The first 14 of the 16 symphonies chosen span the years 1771, when Mozart was 15, through to 1773, when he produced in the G minor No. 26, his first out-and-out masterpiece among the symphonies. In addition to the regularly numbered works Tate includes the so-called Symphonies Nos. 48 (adapted from the overture to Ascanio in Alba) and 50 (adapted from the overture to Il sogno di Scipione). Then, almost as an appendix to the rest, come two more adaptations from opera overtures, dating from 1775-6, No. 51 (from La finta giardiniera) and No. 52 (from Il re pastore, with an adaptation of an aria inserted).
The recent Glyndbourne staging of this oratorio demonstrated how well it worked as an opera, and this recording by Nicholas McGegan creates a similar dramatic intensity out of the tragic story of oppression and resistance. He finds excellent tempi for the arias, and keeps the recitatives cracking along at a good pace. And though he has a very good ensemble team of soloists, the star of the show is definitely soprano Lorraine Hunt (who, interestingly enough, sang the mezzo role of Irene for Glyndebourne) as Theodora. She uses the rich, throaty quality of her voice to bring out all the terrible pathos of Theodora's plight, while still suggesting that she is a character lit by an inner fire of joy. Unfortunately the acoustic lacks a certain bloom, and this makes the sound world sometimes seem a little flat and dry.
Director Peter Sellars helms this provocative adaptation of George Frideric Handel’s opera “Giulio Cesare,” sung in the original Italian by soprano Susan Larson (who plays Cleopatra) and countertenor Jeffrey Gall (in the role of Julius Caesar) but set in a very different locale: a futuristic Middle East. Sellars personally wrote the English subtitles included in this version to match the tone he intended for his vision.