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I played the 1961 version by Carlo Maria Giulini with Elizabeth Schwartzkof singing the Contessa which I found un-listenable and unbearable even with the great Moffo and Wachter in the leads. Aside from the wonderful Kleiber recording-can anyone recommend a 2nd best?
I heard Levine live at the Met but it is no longer available Amazon shrunk availability so there are no available performances available there.
Hard to imagine Figaro is not available on CD
Thanks UT
Follow Ups:
A bit surprised that there hasn't been any mention of Rene Jacobs version with Coffi, Gens et. al... Yes, it's on period instruments; nevertheless, it's very fine. As is his Cosi. I haven't heard his Don Giovanni.
I own the Jacobs version. It's a lot of fun, very enjoyable, but the singing isn't up to the best of other performances.
I really enjoy almost all Jacobs' opera (and other stuff) as a palate cleanser. It is different and fascinating. He makes for great alternative choices.
I don't think I've ever heard his Figaro. My wife and children gave me his Don Giovanni years ago (my God it was expensive!) and I have to confess it just didn't work for me. I was distracted by the continuo. I should dig it out and give it another go. And since I didn't care for his Donny G I couldn't justify buying his Figaro or Cosi. But now I have Qobuz so I can give them a go.
Enjoy and own his conducting of Handel and Monteverdi . I am sorry I never bought his Mozart operas when they were available, Good idea...Thanks
Cosi van Tutte (sp?) from Jacobs is fantastic.
Edits: 01/17/25
Lots of choices here. I'm not a huge fan of Solti in Mozart, but his cast - Te Kanawa, Popp, von Stade, Ramey, and Allen - is hard to beat.
Don't do it!!!
Ralph Moore has an excellent survey of Nozzes at the link below.
My favorite is the Bohm video with Reri Grist as Susanna. Sound is not very good (mono with some peak distortion), but Reri Grist is adorable, which I think is the major aesthetic criterion used here anyway. ;)
More Ralph Moore surveys.
Thanks! I have some Bohm performances on record from The Salzburg Festival...They are wonderful..Thanks for the tips.
I love Gardiner with the English Baroque Soloists, Terfel, Hadley, Gilfry, Martinpelto and Stephen. It's "HIP", but as far as I'm concerned it works. It's fun, lively and so very entertaining. It doesn't take itself too seriously, and is recorded live (there's also a DVD, not the greatest, and not to get all CFL, but Hadley in that dress is uh...well, babealicious), so there's some spontaneous laughter and quirks, and applause, which in this case I actually don't mind. Terfel as Figaro is fantastic, Hadley as Susanah is girlish and sexy, Gilfry as the Count is stuffy and full of himself. Even the minor characters are superb in what they represent. It is definitely NOT an old school performance and it's been my first choice for years (I have the Giulini, as well as Levine, Davis and Bohm (Janowitz melts me in that recording)). Speaking of babealicious, I'll have to try the Pappano/Persson recording, she melts me in everything, her Cosi DVD is outstanding.
It's available on all the streaming services, so free to try if you're a subscriber. It's on Qobuz in 2 forms, a compilation of all Gardiner's Mozart operas (His Don Giovanni is also a favorite), and an individual recording as posted above.
Hilarious Thanks!
Did see Terfel perform with Levine.It was a knockout version of Figaro.
See link. I have no connection with the seller. Just queried Marriage of Figaro. There may be others there.
Don't much care for Schwartzkopf in any repertoire.
"Horse sense is the thing a horse has which keeps it from betting on people. "
― W.C. Fields
Thanks! He is my favorite conductor of the last 5 decades...I do not know why I never purchased his opera performances....Still available but for big $ with many operas included that I might never listen too.The Sony 39 CD box does not include the Mozart operas but has many wonderful things
My favorites, and often recommended by others, are the Solti and Marriner recordings. Another common recommendation is the Erich Kleiber recording, but its 1955 (stereo) sound is subpar.
When she died, the adjective, "arch", lost its greatest exemplar!
My imprint version of Figaro dates from about the same time as that Giulini version you heard: it's the one with Leinsdorf and the VPO, with Peters, Della Casa, Tozzi, et al. I don't think I've heard it since I was a kid and had the hots for Roberta Peters. I think it's generally considered to be pretty good. However, at a certain point, I decided that opera really needs its visual elements, so the current performance I have is the blu-ray with Pappano and the Royal Opera, with Persson, Roschmann, Schrott, et al. I'm pretty happy with it, not least because it avoids Eurotrash staging elements, and the singers seem good to me.
If we want to stick to CD, then I've also owned the Colin Davis/BBC SO recording on Philips - I found it interesting, because Ingvar Wixell had a natural sneer in his voice which was perfect for singing The Count (Don Giovanni too, for that matter!). I also like the Harnoncourt/VPO recording on DG (with La Trebs [Netrebko], Roschmann, et al), which derives from live performances of a more Eurotrash persuasion, but of course that won't matter on a CD. But beware! La Trebs is a friend of Putin, so a lot of folks want to cancel her! ;-)
Ooh! Now I see that you're right: this is available at Presto as a download, but not as a CD. And it's available on DVD and blu-ray. Weird.
Maybe it is unfair and even a bit insane-but I feel the Luftwaffe about to attack when she sings-just a mean aggressiveness her sound and phrasing. Lock me up! Thanks!~
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