Search - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Josef Krips, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra :: Mozart: Die Entführung aus dem Serail

Gorgeous

Theodore Shulman | NYC | 06/11/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Two legends: Sweet, elegant, gentle Walther Ludwig (Fritz Wunderlich's predecessor but more human-sounding), who caresses his arias as if they were his pet leopards; and, Wilma Lipp, most famous for playing the Queen of the Night ten million times, but fully Constanze-capable. She makes "Marten aller Arten" sound EASY. Her voice is like a fencer's foil--thin, sharp, supple, steely, quick, and deadly precise. She's not as passionate and fearful as most Constanzes, but her reservedness enhances the character's nobility and determination. This Constanze won't have any problem keeping the kids, when they arrive, in order.



The servants, Peter Klein and Emmy Loose are also both famous interpreters of their roles, and it's easy to hear why.



The weakness is Endre Koreh, who sings everything, even "O, wie will Ich triumphieren" as if he were taking double-valium. Maybe he thinks he's singing Papageno. If Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau or Hermann Prey were to sing Osmin it would sound like this.



The reunion-quartet ("Ach, Belmonte! Ach, mein leben!") is as well-executed as any I've heard. ENTFUHRUNG is light as froth, lighter even than the libretto to COSI FAN TUTTE, but there's still no such thing as love without anxiety in Mozart.



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