Rating: 
Summary: A theatre production....
Review: Aaah...DVD for opera is a fantastic medium since it offers action besides music. And here Harnoncourt is at his best here, offers a rendition really complete, musically and theatrically. Recitatives fresh and interesting for once, here we get the whole picture with all the colours of Mozart`s paint-box. A laugh and a cry at the same time, this performance offers a picture of LIFE, with basically normal people with the same drams, hopes, envies and jealousies that we all have. The result is confrontational, but, then again, isn`t Harncourt allways.... Nikiteanu/Bartoli superb, Widmer excellent. A must for opera lovers.
Rating: 
Summary: Beautiful music add by excellent performance
Review: Although this title is less wellknown than Mozart's La Nozze de Figaro and Don Giovanni, it is not less melodious and beautiful than the other two operas.
The beauty of the music is emphasized by excellent performance of the singers, especially Cecilia Bartoli with her soft soprano voice as the firm Fiordiligi, the matter of fact and simple maid Despina, performed by Agnes Baltsa with her clear soprano voice and also the clear light tenor voice of Roberto Sacca. The others also contributed much to the performance which made the music so beautiful and enjoyable to watch and listen.
Like all Mozart's music we are enchanted to the really melodious nuance and the excellent singing add to the beauty of it.
We love the divine duets of two sopranos, tenor and baritone which were so harmoniously sang to reflect the magnificent music of Mozart.
One small flaw is only the background scenery which was a bit too constant and simple although it changes now and then.
Nevertheless this performance is really enchanting and made us want to watch and listen until the end.
Rating:
Summary: Very good, despite Bartoli's distorted singing faces
Review: DVD was made for opera and none more so than this gem. With any Mozart opera it is important that an ensemble sings together rather like a rich tapestry, and so the delight of this production was how wonderfully these voices entertwined. The production was imaginative, and the intimacy of this small Zurich opera house also made this seem like a more personal event. Cecilia has never been better! And that is saying something!
Rating:
Summary: A joyous evening!
Review: DVD was made for opera and none more so than this gem. With any Mozart opera it is important that an ensemble sings together rather like a rich tapestry, and so the delight of this production was how wonderfully these voices entertwined. The production was imaginative, and the intimacy of this small Zurich opera house also made this seem like a more personal event. Cecilia has never been better! And that is saying something!
Rating: 
Summary: Too Slow - Boring - and Show Off
Review: I am truly disappointed purchasing this DVD. Although the cast is excellent, especially Baltsa as Despina, the conducting is truly disappointed. Too slow, stretching this work way way too long, and have unusual musical pause. If you love the Ostman version, you would be bore to death with this one. This is Mozart a la Hannoncourt, unusual. I am thinking of donating my DVD to the local library.....
Rating:
Summary: Too Slow - Boring - and Show Off
Review: I am truly disappointed purchasing this DVD. Although the cast is excellent, especially Baltsa as Despina, the conducting is truly disappointed. Too slow, stretching this work way way too long, and have unusual musical pause. If you love the Ostman version, you would be bore to death with this one. This is Mozart a la Hannoncourt, unusual. I am thinking of donating my DVD to the local library.....
Rating:
Summary: Disappoiment
Review: I must admit that haven't bought this DVD, but this performance was some time back broadcasted twice on Norwegian TV. I thought it would be interesting to watch Bartoli sing one of the sisters. What I found out was that it was a disappointment.First of all was the conducting tediously slow. And when I saw the first scene with the three men, I started to wonder if it was just me or did the one that played Guglielmo looked and sounded extremely bored. The Ferrando too wasn't too good. He could produce very beautiful tones, but could just hold them for a second and then a hideous vibrator would kick in. I normally love a vibrator under control, but he was truly awful to listen to. The only male performer that was very good, was the Don Alfonso. He acted and sounded the part very well. But something I just don't understand, was why on earth would the producer or conductor cast two mezzo sopranos as the sisters. As much as I love Cecila Bartoli's Rosina and Cenerentola, she is no Fiordiligi. She was much too low range for her, although her coloratura is gorgous. The one that played Dorabella sang well, but she seemed to have an even lower range than Baroli. It just didn't seem right to me. They were very pleasant to hear, but definatly not good for the dramatic effect. Agnes Baltsa's Despina was pure joy see both see and listen to. It is strange that the conductor would choose such an extremely slow tempo. It made the drama go with incrediblely short steps. It seemed to go on forever. And it made the opera almost boring to see, interupted by occational comic touches here and there. Neither Mozart's nor Da Ponte's humor made it through for me. I lated bought the Gardiner version on DVD and that was something else. All six singers were exceptional, the conducting was crisp, well timed and made the opera a joy to see. This one was very boring by comparsion.
Rating:
Summary: This Così is a winner!
Review: Mozart's Così fan tutte contain's some of his sweetest and most beautiful melodies. The breath-taking music combined with an excellent libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte makes it hard to believe that this opera was largely neglected by the public until the twenthieth century. Viewing this DVD is a true delight from beginning to end, as Harnoncourt conducts Mozart's gem just right. The cast is outstanding, made up of a mixture of world-famous singers like Bartoli and Baltsa and others that, while not as well known, bring their characters to life. Even the recitatives are expertly done, thus adding to the humor and the drama of the opera. This production brilliantly conveys the humor on the surface, while at the same time illustrating that just below is a darker world with real tears and pathos as the four lovers discover that true love isn't necessarily forever. The sound and picture quality are excellent, and no fan of Mozart will want to be without this superb DVD. I know this opera well, and this production was enlightening to me on a musical, intellectual, and emotional level that stayed with me long after viewing it.
Rating:
Summary: This Così is a winner!
Review: Mozart's Così fan tutte contain's some of his sweetest and most beautiful melodies. The breath-taking music combined with an excellent libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte makes it hard to believe that this opera was largely neglected by the public until the twenthieth century. Viewing this DVD is a true delight from beginning to end, as Harnoncourt conducts Mozart's gem just right. The cast is outstanding, made up of a mixture of world-famous singers like Bartoli and Baltsa and others that, while not as well known, bring their characters to life. Even the recitatives are expertly done, thus adding to the humor and the drama of the opera. This production brilliantly conveys the humor on the surface, while at the same time illustrating that just below is a darker world with real tears and pathos as the four lovers discover that true love isn't necessarily forever. The sound and picture quality are excellent, and no fan of Mozart will want to be without this superb DVD. I know this opera well, and this production was enlightening to me on a musical, intellectual, and emotional level that stayed with me long after viewing it.
Rating:
Summary: This Così is a winner!
Review: Mozart's Così fan tutte contains some of his sweetest and most beautiful melodies. Such gorgeous music combined with an excellent libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte make it hard to believe that this opera was largely neglected by the public until the twentieth century. Viewing this DVD is a true delight from beginning to end, as Harnoncourt conducts Mozart's gem just right. The cast is outstanding, made up of a mixture of world-famous singers like Bartoli and Baltsa and others that, while not as well known, bring their characters to life. Even the recitatives are expertly done, thus adding to the humor and the drama of the opera. This production brilliantly conveys the humor on the surface, while at the same time illustrating that just below is a darker world with real tears and pathos as the four lovers discover that true love isn't necessarily forever. The sound and picture quality are excellent, and no fan of Mozart will want to be without this superb DVD. I know this opera well, and this production was enlightening to me on a musical, intellectual, and emotional level that stayed with me long after viewing it.
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