Barnes & Noble
Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro is not only the quintessential comic opera, it is also a daring piece of social commentary. In Beaumarchais' play, the barber-turned-valet, Figaro, easily outwits the philandering Count Almaviva -- a story that surely appealed to the composer, who had spent a number of trying years in the service of Archbishop Salzedo of Salzburg. But it's the musical characterizations that make Figaro truly great: the patient suffering of the Countess, the Count's overbearing arrogance, young Cherubino's ardent yearning, Susanna's sunny charm, and Figaro's street smarts. No wonder it has been performed and recorded so often. There are two classic versions on disc, and though both feature international casts, Erich Kleiber's (Decca) offers Viennese elegance, while Carlo Maria Giulini's is more warmly Italianate. You cannot go wrong with either, though Giulini's is better recorded and is notable for Anna Moffo's gorgeously sung Susanna and Elisabeth Schwarzkopf's aristocratic portrayal of the Countess. The music fizzes as it should in the comic moments, but there is abundant tenderness and deep feeling here as well. The entire opera fits onto two mid-priced CDs (unlike Kleiber's three-disc set), making it a terrific bargain, to boot. Andrew Farach-Colton
All Music Guide
Why not another record another "Le nozze di Figaro"? When this studio performance was taped in 1959, there had already been three great postwar recordings of the work -- the 1950 Karajan, the 1953 Furtwängler, and the 1955 Kleiber -- plus Böhm's 1956 and 1957 performances were surreptitiously available as pirate recordings from Europe, so it's not as if there was a conspicuous deficiency. But, after all, why not record another "Figaro"? Was there a surfeit of happiness in the world, either in the late '50s or since, that would make the pure joy of "Figaro" unnecessary?
Of course not: joy, then as now, is always too scarce, and this "Figaro" is nothing if not joy filled. With the dashing and dramatic young Carlo Maria Giulini leading the Philharmonia, EMI's expert studio orchestra, this "Figaro" is exciting and exhilarating even before the singing starts. And when the singing does start, it gets even better. Giuseppe Taddei's Figaro is funny but serious and a bit sneaky. Eberhard Wächter's Count is witty but dangerous and a bit sexy. Elisabeth Schwarzkopf's Countess is noble, soulful, and quite moving. Fiorenza Cossotto's Cherubino is silly, charming, and very sincere. And Anna Moffo's Susanna is the best of all: wise, warm, womanly, and no man's fool. Together they form a wonderful cast in another great Figaro recording from the '50s, captured in first-rate stereo sound by Walter Legge. There is, however, one caveat. This "Figaro" is cut. This was not unusual at the time -- and for some listeners, the cuts in the recitatives may not be missed -- but it does make this "Figaro" at best a second or third choice. James Leonard
All Music Guide
With the dashing and dramatic young Carlo Maria Giulini leading the Philharmonia, EMI's expert studio orchestra, this "Figaro" is exciting and exhilarating even before the singing starts. And when the singing does start, it gets even better. Giuseppe Taddei's Figaro is funny but serious and a bit sneaky. Eberhard Wächter's Count is witty but dangerous and a bit sexy. Elisabeth Schwarzkopf's Countess is noble, soulful, and quite moving. Fiorenza Cossotto's Cherubino is silly, charming, and very sincere. And Anna Moffo's Susanna is the best of all: wise, warm, womanly, and no man's fool. Together they form a wonderful cast in another great Figaro recording from the '50s, captured in first-rate stereo sound by Walter Legge. There is, however, one caveat. This "Figaro" is cut. This was not unusual at the time -- and for some listeners, the cuts in the recitatives may not be missed -- but it does make this "Figaro" at best a second or third choice. James Leonard
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