MusicNew Music Reviews

MOZART OVERTURES
Norwegian National Opera Orchestra
Rinaldo Alessandrini – Conductor
Naïve OP 30479

One would expect to find umpteen recordings of Mozart’s Overtures, but in fact there are only four highly rated CD releases listed in the Penguin Guide to Recorded Classical Music 2010. So this new release on the French Naïve label is a welcome addition and the audio quality is 10 out of 10. The project was recorded in mid 2008 in the superb acoustic of the Oslo Opera House, Norway and then released during the course of 2009.

As a first class opera orchestra, none of the Mozart overtures are strangers but out of Mozart’s 22 musical dramas 12 of the overtures appear on this release. Some overtures are impossible to record as they run straight into the start of the first act and in the case of the overtures to Don Giovanni and Die Entfürung aus dem Serail  the concert versions had to be used. However, conductor Rinaldo Alessandrini also looked through the operas to find other instrumental pieces that could be added to this production simply for their beauty, charm and symphonic leanings.

In general, Mozart’s composition style regarding his (opera) overtures is not particularly different to what you would find in his symphony scores – there is the same complexity of harmony and instrumentation. Over time in all his output his style grew more complex and to an extent extremely ornate. Like in all his operas, the singers are often given very “exposed” lines to sing, so too in his overtures the instrumentalists are required to play with the utmost discipline and they need to listen to each other.

So apart from the sparkling overtures there are five additional marches and a short ballet piece. This is certainly a release I want for my own collection. It is supremely musical and some of the creative phrasing and attention to detail leaves you with raised eyebrows.

by Mike Ford