As well as a conductor, Sir Charles Mackerras is a scholar. He
studied the performance
practice of Mozart during the composer’s lifetime,
becoming convinced that 20
th century performances
did not reflect what the composer intended. He was able to
put his researches into practice with interested singers in
various theatres and was well received.
For
more than two decades the conductor himself and opera loving
record buyers shared a frustration. He was frustrated to
be overlooked when it came to recording his interpretations
as the various major companies preferred their contracted
maestros, whether experienced Mozartians in the opera house
or not. All was saved when Telarc came along with a series
of recordings in the 1990s of which this
Die Zauberflöte was
one of the earliest. These recordings do allow us to hear
what
Mackerras had been on about for the
previous twenty or more years. His concerns, as he explains
in a brief
booklet essay (pp.14-16), concern two major facets of performance.
First are ornaments by the singers of the vocal line in
the form of appoggiatura and ornaments and secondly orchestral
instrumentation and tempi which have a fundamental effect
on the character and feel of a performance. Mackerras argues
that the more sonorous modern day instruments demand bigger
voices and mean a slowing down of the music, often making
it more ponderous. When Mackerras made this recording the
period instrument bands and their conductors had already
broken the tempo barrier but did not tackle the matter
of
ornaments with any consistency. In this recording appoggiaturas
are sung as practised in Mozart’s time, and there are occasional
improvised ornaments. The appoggiaturas, actually written
by Mozart as small notes, are sung at their noted value.
Mackerras explains that these often provide a lilting syncopation
to the melody and sometimes give variety to the expression
of the words as in Tamino’s
Die Bildnis aria (tr.3).
This
disc provides a generous selection from the complete recording.
It contains all the major arias of the opera omitting the
dialogue and abbreviating the two finales and Pamina’s
Ach
ich fühl’s (tr. 16). If you want the sound of Sarastro’s
lions it is given as an appendix (tr. 23) for appropriate
insertion. Mackerras’s typically fleet and well-shaped overture
is included (tr. 1) and constitutes an excellent introduction
as well as illustrating the comparison in speeds between
his and other interpreters. Mackerras’ speed at 6.30 minutes
compares with Haitink’s 7.30. Böhm’s 7.14 and Marriner, at
6.53, seemingly fleet in comparison with them. The same kinds
of differences in speeds are found in the remainder of the
disc and bring a new perspective to the work. Where the ideal
falls down is in the size and flexibility of the voices of
some of the soloists. Neither Barbara Hendricks nor June
Anderson can fully realise Mackerras’s ideal. In compensation
Thomas Allen (trs. 2, 6 and 19) and Robert Lloyd (trs.
9 and 14), perhaps reflecting their extensive experience
in
these roles on stage, which I have enjoyed, bring greater
character to their interpretations.
Telarc
have a reputation as truthful recordists not passing the
digital signal through any processing device. Recorded
in Edinburgh’s Usher Hall, it was made in association with performances
scheduled during the city’s renowned International Festival.
Whilst these highlights might not tempt you to buy the complete
opera, they do provide a cheap and ideal opportunity to sample
insights into Mackerras’s seminal thinking as to the performing
practice of Mozart’s operas as would have been heard in the
composer’s lifetime. This thinking has become more fully
recognised through these Telarc recordings and has subsequently,
and increasingly, influenced contemporary practice and
justifies my recommendation.
Robert J Farr
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Pamina,
Barbara Hendricks (sop); Tamino, Jerry Hadley (ten);
Papageno, Thomas Allen, (bar); Sarastro, Robert
Lloyd (bass); Queen of the Night, June Anderson, (sop);
Papagena, Ulrike Steinsky, (sop); Speaker, Gottfried
Hornik (bar); Monostatos, Helmut Wildhaber (ten) 
