Die Entführung aus dem Serail

"This new release gives Zubin Mehta the honour of having four commercial recordings of Mozart's Turkish opera ... His direction on this evening is mellow and flowing. A great deal of consideration is given to the singers in their florid arias. His reading has warmth and charm ... Mauro Peter as Belmonte has an elegant and burnished tenor sound ... Lenneke Ruiten gives a tour-de-force reading of Konstanze ... She also looks quite lovely, and her acting is on a level similar to her singing ... Maximillian Schmitt as Pedrillo has a very enthusiastic and charming stage presence ... Sabine Devielhe is an adorable Blonde ... This mars what is in effect a very charming staging of Mozart's opera ... The sets and costumes are spare but quite beautiful and elegant ... Even so, the particularly fine singing of the female leads and Mehta's warm and winning reading of the score should absolutely be heard".

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"This production directed by the renowned Giorgio Strehler originated at The Saltsburg Festival in 1965 ... The period costumes of the production are quite magnificent but, it is the physical staging, particularly the lighting and the outcome of shadows and silhouettes, which define the production and its character, in combination with the palace architecture and the central sea view between two mighty portals, tastefully and variously lit as the occasion demands, with a ship passing into sight from time to time ... I have rarely heard him [Zubin Mehta] bring so much heart to his interpretation as on this occasion. Age has not blunted his musical capacity ... This widely admired production by one of the great producers of opera has been rescued from yesteryear by being refurbished and presented anew with its original, masterful conductor back on the rostrum, and a first-class singing cast".

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"Fine singing, good acting, charming sets ... presided over by a Solti less hectic than he has sometimes been. Good playing and technical quality ... Buy and enjoy!".

"Filmed live at the Teatro della Pergola, Florence, in May 2002, here's an Abduction one can easily live with, even if one might disagree with some of its details. Scenically, the production is vividly colored eye-candy, and its musical values, while not unforgettable, are certainly high enough to encourage return visits to the seraglio".

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"Karl Böhm endnu i sprudlende form trods sine 85 år. Sikke en spændstighed i orkesterspillet. Og sikke sangere ... Her er han [Francisco Araiza] endnu en fornem Mozart-tenor. Edita Gruberova er hans Konstanze, som triumferer med virtuose og flotte koloraturer og tilmed giver dem mening. Reri Grist er en dejlig Blonde og Norbert Orth en charmerende Pedrillo".

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"I Bortførelsen fra seraillet rammer iscenesætteren Ivor Bolton storslået ved siden af, for ikke alene er den gamle haremshistorie blevet renset for orientalismer, også talerollen Bassa Selim er luget væk til fordel for en bevidst usammenhængende ikke-historie med brude og brudgomme og opvaskemaskiner og strygejern".

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"Stefan Herheim er en nyskabende norsk instruktør. Hans Bortførelsen fra seraillet blev negativt modtaget, og han gjorde den klarere. Opførelsen, henlagt til en nutidig bryllupsfest, er indholdsladet".

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"Editor's choice: Strehler/Testi handles the balance between the comic and the serious astutely ... Lenneke Ruiten's superb performance - touchingly acted, fluently sung - makes you both believe and care ... Sabine Devieilhe soars effortlessly into the musical stratosphere ... You might not associate Mehta, or indeed La Scala, with Mozart, but the pacing - deliberate in the Act 2 finale as well as in 'O wie ängstlich' - seems just right, and the playing is splendid ... This is a delight".

"By today's standards this is a conventionally set, intelligent staging of the opera ... Nikolaus Harnoncourt is on his best behaviour throughout, with textures remarkably clear, real spring in the orchestra, the "Turkish" instruments on stage (revolutionary!) and only the occasional eccentricity ... Brian Large's direction for the small screen is, as usual, excellent and so is the picture".

"Harnoncourt's crisp conducting and Korn's Osmin are outstanding in this 1989 production. A generally decent cast, despite a shrill Blonde, slogs through a straighforward but stodgy staging".

Vurdering (performance): 3/5.

Vurdering (picture & sound): 4/5.

"Marc Minkowski is the moving spirit of the performance and "moving" is the right epithet, as most of his speeds are on the fast side ... He assembled a fine young cast, all of whom are up to their taxing parts".

"This production of Mozart's opera is broadly traditional, being set in Turkey and period ... Musical values are high under conductor Mark Minkowski and the standard of singing strong without being outstanding".

Vurdering (performance): 4/5.

Vurdeing (presentation): 4/5.

"Several Entführung DVDs are currantly available and all are superior to this new entry. It disappoints on every level".

"Overall, though, it is difficult to offer more than a qualified recommendation. You reaaly had to be there".

"In dessem hauseigenem Hangar auf dem Salzburger Flughafen ... inszenierte der als Filmregisseur aufgefallene Christoph Marthaler-Bruder Adrian metiersicher spaktakuläre Bilder für die vielen Kameras ... Noch einmal technisch überarbeitet, ist das ein flotter Mittsommer-Mozart aus ungewohnter Perspektive geworden".

"What better place to stage it then in Salzburg Airports gigantic Hangar 7 ... The musical operformances ... are quite good ... Sound and picture are remarkable, especially given the hurdles".

"A first-rate cast and a visual feast to boot ... Its straightforward without being staid, a crisp, witty, fast-moving production and in Christoph Wagenknechts colourful set, a seascape fronted with swiftly sliding panels in Turkish patterns, visually delightful as well ... Musically, too, it holds its end up. Zubin Mehta is not my ideal Mozartian, but he conducts with affectionate warmth and theatrical verve ... entirely recommendable".

"Christof Loy's highly praised production from Barcelona squeezes every last drop of comedy from the piece ... The setting here is the present day and Loy typically favours a bare stage to focus attention on the issues ... The musical performance deserves better than this. Diana Damrau ... is the main highlight of the performance ... Ivor Bolton gets lively playing at uncontroversial speeds down in the pit".

"In Glyndebourne ... werden die Löscher immer grösser zwischen den Musiknummern, die Glyndebournes Musikdirektor Robin Ticciati am Pult des fein klingenden Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment mit Schwung und Spannkraft auszufüllen weiss ... Es wird vor allem opulenter, detailreicher Realismus zelebriert, mit mindestens zwanzig in warmes Dämmerlicht getauchten Szenenwechseln und wuselnden Statisten".

"This is such an enjoyable production of Mozart's Turkish opera ... First of all, three cheers for David McVicar, who by including most of the dialogue has restored the proper balance between speech and music ... The visual aspect is gorgeous, Vicki Mortimer's set, with its many scene changes, evoking a romantic view of the Orient ... In the pit, Robin Ticciati conducts the heroes of the OAE in a fleet account of the score ... Edgara Montvidas's ... Belmonte is ardent, impatient and, at the end, utterly chastened ... Sally Matthews sings superbly ... Ticciati/McVicar is a delight".