Mozart - Die Zauberflote (James Levine, Kathleen Battle, Luciana Serra, Francisco Araiza) [2000 / 1991]

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Mozart - Die Zauberflote (James Levine, Kathleen Battle, Luciana Serra, Francisco Araiza) [2000 / 1991]

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Die Zauberflote, Mozart's last opera, performed on this disc by the Metropolitan Opera under the direction of James Levine.
The cast features such stars as Kathleen Battle (Pamina), Fancisco Araiza (Tamino), Manfred Hemm (Papageno), Kurt Moll (Sarasto), and Luciana Serra as the Queen of the Night. Brian Large, who has vast experience with opera, directs this major work.
This opera showcases the voice and acting skills of Kathleen Battle: she is brilliant, beautiful and with a voice that could only be described as a gift. Also noteworthy are the exquisite vocals by Luciana Serra as the Queen of the Night. However, it is Manfred Hemm as Papageno who steals the spotlight: from beginning to end, his funny interpretation of his character (accompanied by his great voice) carries this work to its fitting conclusion.
The only negative comment (thus the loss of one star) was the surreal quality of the sets. Frankly, I thought they were ugly and if anything, detracted from an otherwise stellar performance. Also the overture featured, I felt, a little too much of James Levine: surely, some more shots of the orchestra could have been inserted here somewhere.
While The Magic Flute is not my favorite opera by Mozart, this is, all things being considered, an enjoyable performance. Musically, I could honestly recommend this DVD. By R. Nicholson

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Mozart - Die Zauberflote (James Levine, Kathleen Battle, Luciana Serra, Francisco Araiza) [2000 / 1991]

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