Search - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Spoken Word, Bruno Weil :: Mozart: Demofoonte (Fragments of an Opera) [Hybrid SACD]

Not A Real Lost Mozart Opera, But......

James S. Eisenberg | 01/07/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Over the years Mozart set six arias for concert or operatic interpolation that used texts from Metastasio's much admired DEMOFOONTE libretto. The current recording attempts to place the six arias in a quasi-dramatic narrative sequence with instrumental pieces taken from other Mozart works.

It doesn't quite come together convincingly, as many of the composer's concert arias aim for virtuosity rather than expressiveness, but the three soprano soloists do absolutely first rate work in fiendishly difficult music and the orchestral playing by the authentic instrument Cappella Coloniensis under Bruno Weil is absolutely gorgeous. More problematic is the narrator, German actor Matthias Habich. He simply takes too relaxed an approach to his reading. His style doesn't really comport with the ancient tale or the formal style of the music.

The SACD sound recording is glorious."