It is an oft-repeated saw, about life in the heavenly spheres, that the angels revere Bach but listen to Mozart. If they have DVD players, you can bet they're now watching this stunning production of Le Nozze di Figaro ("The Marriage of Figaro"), which comes about as close to Mozartian perfection as one could possibly hope to get. The faultlessly cast youthful performers bubble with infectious energy. Alison Hagley is a sprightly Susanna with a voice as clear as a bell, and brilliantly matched by a 28-year-old Bryn Terfel both acting and sounding in fine form. Hillevi Martinpelto demonstrates why she is one of the world's favourite Mozart singers with her melting tones, richly coloured voice and generous stage presence, and Rodney Gilfry gives a muscular, wonderfully controlled performance as the Count.
Mario Schifano was a leading Italian pop artist, and a friend of The Rolling Stones and other prominent 1960s countercultural figures. Inspired by Andy Warhol's association with The Velvet Underground, in 1967 he decided to sponsor a band. The album that resulted combines a lengthy improvisation with five shorter, psychedelic-influenced tracks, and is a landmark in the development of Italian rock. Pressed in tiny quantities, it was released in November 1967 (with artwork designed by Schifano), and original copies have sold for thousands of Euros, making this long-awaited CD reissue especially welcome. Includes background notes.
Here are two of Rossini's "secular" cantatas: "The Lament of Harmony on the Death of Orpheus" for tenor, male chorus, and orchestra, written when he was a 16-year-old conservatory student, and the far more substantial "Wedding of Thetis and Peleus," one of many such pieces he composed for special occasions, commissioned for the marriage of an Italian princess to a French prince. Both consist of primarily short, separate, contrasting numbers, most of which would be perfectly at home in the opera house.
An oratorio / cantata type composition by a little known eighteenth century musician written when he was only twenty two does not sound too promising. However, with this convincing performance there is much to enjoy.
This is probably Mozart’s least interesting opera–if indeed it is an opera at all. Composed at the end of 1771 in honor of the 50th anniversary of Salzburg’s Archbishop Schrattenbach, its performance was cancelled due to the archbishop’s sudden death. Mozart re-dedicated it to the new archbishop (Colloredo). There is still doubt as to whether it was ever performed. It’s in one act of just under two hours and is concerned with the Roman general Scipio, who in a dream is made to choose between the godesses Fortune and Constancy to guide him through life. Needless to say, he chooses Constancy over luck, and we don’t care.