Anna Netrebko, Christine Schäfer, Dorothea Röschmann, Bo Skovhus and Ildebrando D’Arcangelo under the direction of Nikolaus Harnoncourt and accompanied by the Vienna Philharmonic – this “Marriage of Figaro” is a feast for musical gourmets. Of all the Mozart 22 productions of the Salzburg Festival’s Mozart year 2006, “Figaro” is no doubt the most popular, both among connoisseurs and amateurs – perhaps because it is above all a triumph of superior music-making. The story is well-known, the work is fast-moving, witty, touching and vibrant. Based on a politically and socially explosive comedy by Beaumarchais, but toned down by Mozart’s librettist Lorenzo da Ponte, it treats the topic of love, lust and justice among the various classes: nobility, indentured servants and the rising bourgeoisie. The joy of the work lies above all in its characters, which are perhaps the most “human” human beings to be found on the opera stage. Harnoncourt’s musical concept is meticulously worked-out, interpreted with a wealth of subtle nuances and, with respect to the madness of the romantic intrigues unfolding on the stage, nothing less than thought-provoking. Director Claus Guth’s staging fits the music like a glove: there are no farcical elements or slapstick; he takes each and every character seriously. He sees the ensembles and arias as emotional rooms that are to be opened by the director. Everything takes place in Count Almaviva’s summer residence – a place devoid of furnishings but filled with erotic energy. The most erotically charged role in the opera is that of Cherubino, and with Christine Schäfer, Cherubino became the fulcrum of the performance, a luminous, dazzlingly virtuoso singer and consistently poignant actress – perhaps the vocal discovery of the Mozart 22 project. The celebrated Anna Netrebko proves her greatness by harnessing her sensual soprano to make it fit seamlessly into the ensemble. Bo Skovhus and Dorothea Röschmann give realistic and intense accounts of the Count and Countess as they movingly depict their “scenes of a marriage.” Finally, Ildebrando D’Arcangelo employs his powerful bass baritone to give authority to the work’s title role.
Don Giovanni (Mozart 22)
“Il dissoluto punito, ossia Il Don Giovanni” is the full title of the opera that is widely held to be the most perfect work of its genre. Luckily, it is known today merely as “Don Giovanni,” a title that far better evokes the hero in all of his seductive power, his disregard for the social order, his merry wantonness. It is this hero who fascinated Mozart, not the “dissoluto punito” – the “rake punished” – who harks back to the morals and conventions of the late 18th century. The work, again on a libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte (like “Figaro” and “Così”), was written for Prague after “Figaro” had enjoyed such an overwhelming success in the Bohemian capital. It was premiered there on 29 October 1787. The opera’s perfect fusion of opera buffa and opera seria is suggested by its novel designation as a dramma giocoso, or merry drama. It is a moral tale of murder, sexual exploitation and betrayal that is lightened by comedic elements that infuse the whole with warmth and humanity. As sung by baritone Thomas Hampson, who made his international breakthrough as Don Giovanni under Harnoncourt in 1987, the title hero superbly incarnates the aging rake and emotional anarchist who’s seen and done everything. Ildebrando D’Arcangelo plays his servant without exaggeration, as an astute observer. While Melanie Diener dazzles as Donna Elvira, it is Christine Schäfer and Piotr Beczala who, with their powerful stage presence, give exceptionally unforgettable performances as Donna Anna and Don Ottavio. Director Martin Ku¿ej interprets “Don Giovanni” with compelling images that cast the rake as a child of today’s consumer society, a man who acquires women, uses them and disposes of them after consumption. Happiness can be bought – but the specter of retribution is never far away, as in the evocative “tableau vivant” of spent and broken high-society hedonists. Under the baton of young conductor Daniel Harding, the Vienna Philharmonic weave a fresh, transparent and jaunty musical fabric that underscores every nuance of passion and despair, as well as every shading of wit and humanity that make “Don Giovanni” a work of unequalled artistry.
Lucerne Festival: Abbado conducts Mozart
For many music lovers, Christine Schäfer’s Mozart interpretations are a revelation. She has little in common with the routine conventions of her field and her artistry is enourmously powerful as this program featuring concert arias by Mozart, with Abbado conducting the LUCERNE FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA, shows. This TV program is coupled with Mozart’s ‘Haffner’ Symphony, which was originally performed in Salzburg as a serenade to be played by torchlight. Program: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
‘Misera, dove son!’ – ‘Ah, non son io che parlo,’ K. 369; ‘Ah, lo previdi’ – ‘Ah, t’invola,’ K. 272; ‘Vorrei spiegarvi, oh Dio!,’ K. 418; Symphony in D major, K. 385 ‘Haffner’.
Mahler – Symphony No. 4
Concert on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Bernard Haitink’s collaboration with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. On the programme Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 with German soprano Christine Schäfer as soloist.