did anyone see/hear that Opera North production that used an amplified harpsichord? It sounded hideous, and the production itself was ridiculous. Hiding behind a tree was represented by the character covering part of her face with a hand-mirror sized plastic tree.

[Barbirollians]

Couldn’t agree more with both of your posts Alison ! I did also quite like the Ostman.

I am just listening to Janowitz in Porgi Amor to cleanse my ears.

[Bryn]

Sorry forgot this site doesn't allow direct replies to a quote.

You can also stream the Ostman, but it's very difficult to listen to because of the crude early digital sound

It's in the Mozart 225 box, the French version of which is still available, IIRC. I must put my two spare (English) boxes up for sale at horrendously inflated prices, some time.

[Barbirollians]

Apparently, the Jacobs won Gramophone recording of the year in 2004 - I think that was during the Inverne years when I had stopped buying it as I did not remember that . Even the late Stanley Sadie , a pretty arch HIppite of the time said it didn’t challenge the best and they he thought Jacobs instincts were not truly Mozartian in his original review though he praised the cast.

[Alison]

Liked the Ostman . Thought the Perdono etc was well done. But despite the undoubted merits of the great Simon Keenlyside that church acoustic in Jacobs is just plain wrong and historically UNinformed performance practice.

[Darloboy]

Apparently, the Jacobs won Gramophone recording of the year in 2004 - I think that was during the Inverne years when I had stopped buying it as I did not remember that . Even the late Stanley Sadie , a pretty arch HIppite of the time said it didn’t challenge the best and they he thought Jacobs instincts were not truly Mozartian in his original review though he praised the cast.

Jacobs has now been BaL 1st choice for Figaro, Die Zauberflöte & Tito. Perhaps the reviewers were all working for Gramophone circa 2004? Like others, I prefer Östman, not least for Barbara Bonney’s Susanna.