Mozart - Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail / Ruth Ann Swenson, Malin Hartelius, Kurt Rydl, Hans Peter Blochwitz, Manfred Fink, Gianluigi Gelmetti, Schwetzingen Opera

I never intended to acquire five Abductions! The one previous to the one under consideration was purchased primarily for Malin Hartelius' Konstanze. She is a supreme Mozart singer and a beautiful woman. The DVD howevver was a major disappointment though not because of her. As a paliative I decided to go for the one under consideration and with its many overall excellent qualities I would rate it as one of the best. Swenson sings well but she is an artist without sufficient charisma to make it a memorable performance. Yes, she has all the notes although one would wonder how it would go in a theatre larger than the one the performance takes place. As far as I know this is the only role she has sung in German; she does not have much dialogue and what there is is minimal. I can't imagine that she is comfortable in the language. Her partner, Hans Peter Blochwitz is, of course, comfortable in his native language and he does possess that wonderful sweetness that only a lyric German tenor has. What he doesn't have is a grounded technique that allow for fluidity of tone, a central core of strength. i believe he sang some years ago at the Met and there was a broadcast of Don Giovanni; he was the Ottavio. The Dalla sua pace was fine but he came to grief in the Il mio tesoro. To his credit here he sings the Ich baue ganze which is frequently omitted. It is a satisfactory peformance but not one of distinction.No, the real reason for this set is Kurt Rydl. At the time of this performance (1991) his voice was rock steady, rich and capable of singing all the notes without having to growl out the lower ones. Add to that a superb piece of acting and without doubt he is truly the star of the production. The audience acknowledges this at the end. A pity since within a short time he developed a wobble that was present in the Audi Gotterdammerung and almost destroys the Rosenkavalier (from Dresden but taped in Japan). At this point he is clearly the best Osmin since Kurt Moll.At this point in her career, Hartelius was the soubrette. Blonchen. Truth to tell she does not have the high E (most Blonchen don't); she was still singing this role in the later 90's as evidenced by the Salzburg performance with Christine Schaffer. Even so she sings the arias well, and is a superb singer/artist; for evidence of ther growth watch her Fiodiligi in the Recent Cosi from Zurich.For those for whom such matters, this is not a HIP; the orchestra is from Radio Stuttgart, the conductor Gianluigi Gelmetti, not a conductor I would associate with this repertoire. Even so the performance has a lot of energy and brio. If one can only have one Abduction I would opt for this performance.

I'm afraid I can't add much to the reviews of my five predecessors. Everything they wrote is recognizable for me.I bought this 'Entfüfrung' mainly because of Malin Hartelius' Blonde. I heard her the first januari 2012 in Budapest, performing Haydns 'Schöpfung'; love 'at first hearing' was the result...But the other artists in this wonderful 'Entführung' are of equal quality, especially Kurt Rydl as Osmin.The whole staging by Hampe, the scenery and costumes, the music and the acting by the singers (and their voices of course) would have delighted Mozart if he would have been able to see it all in his teens!A pity Swensons German is not audible/understandable but that does'nt reduce the overall impression of this magnificent and sparkling performance.

If you love Mozart here is a beautiful production of this lovely singspiel. All the singers are first class. Two fine tenors. A great Konstanze in Ruth Ann Swenson. An exceptional Blonde in Malin Hartelius. A fun Osmin in Kurt Rydl. Now add to the mix lovely sets, costumes and creative directorial touches like the Olive eating scene with Blonde and Osmin and a truly motivated "Martern aller Arten." Complete the recipe with fine conducting and orchestral execution and you have a fine performance of a great early masterpiece by a teenage genius - Mozart. It is hard to imagine that a teenager could get so much emotion and detail just right as in this delightful score!You might also want to try the DVD with Edita Gruberova.

There are several great productions of Mozart's "The Abduction from the Seraglio"--we are so fortunate to have many from which to choose.This one has very good singing, with the bonus of wonderful costuming and imaginative staging and scenery which add to the effect.OK, here are some specifics to support the above praise:The famous "Traurigkeit" aria is staged among the palm trees and sand under a setting sun's diminishing glow--very effective touch.The Pasha seizes and kisses Konstanze as he threatens her with torture. She faints and collapses, remaining lifeless until her famous aria, "Marten alle Arten." During this passionate plea, the Pasha collapses in frustration and cultural shock, and hides his face under his robes throughout her spirited exclamation that she will welcome death, which will set her free. (Her sustained notes toward the end of the aria should make you fall on your knees at the genius of Mozart!)It seemed to me a nice touch that Osmin (Kurt Rydl) snaps his fingers when he wants Blonde (Malin Hartelius) to feed him another olive. He does this from a relaxed position, lying in a sort of hammock, from which Blonde finally dumps him, trying to teach him that you win love through tenderness and coaxing, rather than by barking orders.Pedrillo (Manfred Fink) and Osmin (Kurt Rydl) dance to the spirited "Viva Bacchus," and Osmin gathers some laughter from the audience when he holds to his chest the two wine jugs, as he speaks of his beloved Blonde.This is a very fun production that should remind you of why so many dearly love Mozart.

Is it just me, or does it seem like this production is rather "static", lacking change of emotion and any emphesis on emotion. The staging is terrible, which to me, if you are going to watch an opera, it should be as visually pleasing as the story and audio. The singing is good and so is the orchestra. I'm just not convinced that this is the best one to buy. I would like to check out another version of this opera from another Opera company.

このDVDで楽しめるハンペ演出の映像は、以前NHKでテレビ放映されたことがあり、その時も美しく個性的な舞台として印象に残っていました。今回、直輸入盤とはいえ、国内でも比較的手に入れやすい形でDVD化されたことを喜ばしく思います。内容は、私がこれまで観たことのあるこの作品の舞台の中でも一二を争う素晴らしいものです。なにより五人の登場人物の歌唱・演技・容姿が、それぞれの役柄にぴったりはまっているのが見事です。特に女性二人の声質ヤ容姿の差が実に適材適所といったところで、特に主役コンスタンツェを歌うスウェンソンの声は、アンサンブルの中でも常に一歩前に出る力強さを持っており、主役としての存在感を主張してくれています。シュトゥットガルト放送交響楽団のやや暗めで重たい感じの音色も、むしろこの作品で本当にモーツァルトが表現したかったであろう、愛情・慈悲・自由といった深遠なテーマを感じさせてくれるのに一役買っています。総合的に言って、現在のところ最もお奨めできる『後宮』の映像であるといえます。ただし、初心者の方にとっては唯一最大の問題点として、日本語字幕がついていないということがありますので、その点だけはどうぞご注意を(笑)、その代わりに独英仏西の字幕を切り替えて楽しむことができます。