Stephen_Murray's Full Review: Tutto Mozart! / Bryn Terfel, Sir Charles Mackerras...
The Welsh baritone (low baritone, or bass-baritone) Bryn Terfel launched his career with roles in Mozart operas, particularly Leporello in "Don Giovanni" and Figaro in "Le Nozze di Figaro." (He made his debut as Guglielmo in "Così fan tutte" at the Welsh National Opera in 1990 (in a production conducted by Charles Mackerras); he made his debut at the Met in 1994 and at La Scala in 1997 singing Figaro.)
"Tutto Mozart" was Terfel's contribution (and/or one of Deutsche Gramophon's marketing ideas) to the celebration of the 250th anniversary of Mozart's birth in 2006, following a successful and very satisfying all-Handel disc.
I cannot say that I have divined the rationale for the ordering of the tracks -- and have, reshuffled them, deleting the "Miaow, miaow" gibberish of the duet "Nun, liebes Weibschen" that Mozart orchestrated but did not compose from the middle of the Terfel disc.
There are multiple arias and duets from Le nozze di Figaro, Così fan tutte, Don Giovanni, and Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute), but they are not grouped by opera. The disc begins very strongly with "Non piu andrai, farfallone amoroso," the signature aria of Terfel's signature character, Figaro, and concludes with another Figaro aria, "Tutto e disposto."
For those who know "Le nozze di Figaro," the disc includes the surprise of Terfel also appropriating an aria and duet from the other main male character, the count. Similarly, the disc includes show pieces for both Don Giovanni and Leporello from "Don Giovanni." (I wish Terfel had taken on recording both the statue of the commandante and Don Giovanni demanding and refusing repentance to end the disc!)
And in addition to singing music written for Guglielmo in "Così fan tutte," Terfel takes Don Alfonso's part in a trio (the trio, not just in the opera, but IMO the most ravishing trio in the whole of opera literature), "Soave sia il vento." It is inconceivable that I would ever object to including "Soave sia il vento" on any compilation disc, and the divine music is sung divinely by Miah Persson and Christine Rice, as well as by Terfel.
I think that "Le Nozze di Figaro" is too long, and "Die Zauberflöte" unsettling (between the Masonic stuff and my inability to understand why the Queen of Night is wrong to protest the abduction of her daughter). Both have a lot of great music. Rather than objecting to Terfel choosing music written for different parts for this compilation, I wish that he had supplemented Papageno's (why not go all out and transpose down the Queen of Night's first aria, "O zittra necht"! or appropriate "O Isis und Osiris" from Sarastro?)
Before this recording, Terfel had not sung Papageno on stage or disc. "Firsts" on the disc also include "Hai gia vinta la causa" from "Figaro" and "Diggi, Daggi, Schury" from "Bastien et Bastienne" (written when Mozart was twelve years old).
With a mix of arias, duets, a trio, and bits of recitatives, the disc does not have the monotony of one dramatic aria after another (in addition to the comic gibberish of "Diggi, daggi, schurry, murry" and the meows of "Nun, liebes Weibchen, ziehst mit mir" there is "Pa-Pa-Pa-Pa-Papagena" and other Papageno numbers.
Terfel is a great singer, and Sir Charles Mackerras is a great conductor, especially an opera conductor, and especially a Mozart opera conductor. The Scottish Chamber Orchestra provides well-balanced support to the singers. And as for Herr Mozart -- as the great Welsh soprano Margaret Price once said, he feels good in the throat, and the results (Price's or Terfel's!) sound good in the ear.
The sound engineering of "Tutto Mozart" is excellent and the disc delivers an hour (or nearly an hour) of pleasure for anyone except someone who dislikes male operatic voices and/or Mozart.
Tracks and Timings
Non piu andrai, farfallone amoroso 3:44
Io ti lascio, o cara addio 4:26
Soave sia il vento 2:51
Männer suchen stets zu naschen 2:14
Così dunque tradisci - Aspiri rimorsi atroci 4:01
V'adoro – Il core vi dono 4:47
Un bacio di mano 2:07
Quel casinetto è mio - Là ci darem la mano 3:16
Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen 4:07
Hai già vinta la causa! - Vedrò, mentr'io sospiro 4:53
Nun, liebes Weibchen, ziehst mit mir 2:32
Der Vogelfänger bin ich ja 2:44
Crudel! perché finora farmi languir così? 2:48
Deh! Vieni alla finestra, o mio tesoro! 2:02
Diggi, daggi, schurry, murry 1:28
Pa-Pa-Pa-Pa-Papagena! 2:28
Guardate! - Madamina, il catalogo è questo 5:48
Bei Männern, welche Liebe fühlen 3:04
Tutto e disposto - Aprite un po’ quegli occhi 4:16
This is another of my epinions about music I found in the M's of the San Francisco Public Library for the National Library Week writeoff. One problem with recordings from libraries is that the liner notes sometimes have gone missing. Based on the Terfel Handel disc and general DG practice, I'm pretty sure there are liner notes, though there was only a track list in this jewel case.
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