Mozart: Così fan tutte - Varady, Minton, Popp, Bottazzo, Nicolai, Feller; Kertész. Köln, 1972
$5.37
Listen to a Sample:
If any opera may be described as an ensemble opera it is Così fan tutte. Because of the intricate nature of the characters and their relationships to one another, casting is critical. Not only must you populate the roles with singers up to the task of executing the notorious show-stopping arias, but there needs to be a collective rapport between the participants. This performance does well at delivering both. You have some formidable singing from the likes of Julia Varady and Yvonne Minton. Varady is particularly remarkable in making her dramatic voice and sensibility make sense within the context of Mozartian style. Lucia Popp is a bubbly Despina. The men are not quite as remarkable. Pietro Bottazzo seems very comfortable negotiating Ferrando's high-lying tessitura, but delivers a mono-chromatic interpretation. Carlos Feller is a charming Alfonso. The sound is fair to good.
OD 10623-2
