Extrem interesantes proyect aus Theater an der Wien - jetzt das erste Teil
I have recorded all three operas when they were performed in March of 2014 in Theater an der Wien and aired on Dutch radio, so I have had the opportunity to listen to them over the last 7 years, extensively. It is very pleasing that these recordings, which were promised in the Austrian press even before the performances were held in Vienna, are finally brought out commercially.
Some background:
Originally, only Cosi fan Tutte was planned, fully staged, with Martin Kusej as the stage director. Kusej however, canceled at a very late moment and almost left the project in shambles as a result. The director of Theater an der Wien, Roland Geyer, together with Nikolaus Harnoncourt, came up with the idea to perform all three Da Ponte opera`s in the same time frame (within 6 weeks), but "semi-staged" rather than fully staged.
It must have been at that time, that Harnoncourt, who has been looking for connections in many of the great Mozart works (lately the last 3 symphonies, for example) came up with the idea to use the exact same casting principle and planning that Mozart used for these three, that were written within 4 years of each other only. Meaning, the Figaro in Nozze being the same person as Giovanni in Don Giovanni, et cetera et cetera. An extremely interesting concept, as we know Mozart wrote specifically for singers and conditions. This concept is followed rigorously throughout the whole production. Furthermore, Harnoncourt decided to place a special emphasis on the recitatives, which in his opinion, should NOT be sung "bel canto" style, but rather, declaimed, or even spoken, in a singing voice. This principle, according to Mr. Harnoncourt, was used as such in Mozart`s time. Last but not least, Harnoncourt works with an extremely fine and young cast throughout the whole production, that is to say, all three of these operas.
Le Nozze di Figaro has now been planned for release on Bluray and DVD in March of 2021 and Don Giovanni as well as Cosi fan Tutte are planned for release in April and May of 2021, thus completing the cycle.
I have been listening to my private recording of Nozze, while following the printed score, in anticipation of the BluRay to be released. It must be mentioned for the purpose of this review that I read music well, and am an amateur singer. Furthermore, I know the music really well.
There is no need to give a resume of the cast, they are mentioned on the pictured box. All singers are excellent and both sing, declaim and play their roles quite convincingly. Christina Schäfer has an off day, I understand that she had the flu when the performances were held and could not be replaced. That said, she makes up for it greatly in sheer passion and conviction. Thank you, great lady, the show must go on.
Several very interesting videos on the rehearsals in Mr. Harnoncourts home on the Attersee can be found on YouTube. I understand that some of this material will also be included on this disc.
Now for my opinion on the performance:
I have never heard such a concise and powerful version of Nozze, not even in the (many) previous Harnoncourt recordings. There is a sense of driving urgency to this performance that I have not felt elsewhere, and all the pieces fall naturally into place. I have listened to this performance perhaps 6 or 7 times over the last few years and each time again, am struck by the brute force and passion on this performance. As mentioned, I know the music very well, still, every time when listening to this performance, it is like I had never heard it before. Harnoncourt is not as such a strong believer in the comical aspect of this opera as most other conductors are, so some that are used to "la folle journee" will find this performance unusually gloomy. Tempi are conservative. Harnoncourt makes an excellent case for this, pleading that the comical aspect has been exaggerated by each succeeding generation of conductors and as such the whole thing has become too comical altogether. Be that as it may, it is clear that Mr. Harnoncourt has a very well-defined and clear vision on this work. If one is able to listen without preconceptions, one will find this version very compelling indeed. For those that have a previous version of Nozze with Harnoncourt, you will find that this rendering takes the same principles that were outlaid in Harnoncourt`s previous recordings to a much more extreme (but always concise) level. The half-spoken recitatives work extremely well for the dramaturgy and forward force of the opera. One gets the feeling that Mr. Harnoncourt is right; this is how it must be. Mozart`s music is in fact presented in extremes in this performance. Mr. Harnoncourt once said that Mozart`s music takes the most extreme positions thinkable (within the baroque principles) and this is very clearly followed here. Orchestra, choir, and soloists have obviously come to share his vision, the wholeheartedly share it and give their utmost, one feels, to achieve the goal.
The special merit of this performance, however, lies not only in the performance itself but also in the aforementioned relationship between the three Da Ponte operas according to Mr. Harnoncourt and his cast. As such, I will strongly advise anyone buying one of the three, to buy all of them. You will not find other performances that are so extremely balled together as these three are, so absolutely forward moving, so much emphasizing the extremeness and raw energy of Mozart`s music, and so utterly moving on a human level. Nor will you easily find a performance that has such extremely high quality and superb cooperation between conductor, orchestra, chorus, and soloists. A gem.