Customer Rating:
Summary: Almost
Comment: All in all I was very pleased with this recording. The only complaints that I have would be that Konstanze's and Blonde's voices sound very dry to me. Personally I prefer a Soprano with a more rich, "wet" sounding voice if you will. Orgonasova execute's "Marten Allen Arten" very well, with a display of impeccable technique. I think Hauptmann plays Osmin very well, capturing the Powerful, Menacing, yet Slightly "Oafy" essence the character demands (although As I have witnessed here and in a recording of La Clemenza di Tito that I bought that also has Hauptmann in it, he isn't the best when it comes to coloratura passages; his voice sounds rather "klunky" when executing a sixteenth note run). The lead Tenor (can't remember his name), gives an excellent performance, have at times a very playful sound (such as in his duet with Osmin, "Vivat Bacchus"), or in his opening aria,where he sounds like a teenage boy pining over a girl, which is done very tastefully. Like I said, Overall, this is a wonderful performance, and I think it would be worth your money.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Wow!
Comment: This is one of the most delightful opera recordings I've encountered. Gardiner brings the freshness of his authentic-performance approach to one of Mozart's freshest-sounding works. (The composer was 25 when he wrote it in 1781).

The role of Konstanze is very demanding, but throughout, Luba Organasova shows that she has what it takes. The conclusion of "Martern aller Arten", where she sings against fortissimo chords from the full orchestra, is thrilling; the Penguin Guide aptly describes her performance with the words "tremendous swagger."

Yet my favorite singer on the recording is the Blonde, Cyndia Sieden, who has a voice of silver and sings with great verve and charm. There's perfect moment in "Durch Zaertlichkeit und Schmeicheln" when she sings a meltingly tender and poignant passage--then punctuates it with a giggle. Stanford Olsen sings Belmonte with beautiful tone and conviction, though the coloratura passages in his part occasionally give him trouble. Not so Cornelius Hauptmann, the Osmin, who handles the comic arpeggios and trills of "O, wie will ich triumphieren" with panache. He also plays his character very well--comically, but not too coarsely.

The Turkish music, with cymbals, bass drum, triangle, and flageolet, is often in faster-than-expected tempo, colorful and stirring. There's some new music, too, only recently rediscovered at the time the recording was made: a little march for winds, coming just before the Pasha's entrance.

If you like Mozart or opera at all, you shouldn't hesitate--treat yourself to this recording.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Delightful recording of a favorite Mozart opera (Singspiel)
Comment: This opera has always been one of Mozart's most popular. Except, apparently, for the very first performances, audiences have loved it. If you have somehow not heard it yet, I believe you will love it as well. The music is delightful and the story is wonderfully preposterous and provides for many delights. This is an easy opera to love because of the wide variety of music it contains. Lyric love tunes, aching arias, rousing marches, and wonderful ensemble pieces. Oh, and there is no recitative (that half-sung talking in Grand Opera that some people dislike). Instead, the characters converse (although in German).

If you are new to opera and want to learn why you should love it, this should be one of your early experiences because it will delight you and encourage further explorations. The "Turkish" music that was so in vogue in Mozart's time, keeps on delighting people today.

This performance / recording is very fine. I bought it because of Stanford Olsen who sings Belmote. He sang the tenor in a performance of "Messiah" here in Ann Arbor a couple of years ago and I was most impressed. He is terrific here as well (listen to the aria Mozart said was his favorite of the Singspiel on track 7). Olsen has a beautiful voice with great tone and facility. He sings with intelligence, wit, and delight in the music. I think he should be better known.

Cornelius Hauptmann is just magical as Osmin, Luba Orgonasova is a delightful treasure as Konstanze. I can understand why Belmonte goes to all the trouble to rescue her! Cyndia Sieden, Uwe Peper and Hans-Peter Minetti sing their roles wonderfully as well.

This recording on two CDs also provides a wonderful booklet that includes a nice essay on the historical background of the Opera (Singspiel, really, since it singing it in German deserved a German word rather than the Italian word opera) and its place in Mozart's life in Vienna, notes on this recording and the edition of the score from which it was performed, and a synopsis of the story. And, thankfully, there is a complete libretto. These are provided in English, French, German, and Italian.

There are nice pictures of the main soloists and Gardiner, but I can't find any biographical information on these artists in this booklet and that would have been nice to have. However, a delightful addition that is provided is the inclusion of the silhouettes of the singers who created the main roles in the original production. Most cool.

This recording would be a nice addition to your library and you will find it holds up well under repeated listenings. In fact, like all great music, it will reveal more to you with each hearing.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: The Opera That Had Too Many Notes
Comment: When Mozart produced this opera for the stuffy Vienna public, an opera commissioned to him by the Emperor, he was criticized for writing "too many notes". This is portrayed in the film Amadeus. Abduction From The Seraglio (Die Entfurg aus dem Serail in German) is a bubbly, comic, romantic opera that stands out as Mozart's first German opera as well as the first Singspiel. It was a type of opera with spoken dialogue and not sing-song recitative dialogue between arias. Because the drama was usually light-hearted, the earthier and less pretentious public could relate. Mozart would again write another Singspiel when he wrote The Magic Flute.

Abduction From The Seraglio was quite popular. Vienna, at the time, was going mad about Turkish fashion and culture. A clear evidence on how Turkish-style music was dominating the musical scene is Mozart's "Alla Turca" sonata, embellished with bells to sound more Turkish. Abduction tells the story of Constanza, a beautiful Christian Englishwoman partially based on Mozart's own wife Constanze, who he was marrying at the time of the opera's completion. She is abducted from the comfort of her home and the arms of her betrothed Belmonte. Servants of hers are taken, too, including a comic maid that is almost like Susannah from Le Nozze Di Figaro. The Pasha is the master of a harem and imprisons Constanza in it. Belmonte devises a plan to rescue Constanza and when he penetrates the harem, the Pasha's forces surround them. But the Pasha is lenient and when he sees how much in love Constanza and Belmonte are, he lets Constanza free. This tale of romance and forgiveness is orchestrated with cheerful melody, especially in "Janissary music", the ensembles and the arias for Belmonte and the Pasha. Constanza's aria, "Allern Marte " is a showstopper and a great moment for sopranos, she hits an incredibly high series of notes and uses a vast range of coloratura technique, as she is singing about her desire for freedom. In this recording, John Elliot Gardiner has made the best recording of Mozart's classic comedy. It is well conducted and true to the score, with top-notch singers (Organosova as Constanza as truly the best), Seider, Olsen and Pepper, and a fine interpretation of German Singspiel and Turkish flavor.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: The best soprano I've ever listened to
Comment: I'm so glad of having this fabulous recording

Since I listened to Luba Orgonasova singing by the first time, it seemed to me so beatuful, so charming, so perfect...
since then I've become a fan of hers and I try to get as much as possible of all her recordings and discographie...

in few words, SHE'S THE BEST SOPRANO I'VE EVER LISTENED TO.

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