Well now, here's an
intriguing disc; one-third documentary
and two-thirds filmed opera performed
in the Harem of the Topkapi Palace in
Istanbul. The setting is marvellous,
with corridors, rooms and passages decked
in the opulence and motifs of the Ottoman
Empire. The outside gardens are beautiful
with wonderful views of the Palace,
whilst from its high situation there
are dramatic pictures of the Bosphorus
and over Istanbul. The only jar is seeing
modern container ships and tankers plying
their trade along the waterway, which
is at variance with Mozart's music.
The documentary part
of the film concentrates on the dramatic
production of the opera and also gives
a historical overview to Mozart's life
at the time. For instance, the role
of Konstanze is discussed in relevance
to her future as the wife of Wolfgang;
it is of course the only time the name
was featured in any of Mozart's operas,
and it is tempting to presume that the
inclusion of her name was due to the
romantic attachment (they were not even
engaged at this time). Mozart had also
just struck out on his own, having procured
a dismissal from the service of the
archbishop of Vienna, and he was also
struggling to assert himself against
the overbearing relationship of his
father. Die Entführung was
Mozart's most successful opera, and
he certainly gained much needed income
for several years to come. The other
interesting fact is that Mozart did
not actually visit Turkey, despite the
influence the music of that country
had upon him. It is certainly an interesting
and fascinating feature of this production
to be able to see the development of
the opera in progress, and of course
the breadth and depth of setting could
never be matched in the theatre.
The musical part is
set out in fourteen "highlights" with
spoken dialogue in between as is the
manner in the opera or Singspiel
which art form Mozart was responsible
for creating. The soloists are all excellent
and the two sopranos are particularly
well suited to their roles, with virtually
vibrato-free voices, and Yelda
Kodalli in particular relishes in the
coloratura passages of her part.
Peter Rose is also imposing as the janissary
to Pasha Selim with a rich full voice
and good stage presence. Oliver Tobias
as Pasha Selim has only a speaking role,
but brings dignity and gravitas to
the part. Paul Groves I am afraid I
found wooden in his actions, although
he has a natural light and pleasant
tenor voice. Pedrillo, played by Lynton
Atkinson, did not feature enough in
the highlights to form a critical appraisal,
although where he did appear the outcome
was satisfactory.
The booklet gives a
reasonable description of the plot of
the opera, but no libretti. There are
subtitles on the screen which on the
whole are adequate. There is one glaring
mistake in the text however where in
Act III it states that the singing of
Pedrillo awakens Osmin; it is very obvious
in the film that it is the barking of
the palace dogs which is responsible
for rousing him.
The Scottish Chamber
Orchestra have made numerous recordings
with Mackerras, particularly of the
Mozart symphonies, and play well with
commendable lightness and flair.
As a production this
disc gives a very reasonable synopsis
of the whole; it would be nice to think
that a DVD of the whole opera was in
preparation. Incidentally, I note that
a CD version of this performance already
exists on Telarc CD80544, recorded in
1999; no dates are given for when the
film was made.
John Portwood
Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Choir/Sir Charles
Mackerras 
DVD
Opus Arte OA0891D [88'04"]