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Die Entführung aus dem Serail
Karl Böhm, Conductor
Edita Gruberova, Francisco Araiza, Reri Grist, Norbert Orth, Martti Talvela, Thomas Holtzmann
Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Librettist: Gottlieb Stephanie, Jr.
This is a great traditional production of this delightful "Singspiel" opera, with a fantastic cast. I have always enjoyed Böhm's interpetations of Mozart opera, and this performance is no exception. He is the only conductor I feel consistently pulls off a slower approach to Mozart opera. (Klemperer's Zauberflöte is magical, but his other recordings are rather ponderous.) While I will always prefer the fast approach of Sir Georg Solti, Bohm treats the score in a way I can only describe as "smelling the roses" - he takes enough time to draw real beauty from the music, but he somehow manages without ever really letting it drag. But because of this he can't quite pull off the dramatic oomph that Solti does.
Edita Gruberova proves here that her marvelous Konstanze under Solti wasn't a fluke or a product of studio engineering. She can deliver the goods live, too; her voice is crystal clear throughout. There may be one or two spots where she doesn't quite make it, but after all it's a live recording, and those spots pale before the rest of the performance. Her "Martern aller Arten" is truly gorgeous and netted her what certainly sounds like a standing ovation. The audience refuses to stop clapping until she comes back onstage to take a bow.
Francisco Araiza is an ardent and likeable Belmonte. I enjoyed his approach to the role: sincere, enthusiastic, idealistic, and faithful, but rather endearingly impractical, a guy who needs a Pedrillo around to keep things organized. The lovely tenor arias suit his voice perfectly and are a pleasure to hear, although we only get three instead of the original four. "Ich baue ganz" was cut and "Wenn der Freude Trànen fliessen" moved to take its place in the third act. The change works nicely, as "Ich baue ganz" is the weakest of the three arias and this way the best is saved for last.
I love Reri Grist in the role of Blonde; she's perfect - clever, confident, and taking no nonsense from anybody (particularly Osmin) while sailing through the score with a light, fresh voice. The sight of her, tiny as she is, chasing the enormous Martti Talvela from the stage at the end of "Ich gehe doch rate ich ihn" is priceless; that scene also earned a long ovation.
Equally enjoyable is Norbert Orth's funny and good-natured Pedrillo, who combines wonderful comic timing with a nice clear tenor voice. Watching him poke fun at Osmin always makes me laugh, and his "Frisch zum Kampfe" (Pedrillo's big moment) is both humorous and sincere. The contrast that I love on the Solti recording is also present here; the two tenor-soprano couples have very distinct voices.
Rounding out the singers is Martti Talvela's hilarious Osmin. Talvela has a growly bass that fits the part admirably and brings out a lot of the role's comic possibilities as well. His Osmin isn't too bright and it's fun to see the other characters continually spoil his fixation on torture devices. They also had a lot of fun with his size; Talvela is a huge guy, and some physical comedy is incorporated when tiny Reri Grist chases him off, as I mentioned. We see it again when Norbert Orth has to try and get the drugged Osmin offstage, first tries to use a wheelbarrow, and finally gives up and actually manages to sort of sling him over his back. (Both the audience I were rather impressed!)
I was very impressed by Thomas Holtzmann's Selim; he had a very commanding stage presence and kept his status as an important character despite never getting to sing. His entire performance radiated a kind of extreme bitterness that made me feel sorry for him, despite his threats to execute the rest of the cast; he does very good haunted eyes. His decision to let them go at the end is extremely well delivered.
The set is a little too clunky for me, in particular the large building that forms the backdrop and which opens to reveal a complicated "sea" behind it. I think a slightly sparser set might have worked better. It would have been a lot less distracting. The audience doesn't actually need to see waves in the ocean, it just looks really fake. The three zillion hangman's nooses that descended from the ceiling during Osmin's aria were just too weird. But the actual movements and interactions of the actors are well-coordinated. The final scene was particularly poignant, with the curtain closing on a Selim who is quite obviously and pitiably alone, despite the giant chorus in the background singing his praises.
I bought this several months ago and have watched it many times since then. It never fails to entertain. Overall, the successes drown out the flaws; I think you'll be pleasantly surprised if you give this one a chance.
| Originally Reviewed: | 13-Feb-04 |
