Beautiful nearly authentic staging. The use of a modern telescope and magnifying glass is unfortunate, as replicas are available.

Superb ensemble performance that is true to Mozart's naughty side in spirit. Cheap costumes and brief nudity detract slighly. Viewers who are unwilling to accept Mozart's crude sense of humor will be offended. Very funny for the rest of us.

Not great Mozart, good performance. Julia Kleiter is a soprano to watch.

Philosophical opera "sexed up" to the point of distraction. Fun,if you don't think about what this does to the plot. Only for those of us who can turn off critical thinking. Very difficult music that is a bit beyond what these singers can handle.

A bit overdone, some semi nudity. See my review for details.

Bits and pieces mashed together with an annoying side show. Extreme example of a stage director venting his frustration with an impossible task. Buy this if you want proof that America is no longer a leader in bad taste, but don't try to watch the whole thing.

Mozart's incomplete opera Zaide alternates with modern atonal connecting music. Disturbing staging. Not recommended, unless you have a taste for the truly bizzare.

A beautiful authentic staging with great voices.

A fun regietheater version which is not true to the libretto but has a very interesting twist. An on stage water fight between Blonde (Malin Hartelius)and Osmin (Franz Hawlata) is worth the price of the disk.

Very simple but effective staging. Good voices and acting. True to the libretto.

This 2006 production from Zurich is elegant and earthy at the same time. For the most part it has a 1930 look, with costumes that complement this good looking cast. Singing is good to excellent. Welser-Moest conducts with a level of sensitivity seldom heard.

A rather confused staging with little sense of ensemble. Everyone does their own thing without much relating to others. Great conducting. Strongly recommend La Scala DVD below, even though sound is not quite as good. This will only be noticed by direct comparison on very good equipment.

Dr Seuss childrens book costumes and bright saturated colors detract from a beautiful performance. Staging makes following the story difficult. Although my first picks are vocally less exciting, they are true to Mozart's intentions. One can emphasize the Masonic symbols or the comic/magic elements.

Most intellectual version which is short on scenery, yet features the masonic part of the story. Pamina and Papageno are superb, but Queen of the Night is no match for Damrau on M22 above. Other singers are very good, but not exceptional. Very logical production, once you get past the bare chested serpent bearer in the opening.

A very dynamic performance in beautiful sound. Sometimes the orchestra overtakes the voices, but the overall effect is thrilling. This is the first time I got a sense of how close Mozart came to being as dramatic as Beethoven. Staging is simple, somewhat dark, yet very effective. Some listeners have been disapointed by Eva Mei as Vitellia, but I find most of her singing excellent.