| Review by Darwin April 21, 2006 (5 of 5 found this review helpful)
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The local opera company is staging the Abduction next month, so I was delighted with the timing of this release. It's interesting to compare this octet-sized "Greatest Hits" to recordings of the full opera, and amusing to speculate about why Mozart made specific choices in the reduction.
The plaintive first act arias from the separated lovers are well represented. It's easy to "hear" the missing vocal parts in your mind, and this makes for quite an immersive listening experience. It's understandable but too bad that Osmin's introductory (and hilariously sociopathic) rants are largely missing.
Performance:
Naturally, some aspects of the full-scale performance are simply not present in the Harmoniemusik. The ringing triangle, crashing cymbals and thumping percussion that meant "Eastern! Exotic!" to Mozart's Arabian Nights-loving audience are absent. Even so, my wife was humming the irresistable overture for several days after just one listening. In some cases, the differences can be downright amusing. In the first act, for example, at the moment when the lovesick Belmonte normally sighs "Is that her whisper?" he is responding to the distant, birdlike trill of a flute. When, in the Harmoniemusik, the flute becomes a bassoon, should we be tempted to speculate a bit about dear old Belmonte?
In short, most of the "moods" of the opera come through quite nicely in the ASMF's more than capable hands.
Sonics:
Simply stated: once again, Pentatone does not disappoint.
Concerns about the future of SACD are widespread and understandable, given the way the wind seems to be blowing lately. Nonetheless, it's worth taking a break from the sackcloth and ashes to realize that this is, in many ways, a golden age for home listening. I close my eyes, and the multichannel layer pushes down the walls and renovates my living room. The only things missing from a real concert experience are rattling programs, phlegmy coughs and crinkling toffee wrappers. Hmmm....
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