Die Entführung aus dem Serail

From the Drottningholm Court Theatre 1990: Set in the exotic seraglio of the Pasha Selim, the story revolves around the rescue of the lovely Constanze by her lover Belmonte – a tale of love, bravery and forgiveness. In this work, Mozart breaks new ground in introducing dramatically rounded characters with recognisably human feelings and weaknesses. The work influenced and changed the nature of opera throughout Europe.

This charming production from Drottningholm does full justice to Mozart’s score. Arnold Östman’s deliberate conducting combined with Carl Friedrich Oberle’s design demonstrates that this really is “an eternal masterpiece of music drama by a youthful, exuberant composer who suddenly found his individual voice and style in the field of opera with this particular work” (Opera now). Sung in German.

Die Zauberflöte

From the Drottningholm Court Theatre 1989: The international bass Laszlo Polgar joins a strong Scandinavian cast, including Stefan Dahlberg, Petteri Salomaa and Mikael Samuelsson, for this production, directed by Göran Järvefelt and conducted by Arnold Östman. Their authentic staging of the opera, held to be Mozart’s artistic – and philosophical testament, has an atmosphere of naive enchantment and was hailed as “…revelatory …liberating in the sense that it released the opera from the assumptions of the twentieth century” (The Independent). (Sung in German)

La clemenza di Tito

From the Drottningholm Court Theatre 1987: For his last opera, written for the coronation of Leopold II as King of Bohemia in 1791, Mozart used a formal opera seria libretto by Metastasio, but at ist heart are intimate scenes of intense emotional conflict. This recording shows the producer “Järvefelt at his best… the whole evening – authentic but bristling with theatrical life – was a shining example of everything Drottningholm stands for” (Financial Times). (Sung in Italian)

Cosi fan tutte

From the Drottningholm Court Theatre 1987 Described as “the Östman pièce de resistance” (Financial Times), this production is performed by an extensively-rehearsed cast of young Swedish singers who “…proved a triumph of stylish teamwork, with singers and orchestra listening to each other, almost, as it were, breathing together” (Daily Mail). Östman collaborated with producer Willy Decker and designer Tobias Hoheisel to realise his vision of Mozart’s charming comic opera. (Sung in Italian)

La finta giardiniera

From the Drottningholm Court Theatre 1988: “The new production of La finta giardiniera at Drottningholm fully justified producer Goran Järvefelt’s and conductor Östman’s faith in the opera. It proved not only an evening of rare enchantment, but an instructive argument for period performance of Mozart” (The Independent). Britt-Marie Aruhn sings the role of the Countess, who disguises herself as a gardener in order to find and forgive her lover, who has fled, thinking he has killed her in a quarrel. (Sung in Italian)