Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (17561791):
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| Figaro | ERICH KUNZ |
| Susanna | IRMGARD SEEFRIED |
| Il Conte d'Almaviva | GEORGE LONDON |
| La Contessa d'Almaviva | ELISABETH SCHWARZKOPF |
| Cherubino | SENA JURINAC |
| Bartolo | MARJAN RUS |
| Marcellina | ELISABETH HÖNGEN |
| Don Basilio & Don Curzio | ERICH MAJKUT |
| Barbarina | ROSL SCHWAIGER |
| Antonio | WILHELM FELDEN |
| Two girls | ANNY FELBERMAYER & HILDE CZESKA |
Introduction
In Vienna in 1950 Herbert von Karajan's Figaro cast could not have been bettered: the three leading Mozart sopranos of the time Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Irmgard Seefried and Sena Jurinac - the echt Wienerisch Erich Kunz and the superb George London.
Synopsis
Often described as the greatest of all operatic comedies, Le nozze di Figaro was first performed in 1786. Its libretto, by Lorenzo da Ponte, is based on Beaumarchais’ Le mariage de Figaro, the sequel to the play that later formed the basis of Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia.
Subtitled ‘la folle giornata’ (the mad day), the opera is set on Count Almaviva’s estate in southern Spain. The manservant Figaro is about to be married to the maid Susanna, but their wedding day is filled with complication, subterfuge, and subversion. The Count, who neglects his wife, lusts after Susanna, while an older woman, Marcellina, claims that Figaro had promised to marry her. Meanwhile, Cherubino, the count’s hormonal adolescent page, sows further confusion. Figaro, Susanna and the Countess decide to teach the Count a lesson. The sparkling, bustling overture sets the scene for a succession of brilliantly characterised arias and superbly constructed ensembles. Among the most striking are: Figaro’s challenge to the Count, ‘Se vuol ballare’ and his mocking of Cherubino in ‘Non più andrai’; Cherubino’s seductive “Voi che sapete’, sung to the Countess and Susanna; the Countess’ sadly nostalgic, then briskly assertive ‘Dove sono’, and Susanna’s seductive and ambiguous “Deh, vieni’.
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Compact Disc 1 62.50 ACT ONE ACT TWO
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Compact Disc 2 56.53 ACT THREE ACT FOUR |
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