Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Le Nozze di Figaro
Hilde Gueden (soprano) – Susanna
Cesare Siepi (bass) – Figaro
Alfred Poell (baritone) – Count
Lisa Della Casa (soprano) – Countess
Suzanne Danco (mezzo) – Cherubino
Vienna State Opera Chorus
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra / Erich Kleiber
rec. 1955, Redoutensaal, Vienna, Austria
Pristine Audio PACO229 [172]

You always knew that this recording was a classic, and this remastering from Pristine reminds you why. It sounds better than ever. In many ways, in spite of the glories that came later, this remains the most important of all recorded Figaros because it was the first complete recording (including all the recitatives, plus Marcellina’s and Basilio’s Act 4 arias). Furthermore, it was one of the very first stereo opera recordings, recorded in the old Redoutensaal, the ballroom of Vienna’s Hofburg palace. Decca’s 1955 stereo is undeniably dated, but it was remarkably advanced for its time, and Andrew Rose’s remastering has cleaned it up and added presence. The treble is particularly enticing, with a tripping lightness to the string semiquavers that seems to flicker in mid-air. The voices are caught up-close but in plenty of perspective, and there is a sense of space around the sound that is immensely satisfying, even if that underlines further the suspicion that the secco recitatives and the orchestral numbers were recorded separately to one another.

However, I can’t say it has made me feel any differently about the recording which – whisper the heresy! – I’ve never found it in my heart to love. Most of that is down to the casting, which to my ears is misguided and often clumsy. The main thing that weights it down is Siepi’s Figaro, which sounds far too heavy and overbearing. There is barely a shadow of buffo to his reading – I’d say the same about his Don Giovanni – which instead sounds as though he’s auditioning for Wotan. It’s too weighty a voice to play the servant with the twinkle in his eye and, conversely, Alfred Poell’s Count is too light. There’s a bleat to Poell’s voice that nullifies the Count’s aristocratic demeanour and makes his sound so unremittingly serious that it’s hard to imagine many women being attracted to him. He tends to bark the Italian, too, so that there is little endearing in his tone. Fernando Corena’s Bartolo is very fine but, in an opera that’s ripe with bass/baritones, it can be difficult to distinguish him from his colleagues.

The ladies are better. Hilde Gueden’s Susanna is delightfully soubrettish, while Lisa Della Casa’s Countess has all of the aristocratic demeanour and empathy that her husband’s portrayal lacks and her two arias sound glorious. Hilde Rössl-Majdan has a whale of a time as Marcellina, and Anny Felbermayer is a sweet-toned Barbarina, whose Act 4 aria is a treat.

The “classic” label this recording has always sported is mostly attributable to Kleiber’s understanding of echt-Viennese style, and there is an undeniable sense of ensemble to the way this Figaro comes together. Nevertheless, some of Kleiber’s interpretative choices, while undoubtedly perfectly orthodox for their time, strike modern ears as a little odd. Se vuol ballare, for example, feels like a heavy plod rather than a mocking dance, and it sounds as though the entire orchestral double bass section has been unleashed on the recitative that immediately precedes it. However, he has an undoubted ear for Mozart’s style, and there is a palpable sense of this opera having been handed down in an unbroken line in the city of its 1786 premiere. Furthermore, his sense of pacing is completely assured, showcased in the marvellously controlled way that the Act 2 finale builds up its head of steam.

Still, the quirks of the performance and the unsatisfying casting mean that even if the sound is magnificent this can only ever be a reference recording, not one I’d turn to for the pleasure of listening. Happily, we’re spoilt for choice in what’s probably the world’s most recorded opera. Gui, Giulini, Böhm and Jacobs are all treasurable, for very different reasons, but my top choice is the extraordinarily classy account from Solti, conducting the London Philharmonic in 1982, and featuring a cast that includes Samuel Ramey, Lucia Popp, Thomas Allen and Kiri te Kanawa. If you’re looking for Figaro heaven, that’s where you’ll find it.

Simon Thompson

Other cast
Hilde Rössl-Majdan (mezzo) – Marcellina
Murray Dickie (tenor) – Don Basilio
Fernando Corena (bass) – Doctor Bartolo
Anny Felbermayer (soprano) – Barbarina

Previous review: Ralph Moore