Everyone Steals the Show!
Mr John Haueisen | WORTHINGTON, OHIO United States | 08/27/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"It would be easy to say that Kurt Moll steals the show. As Osmin, he's funny, agile, menacing when he has to be, and then there's--Oh, his wonderful voice at its best.
But Lillian Watson could also be said to steal the show. She's a beautiful, requisitely-bouncy Blonde, and you'll love her facial expressions as she reacts to Osmin's stubborn attitude.
Inga Nielsen sings all the difficult arias of Konstanze, and acts the role perfectly.
Belmonte and Pedrillo have roles that, at least in my opinion, are not as colorful as Blonde's and Konstanze's, but Deon Van Der Walt and Lars Magnusson give them a youthful romance.
Scenery and staging are done very well--there's a nice touch where Konstanze sings "Taurigkeit"--her friend Blonde is there lying under the trees with her--nice variation to show their shared plight as captives in a strange land.
Anyone else to steal the show? How about magnificent conducting by Georg Solti? Yes, it's all here--no weak links. It's the youngest, most attractive cast I've ever seen, and they can sing and act too!
If you're familiar with "Abduction," this won't disappoint you. If you've never seen this opera (or Singspiel in two acts), you should find this "Mozart-at-his-best" a delightful surprise."
Wonderful production
Roger D. Nelson | Princeton, New Jersey United States | 11/23/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I wanted to give a really nice present to my wife, and took advantage of a casual remark she made about Entfuhring -- that it is such a nice opera, but seldom seen in the US. So I went to Amazon, and voila - a lovely present.
She loved it, and so did I. All the voices are perfect, and all the acting, scenes, the whole performance -- like Mozart would have wanted.
"