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Die Entführung aus dem Serail
Sir Georg Solti, Conductor
Edita Gruberova, Gösta Winbergh, Kathleen Battle, Heinz Zednik, Martti Talvela, Will Quadflieg
Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Librettist: Gottlieb Stephanie, Jr.
This is the album that convinced me that Die Entführung aus dem Serail deserved to stand up with Mozart's three Da Ponte operas and Die Zauberflöte as a true masterpiece. Before listening to it I'd only been exposed to the old Moralt recording featuring Elizabeth Schwarzkopf and Anton Dermota in the principal roles. That set has its charms, but suffers from a few shrill moments from Schwarzkopf and the 1945 sound (though it's actually quite good for a recording of that era). This album is another story entirely, recorded in 1985 with lovely digital stereo sound and a positively star-studded cast.
Edita Gruberova was obviously born to sing the role of Konstanze. It is a difficult role, with lots of screaming high notes that demand great agility at the same time. Elizabeth Schwarzkopf, even in her quite enjoyable performance, squeaks a few of them (and she's certainly not the only one to have done so!). Gruberova hits every note without ever losing her incredibly rich, creamy tone, producing sounds that are at times almost inhumanly beautiful and making it all sound completely effortless. This is obviously how Mozart wanted this sung. The only word for it is awe. Solti mentions in his introduction that at the time of this recording she had decided to stop appearing in this role because it was destroying her voice. I'm thankful she agreed to do this recording, because it's really the performance of a lifetime.
My appreciation for Gösta Winbergh just keeps growing. I first came across him as Ottavio in Karajan's Don Giovanni, a performance I love because it has new angles to it every time I watch it. Here, he is the perfect counterpart to Gruberova, with a full, rich voice that just soars in the four (count e'm, FOUR!) passionate arias he gets to sing, not to mention the lovely ensembles.
Kathleen Battle's voice is well-suited for the role of Blonde, light and sparkling, setting her apart nicely from the creamy passion of Gruberova's Konstanze. This is probably the best bit of vocal acting I've ever heard from her, and I think this kind of role is what she does best, since I've also heard her do a great Despina. She manages to capture the no-nonsense, practical energy of the character, sounding impertinent, triumphant, mischievous, and indignant as the situation demands, while holding to a consistently lovely sound throughout.
It's only recently that I've come to really appreciate the buffo tenor as a separate, distinct kind of voice. Heinz Zednik gives an excellent example here of this kind of singing. Zednik's voice doesn't have the gorgeous heroic depth of Winbergh's, but the role of Pedrillo doesn't need it; what it does need is plenty of fun mixed with a good sound. He delivers this admirably. "Frisch zum Kampfe" is funny and touching by turns, our secondary hero rising to his own personal challenge; "Vivat Bacchus! Bacchus lebe!" is positively hilarious.
Our one bass, Martti Talvela, is obviously having a great time growling out all of Osmin's low lines. His voice is remarkably agile, a must in this role, and he has a great sense for the necessary comic timing. He makes Osmin funny, but stops short of being truly buffoonish, making the whole performance ultimately the more amusing for never going overboard.
The inclusion of the dialogue in this version is a nice touch, particularly since the CD tracks are arranged to allow you to skip it if you want. Left in, it paces the rest of the action nicely; but I find the recording flows well without it too. It's understandable that a lot of recordings leave it out; it saves them having to hire another actor! Speaking of Selim, Will Quadflieg does a great job, carrying a very deliberate and aristocratic air throughout, and making us believe the Pasha's decision to turn his prisoners loose at the end. This is rather a key point - a good Selim makes it a natural revenge-by-forgiveness move, a bad one turns the resolution into a bizarre Deus ex Machina.
Solti keeps tight hold on the score all the way through. The man is amazingly precise, and his precision allows him to draw new beauty from the score, particularly since he combines it with a good sense of when to relax (though never very much). EVery note falls neatly into place in the ensemble numbers, sharply defined and full of energy. I don't think any other conductor could have delivered such an exciting "Marsch! Marsch! Marsch!" with the three voices beating in and out in perfect rhythm, turning this somewhat repetitive trio into the rousing finale it was intended to be. The other act finales, "Ach Belmonte" and the big ensemble number at the end are equally marvelous, the conductor's exactness combining with the gorgeous artistry of the performers. Solti and the Vienna Philharmonic deliver great music throughout and they never once let the action drag. This is all captured with beautiful clarity on this digital recording.
One of the other things I have to mention of this album is that the singers perform not only beautifully, but distinctively; you couldn't possibly mistake Zednik for Winbergh or Battle for Gruberova. This is always a plus for any opera, but it's crucial for this one because both of the lead men are tenors and both of the women sopranos. If the cast was too vocally similar you'd get horribly lost in the ensemble numbers, but here you always hear four distinct vocal personalities.
This is one of those must-own albums, one I ran right out and bought after I first heard it. I'd say it's the definitive recording of this opera, or at least one of them. It even has great cover art and a handy libretto in three languages with some recording session pictures. It's pretty easy to find a used copy in nice condition; pick one up and it'll be one of the best $20 or so you ever spent.
| Originally Reviewed: | 08-Feb-04 |
