Mozart: Le Nozze di Figaro - Evans, Ligabue, Freni, Berganza, Gobbi, Langdon; Solti. London, 1963
$12.95
Listen to a Sample:
The assembled cast of young singers (mixed with a few veterans) for this performance of Le Nozze di Figaro makes for an evening of impressive displays of vocal technique and tight ensembles. Mirella Freni is wonderful as Susanna. Her creamy voice has just the right mixture of ingenue and sensuality that make her charming in the first act, and alluring in her Act IV aria. Geraint Evans brings an everyman quality to the role of Figaro, and if the voice lacks a certain amount of glamor, he makes up for it with a keen commitment to the text. Teresa Berganza, still in her twenties, delivers a fresh Cherubino, with my only quibble being that it is possible her rich mezzo was a tad too lush for pants roles. Tito Gobbi brings a brusque quality to the count which make for a good protagonist but perhaps robs the his final apology to the countess of some credibility. Ilva Ligabue's lush Countess is occasionally marred by wayward pitch. Georg Solti's tempos are on the brisk side although never rushed. The sound is very good.
OD 10913-3
