Mozart - Die Zauberflöte - Röschmann, Beczala, Salminen - FischerSarastro - Matti Salminen, Tamino - Piotr Beczala, An Elderly Priest [Speaker] - Wolfgang Schöne, The Queen of Night - Désirée Rancatore, Pamina - Dorothea Röschmann, First Lady - Cécile Perrin, Second Lady - Helene Schneiderman, Third Lady - Hélène Perraguin, Papageno - Detlef Roth
Papagena - Gaële Le Roi, Monostatos - Uwe Peper, First Priest - Bjarni Thor Kristinsson, Second Priest - Wilfried Gahmlich, First man in armour - Robert Künzli, Second man in armour - Bjarni Thor Kristinsson, First Slave - Vadim Artamonov, Second Slave - Olivier Berg, Third Slave - Paolo Bondi, The three boys - Soloists of the Tölzer Knabenchor
Chorus and Orchestra of the Paris National Opera
Ivan Fischer, conductor
Benno Besson, stage director
A glance at the cast reveals many international stars, but at this stage quite a few were yet to achieve real stardom. Dorothea Röschmann’s Pamina is wonderfully fresh, light of voice yet beautifully focused. This is a role she is now fully identified with, going on to record it with Abbado - his award-winning DG set - and Colin Davis at Covent Garden. The baby-faced Tamino of Piotr Beczala suits her to perfection, and his ringing tenor is a pleasure to hear, especially ‘Dies Bildnis’, a model of Wunderlich-like head voice and creamy tone. Detlef Roth’s young, energetic Papageno is a comic delight, getting quite a few appropriate laughs but displaying a rich, dark baritone. Gaël le Roi’s Papagena is just as delightful. Désirée Rancacourt’s Queen of the Night pings her two famous coloratura arias out with ringing accuracy, though the portrayal is icy rather than frightening. Still, her first appearance is a real theatrical tour-de-force, quite spectacular. --Arkivmusic
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