Search - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Karl Böhm, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra :: Mozart: Die Zauberflöte [The Magic Flute]

Flawed, but so is the competition

Virginia Opera Fan | Falls Church, VA USA | 09/20/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I've been through two LP sets of this classic along with the DG Originals CD issue. Overall, it is a pretty satisfying recording of the opera. The greatest asset is Wunderlich's Tamino - honeyed of tone and dramatically alive. What an artist he was and what a loss in his early death! Wunderlich is one of those rarities - a suberbly trained singer who sounds absolutely natural here, as Belmonte, in the complex coloratura of the tenor arias of Bach' Christmas Oratorio, and in Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde. Crass is a Sarastro who can sing all the notes and never loses his noble basso cantante. Hotter's Speaker contains a wealth of experience and is much firmer of voice than some of his other work of the same period. The excellence continues with the young James King and Martti Talvela as the Two Armed Men. Friedrich Lenz's excellent Monostatos is often overlooked. (He was also a very fine Pedrillo in the Jochum led Entfuhrung around this time.)



I'm less convinced about Fischer-Dieskau's Papageno. He sings the part well enough, but the vocal acting is pretty hammy. I read an interview with him once in which he confessed that he would never sing the part on stage. At well over six feet in height, he felt he'd present a ridiculous figure.



As to the ladies, I have to echo the reservations expressed elsewhere. Peters, an admirable Susanna, Zerbinetta, and Rosina (wholesale transpositions, ornaments and all) on disc is not a natural Queen of the Night. Her coloratura singing is accurate enough, but it is evident that she's operating at full throttle. She copes with the technical demands pretty well, but she doesn't have much in reserve to devote to characterization with the voice.



I have an enduring affection for Evelyn Lear's Pamina, but I have to admit that her singing isn't very beautiful tonally or spot on in intonation.



The Three Ladies aren't the last word on the matter, but at least they avoid the cutesy-poo antics of the all star trio (Schwarzkopf, Ludwig, Hoffgen)on the rival Klemperer set. Lisa Otto is a good Papagena, if perhaps a little long in the tooth to be a convincing 18 year old. The Three Boys have good voices and blend nicely in their trios.



Lastly, there is the conducting of Karl Bohm. Tempos are sometimes a hair below their flow point. In the essay accompanying the LP set, Bohm explains that there is a certain point in a piece where the natural tempo is evident. Hence, a slower pace than is usual in the chorus ending the first act to allow text to make it's full impact and the slower than normal opening of the second act trio "Wie, wie, wie" to allow the later patter-like exchanges between the ladies, Tamino, and Papageno to be articulated and understood. Agree or not, the point is Bohm's tempo choices are well considered.



I have a number of flutes, including Christie, Halasz, Karajan, Klemperer, Levine (CD and DVD), Mackerras, Norrington, Ostman,and Solti. None is perfect, but Bohm gets more play time than the others."

Inspiring performance!

Linda J. Pinner | Atlanta, GA USA | 11/01/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"As a classical violinist, I strive to make each performance my best. With the upcoming production of The Magic Flute, I ordered this CD so I could listen and study the work before I performed it. This CD was fantastic! The soloists are great and the orchestral support is superb. It inspired my long drives to and from rehearsals and performances. I highly recommend this CD of The Magic Flute."