Le Nozze di Figaro

The presence of superstar conductor Gustavo Dudamel is likely the main selling point for this 2015 production of Mozart’s masterpiece from Berlin’s Staatsoper Unter den Linden. Dudamel conducts the Staatskapelle Berlin in a smooth, somewhat romantic version of the score that is very sensitive to the singers, who are generally excellent, with Ildebrando D’Arcangeio’s lustful Count Almaviva and Marianne Crebassa’s page Cherubino especially impressive, while Dorothea Röschmann’s sorrowful Countess and Anna Prohaska’s Susanna (the maid the count lusts after) are not far behind. The only principal who fails fully to impress is Lauri Vasar, whose Figaro—the count’s valet and Susanna’s betrothed—is too lightweight in every sense. What holds this production back from the front rank, however, is the physical staging. Jürgen Flimm sets the opera at a summer house during the 1920s, using a walkway in front of the pit for entirely too much of the action and having characters lurk in the background of scenes to eavesdrop on conversations—a tiresome cliché. Moreover, Ursula Kudrna’s costumes are often peculiar, with the countess’s pantaloons being the most obvious offender. Flimm (or perhaps Dudamel) also indulges in an arbitrary transposition of musical numbers in Act III, a jarring change for viewers familiar with the original order. But even though it falls short in some respects, this is still appealing, especially for devotees of Dudamel. Presented in DTS 5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1, and PCM stereo on DVD, and DTS-HD 5.1 and PCM stereo on Blu-ray, this is recommended. (F. Swietek)