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Le Nozze di Figaro
Bernard Haitink, Conductor
Andreas Schmidt, Renée Fleming, Gerald Finley, Alison Hagley, Marie-Ange Torodovitch
Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Librettist: Lorenzo da Ponte
I picked this up on Ebay for $7.25 (including shipping), so I wasn't sure what to expect. Luckily, I was pleasantly surprised. This is a great performance.
I'm definitely going to look out for more of Bernard Haitink's work. His sensitive treatment of Fidelio really wowed me, and he seems no less at home with Mozart. He brings out both the comic and the more serious aspects of the opera with great subtlety, and the result is superb.
Andreas Schmidt was a surprise as the Count. I think his approach to the role must be very similar to Thomas Allen's (though I've only listened to, not seen, Allen in the part). He is less openly detestable than Rodney Gilfry, and less creepy than Ludovic Tezier, making his eventual repentance all the more believable and touching. He does a really fantastic job with his Act II aria.
I was not familiar with Renée Fleming before seeing this, although I'd read reviews of this and other performances in which people raved about her. Her performance in this video bears out all that praise. Her voice is exquisite and she brings a very balanced interpretation to the Countess, blending the vulnerability of Hillevi Martinpelto with the smoldering dignity of Kiri Te Kanawa. Hats off.
Gerald Finley is a great Figaro, likeable and lively. His comic moments are funny but you really feel his pain when he thinks Susanna has betrayed him. "Aprite un po' quegli occhi" is superbly performed.
Alison Hagley is my favorite Susanna on video. Seeing this movie only confirmed this - her singing and acting under Haitink met my expectations from her equally stunning performance under Gardiner. She does the whole Finale scene particularly well. I like her facial expressions at the end of "Giunse Alfin," almost as if she now felt sorry about teasing Figaro so badly after hearing his reaction.
Marie-Ange Todorovitch isn't my favorite Cherubino, but she sings well. She also does a great job of moving and carrying herself like a boy, something quite essential to the part.
Robert Tear as Basilio, Wendy Hillhouse as Marcellina, and Mandred Röhrl as Bartolo all have great voices and perform their arias beautifully. It's nice to see "Il capro e la capretta" and "In quegli anni" left in.
The staging of this performance is great, with a set that is fairly elaborate but not to the point of distraction. The set for the final scene - the pine grove with the projected (I think it was projected) house is awesome. I like the way "Giunse Alfin" is done - it seems to me that this is how it should be staged, much like the scene below Elvira's balcony in Don Giovanni. Many other productions actually have the Countess leave the stage while Susanna sings, but since she is already dressed in the Countess's clothes it makes more sense for Figaro to see the Countess (dressed as Susanna) but hear Susanna's voice.
I definitely got a great bargain. I urge you to find a copy of this and add it to your collection. It's one of the most solid casts I've seen in any opera, and has the best set and staging of all the Figaros I've seen.
| Originally Reviewed: | 12-Jul-03 |
