Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART (1756-1791)
Mitridate, Re di Ponto (1770) [167:43]
Mitridate – Mathias Zachariassen (tenor)
Aspasia – Henriette Bonde-Hansen (soprano)
Sifare – Maria Fontosh (soprano)
Farnace – Kiristina Hammarström (soprano)
Ismene – Lisa Larsson (soprano)
Arbate – Sine Bundgaard (soprano)
Marzio – Anders J. Dahlin (tenor)
Danish Radio Sinfonietta/Adam Fischer
rec. Danish Radio Concert Hall, Copenhagen, March 2002
Hybrid SACD
DRS 6.220580-82 [3 CDs: 68:23 + 56:51 + 42:30]
Listening to Mitridate it is all too easy to forget that this is the
work of a 14-year old with barely any experience of opera and none whatsoever
in writing for a large-scale theatre. During his Italian tour with his father
in 1769-70, the young Mozart so impressed Count Firmian of Milan that he commissioned
an opera from him to be performed in the 1770 season. The opera was to be
premiered in the Teatro Regio Ducale in Milan, one of Italy’s three leading
theatres of the time. That Mozart could even attempt such a task at such a
callow age and with so little experience is remarkable. That he should succeed
so well is nothing short of a miracle!
It’s important to keep reminding yourself of this as you listen to the opera
because it isn’t an instantly appealing piece. It’s a true opera seria
and so Mozart has to abide by a number of conventions which don’t always appeal
to a modern audience, most notably the long arias strung out between huge
stretches of recitative. Furthermore his inexperience shows in a few places,
such as casting Aspasia’s first aria, a plea to be released from the rigours
of fate, as a storming piece of coloratura bombast. Likewise the staccato
writing for the angry Mitridate as he rages against his treacherous son comes
dangerously close to the comic antics of Don Curzio in Figaro; for
more on this see the article on the opera in the Penguin Opera Guide.
That said, there is a great deal of hugely attractive music, most notably
the gorgeous Act 2 duet for Sifare and a French horn, here sung and played
most beautifully. The drama of the accompagnato recitatives is incredibly
striking, especially the sequence in Act 3 when Aspasia is presented with
a cup of poison to drink, and the opera isn’t a collection of wall-to-wall
da capo arias – there is plenty of variety and drama.
Adam Fischer pays this music the great compliment of taking it seriously and,
following on from his recent recording of Lucio Silla with these Danish
forces, he does a very good job of reminding us of just how attractive the
precocious boy’s genius could be. The finest thing about this recording is
the playing of the small Danish Radio Sinfonietta. The use of modern instruments
instantly sets this recording apart from the set’s chief rival on Decca with
Christoph Rousset and Les Talens Lyriques. The playing fizzes with period
awareness while placing it firmly in the same lineage as Idomeneo,
Tito and the Da Ponte trilogy. Fischer’s sense of pacing is strong
too, all-important in the recitatives which, while one might wish they were
a little briefer, seldom send one reaching for the fast-forward button.
His singers are a mixed bag. His decision not to use any counter-tenors means
that we are confronted with a battalion of sopranos. This isn’t a bad thing
in itself, but it makes for very little contrast in the nearly three hours
of music. The voices can sound rather similar too, which doesn’t help. During
the early section of the duet for Sifare and Aspasia that ends Act 2 it sounds
just like one singer in an aria rather than two voices alternating in duet.
That said, it is these two characters who have the most notable voices in
the set. Maria Fontosh sings the castrato role of Sifare with beauty, tenderness
and just the right touch of heroism in the final act. The unmissable Henriette
Bonde-Hansen is Aspasia: her very first aria, with its storming coloratura
features a take-no-prisoners accompaniment, while make your hair stand on
end. It’s just a shame that there is nothing like it to follow in the rest
of the opera! Lisa Larsson’s Ismene challenges her for precision of coloratura,
but her voice is overall much sweeter and lighter, while Kiristina Hammarström
captures well the grasping character of the treacherous Farnace.
What a shame that the casting of Mitridate himself was not stronger! Mathias
Zachariassen is just not cut out for the challenges of this role. He is noticeably
stretched by the challenges of his entrance aria and his effortful runs and
leaps make for very uncomfortable listening. He is understandably more settled
in the gentler numbers, but I could never shake off the feeling that he just
was not happy in the role. This comes through too many times, detracting from
both the drama and the music, most notably in his rather emasculated rage
aria in Act 2. It’s such a pity, and one would reasonably have expected that
such a central character should have been cast from more strength.
So if you need modern instruments in this work then you should explore this
edition with a degree of confidence for the women and the excellent playing.
However, if you’re fine with period instruments then the superior singing
on Rousset’s version will still win you over. It’s surprising to find stars
like Sabbatini, Bartoli and Dessay giving their time to this minor work, and
there is even a tiny cameo from Juan Diego Florez, but they all sound fantastic
and they revel in the opportunities to show off as, surely, must have the
original cast in Mozart’s day. Rousset had been criticised for turning the
opera into a star vehicle, but when it sounds as good as it does there then
that’s just fine with me. A good job from Fischer, but the competition pips
him to the post.
The booklet notes are first rate, by the way, and include full texts and translations.
The sound quality is superb.
Simon Thompson