Recommended Recordings
Compiled by Peter Russell
Two classic stereo recordings of the 1950's reappear regularly as mid-priced reissues, and both hold up extremely well. The first of these dates to 1955, and features Erich Kleiber at the helm of the Vienna Philharmonic leading a cast of legendary interpreters of the day: Lisa della Casa, Hilde Güden, Suzanne Danco, and especially Cesare Siepi. This DECCA release was followed a few years later by an EMI recording led by Carlo Maria Giulini, equally lively and humane in interpretation, and boasting the advantage of several native Italians (Giuseppe Taddei, Fiorenza Cossotto, Ivo Vinco, plus the Italian-speaking Anna Moffo) in the principal roles, supplemented by two exceptional exponents, in Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and Eberhard Waechter, of the Austro-Teutonic Mozart style more prevalent in the Kleiber recording.
Also worthy of consideration is Sir Colin Davis' 1970 Philips recording with a polyglot cast that includes Mirella Freni's enchanting Susanna, the very young Jessye Norman's majestic Countess, and solid-to-good work from the others. For sheer unrivalled beauty of voice, Sir Georg Solti's 1982 DECCA recording is arguably the one to beat, featuring Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Lucia Popp, Frederica von Stade, Samuel Ramey, and Sir Thomas Allen, all in prime form.
Of the two separate videos of Figaro filmed at the Glyndebourne Festival, the 1973 tape of Sir Peter Hall's production on VAI, led by Sir John Pritchard, offers the more probing production and an all-around stronger cast (Te Kanawa and von Stade, along with Ileana Cotrubas as Susanna, are especially noteworthy here), although the 1994 version directed by Stephen Medcalf and conducted by Bernard Haitink for Kultur offers a lovely Countess from Renée Fleming and an engaging Figaro from Gerald Finley.
While I normally resist studio films of operas due to their clinical quality and lip-synching, the 1976 Deutsche Grammophon film of Figaro directed and designed by the late Jean-Pierre Ponnelle is both clever and original in its insights, and offers especially winning work from Freni, Te Kanawa, a young Maria Ewing as Cherubino, Hermann Prey, and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. Finally, while vocally and musically not on a par with these recordings, curious viewers might wish to investigate Peter Sellars' 1990 production on London for his fascinating staging, an entirely valid gloss on the work that rivets the attention.
Note: Concerning these recommendations for audio and video recordings, especially regarding audio recordings, it is critical to bear in mind that recordings go in and out of print constantly. If a recording is described herein as ?currently out of print,? it may again be available within the coming year, so it is always worthwhile to seek things out.
