Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), opera, K. 492: Sinfonia
2. Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), opera, K. 492: Act 1. Scene 1 & 2. Duettino. Cinque... dieci... venti...
3. Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), opera, K. 492: Act 1. Scene 1 & 2. Recitativo. Cosa stai misurando
4. Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), opera, K. 492: Act 1. Scene 1 & 2. No. 2. Duettino. Se a caso madama
5. Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), opera, K. 492: Act 1. Scene 1 & 2. Recitativo. Or bene ascolta, e taci
6. Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), opera, K. 492: Act 1. Scene 1 & 2. No. 3. Cavatina. Se vuol ballare
7. Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), opera, K. 492: Act 1. Scene 3. Recitativo. Ed aspettate il giorno
8. Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), opera, K. 492: Act 1. Scene 3. No. 4. Aria. La vendetta, oh, la vendetta
9. Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), opera, K. 492: Act 1. Scene 4. Recitativo. Tutto ancor non ho perso
10. Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), opera, K. 492: Act 1. Scene 4. No. 5. Duettino. Via, resti servita
11. Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), opera, K. 492: Act 1. Scene 5. Recitativo. Va là, vecchia pedante
12. Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), opera, K. 492: Act 1. Scene 5. No. 6. Aria. Non so più cosa son
13. Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), opera, K. 492: Act 1. Scene 6 & 7. Recitativo. Ah, son perduto!
14. Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), opera, K. 492: Act 1. Scene 6 & 7. No. 7. Terzetto. Cosa sento! tosto andate
15. Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), opera, K. 492: Act 1. Scene 6 & 7. Recitativo. Basilio, in traccia tosto
16. Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), opera, K. 492: Act 1. Scene 8. No. 8. Coro. Giovani liete
17. Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), opera, K. 492: Act 1. Scene 8. Recitativo. Cos'è questa commedia?
18. Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), opera, K. 492: Act 1. Scene 8. No. 9. Coro. Giovani liete
19. Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), opera, K. 492: Act 1. Scene 8. Recitativo. Evviva!
20. Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), opera, K. 492: Act 1. Scene 8. No. 10. Aria. Non più andrai

Disc 2:

1. Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), opera, K. 492: Act 2. Scene 1. No. 11. Cavatina. Porgi, amor
2. Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), opera, K. 492: Act 2. Scene 1. Recitativo. Vieni, cara Susanna
3. Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), opera, K. 492: Act 2. Scene 2. Recitativo. Queanto duomi, Susanna
4. Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), opera, K. 492: Act 2. Scene 2. No. 12. Arietta. Voi che sapete
5. Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), opera, K. 492: Act 2. Scene 2. Recitativo. Bravo! che bella voce!
6. Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), opera, K. 492: Act 2. Scene 2. No. 13. Aria. Venite inginocchiatevi...
7. Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), opera, K. 492: Act 2. Scene 2. Recitativo. Quante buffonerie!
8. Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), opera, K. 492: Act 2. Scene 3. Recitativo. Che novità! Non fu mai
9. Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), opera, K. 492: Act 2. Scene 3. No. 14. Terzetto. Susanna, o via, sortite
10. Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), opera, K. 492: Act 2. Scene 3. Recitativo. Dunque, voi non aprite?
11. Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), opera, K. 492: Act 2. Scene 4. No. 15. Duettino. Aprite, presto, aprite
12. Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), opera, K. 492: Act 2. Scene 4. Recitativo. Or guarda il demonietto!
13. Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), opera, K. 492: Act 2. Scene 5-8. Recitativo. Tutto è come io lasciai
14. Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), opera, K. 492: Act 2. Scene 5-8. No. 16. Finale. Esci, ormai, garzon malnato
15. Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), opera, K. 492: Act 2. Scene 9. Signori, di fuori
16. Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), opera, K. 492: Act 2. Scene 10 & 11. Ah, signor... signor
17. Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), opera, K. 492: Act 2. Scene 10 & 11. Voi signor, che giusto siete
18. Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), opera, K. 492: Act 3. Scene 1-3. Recitativo. Che imbarazzo è mai questo!
19. Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), opera, K. 492: Act 3. Scene 1-3. Recitativo. E perché fosti meco
20. Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), opera, K. 492: Act 3. Scene 4. No. 18. Recitativo e Aria. Hai già vinta la causa!

Disc 3:

1. Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), opera, K. 492: Act 3. Scene 5. Recitativo. È decisa la lite
2. Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), opera, K. 492: Act 3. Scene 5. No. 19. Sestetto. Riconosci in questo amplesso
3. Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), opera, K. 492: Act 3. Scene 6 & 7. Recitativo. Eccovi, o caro amico
4. Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), opera, K. 492: Act 3. Scene 8. No. 20. Recitativo e Aria. E Susanna non vien!
5. Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), opera, K. 492: Act 3. Scene 9 & 10. Recitativo. Io vi dico, signor
6. Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), opera, K. 492: Act 3. Scene 9 & 10. No. 21. Duettino. Su l'aria...
7. Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), opera, K. 492: Act 3. Scene 11-14. No. 22. Coro. Ricevete, o padroncina
8. Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), opera, K. 492: Act 3. Scene 11-14. Recitativo. Queste sono, Madama
9. Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), opera, K. 492: Act 3. Scene 11-14. No. 23. Finale. Ecco la marcia
10. Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), opera, K. 492: Act 4. Scene 1. No. 24. Cavatina. L'ho perduta... me meschina!
11. Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), opera, K. 492: Act 4. Scene 2-4. Recitativo. Barbarina, cos' hai
12. Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), opera, K. 492: Act 4. Scene 2-4. No. 25. Aria. Il capro e la capretta
13. Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), opera, K. 492: Act 4. Scene 5-7. Recitativo. Nel padiglione a manca
14. Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), opera, K. 492: Act 4. Scene 5-7. No. 26. Aria. In quegl'anni in cui val poco
15. Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), opera, K. 492: Act 4. Scene 8. No. 27. Recitativo e Aria. Tutto è disposto
16. Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), opera, K. 492: Act 4. Scene 9 & 10. Recitativo. Signora, ella mi disse
17. Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), opera, K. 492: Act 4. Scene 9 & 10. No. 28. Recitativo e Aria. Giunse alfin il momento
18. Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), opera, K. 492: Act 4. Scene 11-14. No. 29. Finale. Pian pianin le andrò
19. Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), opera, K. 492: Act 4. Scene 11-14. Non la trovo
20. Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), opera, K. 492: Act 4. Scena ultima. Gente, gente

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #58840 in Music
• Released on: 2004-05-11
• Number of discs: 3
• Format: Import
• Dimensions: .98 pounds

Amazon.com
René Jacobs has done it again. Following on the heels of his superb Cosi fan tutte, he now offers a Nozze di Figaro which is alive and vibrant; it seems to be happening in real time. There's so little artifice in the characters' recitatives and the rhythm is so conversational that we get the impression of real people, in a real pickle of a situation. The singing/acting is stunning, with Simon Keenlyside's Count the best on CD (a dangerous man just in control of his anger), Veronique Gens' Countess girlish and womanly in equal measure, the Cherubino of Angelika Kirchschlager extraordinarily well sung and properly boyish, Patrizia Ciofi's Susanna witty and wise and Lorenzo Regazzo's Figaro slightly darker than others, but all the more interesting for it. Throughout, the pianoforte not only accompanies but acts as commentator on the action. I don't find it intrusive but some might. Jacobs' instrumentalists play with real energy and brightness. This is a performance which feels as if it's being seen as well as heard. Just grand. --Robert Levine

Customer Reviews

The Best Figaro Recording!
Unlike his Cosi the set does not include a special CD-ROM, but he includes so much written information explaining why he made the choices he made, such as ornamenation, while recording this great work.

I usually do not like period instrument recordings, but Jacobs makes a strong case for Mozart's works being presented this way. The Concerto Koln plays fantastically and the conducting is wonderful. His tempos are faster than most will be used to, but he provides evidence that Mozart himself preferred faster typos and also lets us know that Mozart left no metronome markings for Figaro, which is something I did not know. I think his faster typos make perfect sense, considering the action that is taking place on stage. For example, I have never understood a slow paced "Non so piu cosa son". Cherubino is a teenager who is in love and completely out of control. The text that is being sung also implies that a faster speed is appropriate. I am not talking patter fast, just faster than most conductors have given us. However, when times call for slow tempos, Jacobs delivers. I feel his conducting is near perfection.

Like his Cosi, he encourages ornamentation. However, his singers were provided with examples of aria ornamentation, from Figaro, before Mozart's death. Often times, I am anti-ornamentation because I feel singers go to far and basically ruin the piece rather than enhance it. However, the ornamentations on this recording are done beautifully and tastefully and certainly do enhance the work. The effect is marvelous in giving us something new and beautiful to listen to in an all familiar work. Most of the ornamentations are so small that they can be easily over looked.

The cast is exceptional. There is not one week link here, as fars as I am concerned.

Ladies and gentlemen, forget Kanawa, forget Schwartzkopf, forget Fleming, forget Janowitz, forget them all (well not seriously) because there is a new Countess in town - Veronique Gens. She is simply marvelous because she has the tonal beauty of Kanawa and Fleming with the tender characterization of Janowitz and Schwartzkopf. She was the ultimate determining factor in my purchasing this work, as I simply cannot tolerate a less than stellar Contessa. I was able to listen to the recording at the store and as soon as she sung the first few phrases of "Porgi, amor" the decision was made and I must say her small ornamentations in "Dovo sono" will simply rip your heart out - absolute and stunning beauty, like nothing I have ever heard. She has certainly topped what she did on Jacobs' Cosi and I am convinced that she is destined to keep company with the great Countess' of the past.

We all have been fortunate in that there have been many great recordings of this work and many great Counts on disc. Well, I dare say that Jacobs gives us the best Count yet on disc. Simon Keenlyside's scary yet noble characterization and vocalizations are fantastic. The ending scene with Gens is dynamite.

As much as I love this work, I will admit that Susanna sometimes drives me up the wall. Finally, I have a Susanna on disc, in Patrizia Ciofi, that I love and has given me the realization that Mozart did not create a character so annoying, rather those who have sung it are guilty of the crime. Moffo, on Guilini, is great, but every Susanna (from Popp to Battle) that I have on disc drives me up the wall. When I saw the broadcast of the Met's production with Bartoli in the lead, I wanted to jump through the TV and smack her. Ciofi here gives us a great performance and really seems to have grasped the character quite well. Unlike most every Susanna I have seen or heard, she does not overact (like Bartoli) or sing technically perfectly but void of emotion (Battle). Wonderful, that is what she is, wonderful.

Lorenzo Regazzo is great as Figaro, seemingly more serious and mistrusting than previous Figaro's on disc, and it works. He shines throughout the recording and his "Non piu andrai" is electric. He and Keenlyside are just perfect together. They really convey the relationship between the two characters wonderfully. It is really something and gave me a whole new understanding and appreciation of the relationship between these two characters.

In discussing the work, Jacobs tells us why Basilio's and Marcellina's 4th Act Arias, often omitted, are vital to the story. I must say that I agree. Mozart was a genious and for anyone to presume that they know better than him in deciding to remove these arias, is well ---- idiotic ---- Guilini and Gui. I was glad that Jacobs includes them, as most due, and the performances are great. Marcellina is one of my favorite characters and Marie McLaughlin does not disappoint. She shines in "Il capro e la capretta", which is one of my favorite arias in the work. I also very much enjoy Kobie van Rensburg's reading of Basilio. He really grasps the character and gives it a new twist, which I enjoy, especially in his 4th Act aria, really interesting and fresh interpretation.

Angelika Kirchschalger is fantastic as Cherubino. I have never had a problem with the Cherubino's I have on disc and do not know if I can qualify her as the best, but she is certainly right up there. The performance is first rate and the characterization is brilliant.

"La vendetta" is one of my favorite parts of this work and Antonio Abete gives us an electrifying performance in this aria and throughout. There are many Bartolo's on disc that I enjoy, so unlike the Count, Figaro, Countess, and Susanna, this performance doesn't stand out, but it is a great performance in a cast without a single weak link.

Everything about this recording is fantastic, from the dynamtic recitativo to the great finales. I know I have not offered up once piece of criticism, but I honestly cannot find one, and I am not alone - Classics Today gave this recording 10 out of 10. It is simply marvelous and is definitely better than his triumphant Cosi.

Let us hope that Jacobs records more of Mozart's works. I am hoping he gives me another Don Giovanni to love, as all others seem to be garbage in comparision with Guilini's work. It is very strange to me that perhaps the greatest opera ever written has one great recording. Go there next Jacbos, I have full faith in you.

What major reviews have said about this recording!
Reviews

The Times (9 Apr 2004)

"The wayward account of Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro by René Jacobs... will keep you busy and amazed . Utterly exhilarating."

The Independent on Sunday (28 Mar 2004)

"Concerto Koln's playing is beautifully balanced, with an unusually dynamic fortepiano continuo. Of the cast, Keenlyside's Count is most interesting: properly threatening and pleasingly unpredictable. Though Jacobs's tempi verge on the breathless in some arias, his control of the ensembles is exhilaratingly tight. Not a quaver is lost, not a nuance ignored."

The Sunday Telegraph

"I learned to love and appreciate the opera afresh...This is a major issue, marvellously recorded."

The Sunday Times

"After his exhilarating Così five years ago, Jacobs delivers a fresh view of this much-recorded music. I haven't enjoyed a Figaro so much in years."

The Observer CD of the Week

"Keenlyside's robust Count is every inch a match for Regazzo's sonorously Italian Figaro, with Gens a sumptuous Countess and Ciofi a feisty Susanna. Throw in Kirchschlager's beguiling Cherubino, plus terrific ensemble support, and you have a racy, pacy, really thrilling new account of one of the greatest of all operas."

The Daily Telegraph CD of the Week

"This is an undeniably exciting, challenging Figaro, with a cast who works brilliantly as a team. Veronique Gens brings a mingled finesse and vulnerability to the Countess's music, while Simon Keenlyside's Count - truly formidable, yet capable of honeyed suavity - is as charismatic as any on disc."

The Guardian CD of the Week

"This is as fine a Figaro as has appeared on disc in the past 20 years, and certainly the best of the four so far that have used period instruments. The cast has no significant weaknesses, and the playing of the Concerto Köln is alive to every nuance of the score. Most important of all, this is a version of Figaro that sounds as if it has come straight out of the theatre, as if the spontaneity of a live performance had been reconciled with the accuracy and attention to detail afforded by studio takes. There is always the twinkling sense of dramatic give-and-take that is the hallmark of a good performance of Figaro in the opera house, and for which Jacobs must be given most of the praise; his approach to the score is a perfect amalgam of the scholarly and the practical."

The Daily Telegraph (24 Apr 2004) Classical CD of the Week

"This is an undeniably exciting, challenging Figaro, with a cast who works brilliantly as a team. Veronique Gens brings a mingled finesse and vulnerability to the Countess's music, while Simon Keenlyside's Count - truly formidable, yet capable of honeyed suavity - is as charismatic as any on disc."

Gramophone Editor's Choice

"One of the most dynamic period-instrument conductors in Europe, René Jacobs, is also, thankfully, one of the most prolific in the studios. How splendid then, that Gramophone's current Record Label of the Year is carrying the torch for recorded opera with a superb new Figaro. With Simon Keenlyside and Véronique Gens heading the cast, this set captures some of today's finest singers."

ClassicsToday.com Artistic Quality 10 / 10 Sound Quality

"René Jacobs here gives us a "Nozze" that's so vibrant as to be practically visible. Simon Keenlyside's Count is simply the best on disc... Jacobs is the true star.. he brilliantly realizes the comedy of the text and music. This is top of the line."

Strong ensemble work, some excellent singer, generally strong and even cast.
Some say the best recorded Figaro is Levine's, some say Boehm's, some say E. Kleiber's.
Some claim that the best Countess Rosina came from Te Kanawa, some say Schwarzkopf, now some say Veronique Gens.
Well, the foregoings are all very good.
Neverthelss, Rene Jacobs' account in this recording is good in an unique sense.
I could not remember correctly if the Levine version is the one with Anne Sofie von Otter and Barbara Bonney. If that's the case, well, that one is also good in that it has an outstanding ensemble.
Jacobs' version is also strong in emsemble work. The long Act II of Le Nozze di Figaro, if not rehearsed adequately with an even cast of musicians (orchestra and singers alike), could drive audiences mad (or 'up the wall' as some say here). It was recorded that this session alone containes over 900 non-stop measures of music. Jacobs succeeded admirably with his cast in delivering a crystalline piece, rich in harmonies with floating melodies continuously. It was almost like a Wagnerian continuation of unending melodies.
Well, Gens and Ciofi are all more than adequate, though I would hesitate to put them right on top ahead of predecessors like Schwarzkopf, Janowitz, Della Casa, Gueden and Popp and Bonney.
Lorenzo Regazzo did an almost perfect Figaro, just a little bit less in the all-famous 'Non piu andrai', but then only less than Siepi on Kleiber.
The real standout in the cast in my view is Simon Keenlyside's Count di Almaviva.
He has the right tone, the right nuances, the right mood. Don't suppose Almaviva is an out-and-out rogue. This s a conceited, spoilt, calculating yet naive character. Portrayal of such a character is never easy. Keenlyside did just right - no more, no less. You can catch the aristocratic pride from his singing, at the same time his calculating and suspicious nature. Not even George London did it better on Karajan's recording in 1954.