Mozart in Turkey - Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail / Groves, Kodalli, Rancatore, Atkinson, Rose, Mackerras, Scottish Chamber Orchestra

Customer Reviews:

Tiptop Topkapi.......2007-08-10

Every year the Istanbul Music Festival ends with a performance of Il Seraglio, staged in the forecourt of the old Topkapi Palace - supposedly the very palace from where Mozart's lovers made their escape.
In 2006, my wife and I were lucky enough to see a performance there (not this one), and this DVD is a perfect way to recall the wonderful atmosphere of the occasion.
This sumptous film version has nothing to do with the annual Turkish stage production and is not staged in just the one static location. Instead, it is shot in various glorious rooms and courtyards around the old Harem and Palace; doing full visual justice to one of Mozart's most beloved operas.
The singers are all first rate, especially Peter Rose as the villainous Osmin. His menace and bumbling ineptitude are hilariously portrayed, and rousingly sung.
Yelda Kodalli is a gorgeous Konstanze, if one can dismiss the rather anachronistic notion of a Turkish opera singer playing a Spanish lady trying to escape from Turkey!
As another reviewer has noted, this is really a condensed version of the opera, but the story is intact, all the favourite arias are included, and the behind the scenes story of the staging and filming is fascinating in itself.
One nice feature is that the viewer is given the choice to delete these contemporary inserts and view the musical sequences uninterrupted.
Stunning - an unmitigated treat for both the eyes and the ears!

"Bright and Colorful".......2005-05-14

First, I should mention that this is not the complete opera, "The Abduction from the Seraglio." The program notes call it "one-third documentary and two-thirds filmed opera."

Even that just begins to describe this performance.
It is performed in a palace in Istanbul, where the beauty and color of the location and the costumes are stunningly bright and authentically Turkish.

The Scottish Chamber Orchestra, led by Charles Mackerras, and the singers, especially Paul Groves (Belmonte) and Desiree Rancatore (Blonde) do full justice to Mozart's most popular work during his lifetime.

You'll find all of the most popular scenes of "The Abduction," sung wonderfully and with the most crystal-clear photography you can imagine.

An extra treat is commentary, which helps explain Mozart and his music, AND a seat for you at the dinner table as you watch the singers eat, relax, and playfully sing bits of their favorite songs.

Though not the full opera, this is a delightful and beauty-filled presentation. (It would be a great way to introduce newcomers to the world of opera, or to show those familiar with the work a colorful new perspective.)

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