LE NOZZE DI FIGARO - Ezio Pinza, dir Bruno Walter, 1937 (Complete Opera Mozart)

Pinza and Walter: what a marriage! The great Italian basso Ezio Pinza as Figaro in Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro, a live performance at the Salzburg Festival on 19 August 1937 conducted by Bruno Walter: Figaro - Ezio Pinza Susanna - Esther Réthy Conte Almaviva - Mariano Stabile Contessa Almaviva - Aulikki Rautawaara Cherubino - Jarmila Novotná Marcellina - Angelica Cravcenco Bartolo - Virgilio Lazzari Barbarina - Dora Komarek Wiener Staatsoper Wiener Philharmoniker Bruno Walter, conductor 19 August 1937, Salzburg, Live ------------------------------------- Act 1. Cinque... dieci... venti... (3:58) Se a caso Madama (7:18) Se vuol ballare (12:02) La vendetta, oh, la vendetta (15:33) Via resti servita, madama brillante (19:01) Non so più cosa son, cosa faccio (22:35) Cosa sento! (29:01) Non più andrai (38:19) Act 2. Porgi, amor (43:45) Voi, che sapete (49:46) Venite, inginocchiatevi (53:45) Susanna, or via sortite (1:00:32) Aprite, presto, aprite (1:04:40) Finale II (1:07:14) Esci omai, garzon malnato... Conoscete, signor Figaro... Voi signor, che giusto siete Act 3. Crudel! perchè finora (1:26:44) Hai già vinta la causa? (1:32:11) Riconosci in quest' amplesso E Susanna non vien!... Dove sono (1:45:06) Sull'aria (1:51:32) Ricevete, o padroncina (1:54:41) Ecco la marcia... Amanti costanti (1:58:31) Act 4. L'ho perduta (2:04:40) Aprite un po' quegli occhi (2:10:57) Giunse alfin il momento... Deh, vieni, non tardar (2:13:42) Finale IV (2:20:38) Pian, pianin... Pace, pace, mio dolce tesoro... Gente, gente, all'armi, all'armi! ------------------------------------- Virtually ALL of the other recordings have infinitely better sound... Nonetheless, this is the definitive recording of "Le Nozze di Figaro." Why? Beside except for the phenomenal conducting by Bruno Walter, few recordings one can say the orchestra and singers to stand as one. More balanced well point me out plz ;). It's played very fast but with a light and gender approach. I hear passion and playing forward towards with the purpose to bring a composition as one and not as a bunch of melodical lines to be really confused with all what is in between, too silly .... Well in "Le Nozze di Figaro";) Walter auditioned and hand picked all of his soloists. Everyone is either Italian or speaks impeccable Italian. The recitatives are at speech rhythm and constitute vital and exciting theater, rather than a dreary attempt by vain singers to show how beautiful their voices are in the wrong context. The overall architecture is brilliant. Walter builds the opera like a perfectly proportioned chateau. Finally, there is the presence of Ezio Pinza, a remarkable singing actor with a gorgeous voice and the required charm for this role. The sad news is that 80 years after this recording, none has equaled it. The good news is that recent Mozart performances by Claudio Abbado and Daniel Harding have brought back Walter's thrilling recits and vibrant tempos. ------------------------------------- DON GIOVANNI - Ezio Pinza, dir Bruno Walter, Met 1942 (Complete Opera Mozart):    • DON GIOVANNI - Ezio Pinza, dir Bruno Walte...   -------------------------------------