…René Jacobs here gives us a “Nozze” that’s so vibrant as to be practically visible. The give-and-take in the recitatives is timed brilliantly to real speech patterns, the singers whisper conspiratorily when needed…and the ensembles have a true sense of spontaneity.
In the accompanying booklet Jacobs addresses the questions of tempo, recitative, and continuo, not to mention structural and dramatic reasons for including Basilio’s and Marcellina’s arias in the last act, which are persuasive and insightful.
The performances are exciting. Simon Keenlyside’s Count is simply the best on disc; he manages to be lascivious and angry without ever going into mustache-twirling caricature…and he’s
the only singer I’ve ever heard who gets through every note, every turn, every trill of the third-act aria unscathed, even victorious. His Countess, Veronique Gens, at times seems a bit vocally out of sorts, but she presents a remarkably sympathetic figure, with sadness and girlish desire for fun in equal measure.
Patrizia Ciofi’s Susanna is beautifully sung–spicy and knowing…Angelika Kirchschlager’s Cherubino is boyish and impetuous, a truly romance-stricken character…Antonio Abete flavors Bartolo well, and Kobie van Rensburg is colorful as both Basilio and Don Curzio.
As suggested, Jacobs is the true star. By keeping the cast interested and lively and by bringing out the razzing in the winds, the blare of the horns…the sharp attack of the strings, and a timpani thwap that punctuates just as it ought to, he brilliantly realizes the comedy of the text and music. This is top of the line. © 2012 ClassicsToday.com Read complete review
