Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Overture - London Philharmonic Orchestra, Georg Solti
2. "Cinque... deci... venti..." - "Cosa stai misurando" - Samuel Ramey, Lucia Popp, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Georg Solti
3. "Se a caso Madama" - "Or bene, ascolta, e taci" - Samuel Ramey, Lucia Popp, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Georg Solti
4. Bravo, signor padrone...Se vuol ballare...Ed aspettaste - Samuel Ramey, Kurt Moll, Jane Berbié, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Georg Solti
5. "La vendetta" - "Tutto ancor non ho perso" - Kurt Moll, Jane Berbié, Lucia Popp, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Georg Solti
6. "Via resti servita" - "Va là, vecchia pedante" - Jane Berbié, Lucia Popp, Frederica von Stade, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Georg Solti
7. Non so più...Ah, son perduto! - Frederica von Stade, Lucia Popp, Thomas Allen, Robert Tear, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Georg Solti
8. Cosa sento!...Basilio, in traccia tosto...Giovani - Thomas Allen, Lucia Popp, Frederica von Stade, Samuel Ramey, The London Opera Chorus, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Georg Solti
9. "Non più andrai" - Samuel Ramey, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Georg Solti
10. Porgi amor...Vieni, cara Susanna - Kiri Te Kanawa, Lucia Popp, Samuel Ramey, Frederica von Stade, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Georg Solti
11. "Voi che sapete" - "Bravo! che bella voce!" - Frederica von Stade, Kiri Te Kanawa, Lucia Popp, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Georg Solti
12. Venite! Inginocchiatevi...Quante buffonerie! - Lucia Popp, Kiri Te Kanawa, Frederica von Stade, Thomas Allen, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Georg Solti

Disc 2:

1. "Che novità!" - Thomas Allen, Kiri Te Kanawa, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Georg Solti
2. "Susanna, or via, sortite" - "Dunque, voi non aprite" - Thomas Allen, Kiri Te Kanawa, Lucia Popp, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Georg Solti
3. "Aprite, presto" - "O guarda il demonietto!" - "Tutto è come io lasciai" - Lucia Popp, Frederica von Stade, Thomas Allen, Kiri Te Kanawa, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Georg Solti
4. "Esci, ormai, garzon malnato" - "Susanna!... Signore!" - Thomas Allen, Kiri Te Kanawa, Lucia Popp, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Georg Solti
5. "Signore, di fuori" - "Ah! signore... signor!" - Samuel Ramey, Thomas Allen, Lucia Popp, Kiri Te Kanawa, Giorgio Tadeo, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Georg Solti
6. "Voi signor, che giusto siete" - Jane Berbié, Robert Tear, Kurt Moll, Thomas Allen, Lucia Popp, Kiri Te Kanawa, Samuel Ramey, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Georg Solti
7. "Che imbarazzo è mai questo" - "Via, fatti core" - Thomas Allen, Kiri Te Kanawa, Lucia Popp, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Georg Solti
8. "Crudel! perché finora" - "E perché fosti meco" - Thomas Allen, Lucia Popp, Samuel Ramey, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Georg Solti
9. Hai già vinta la causa!...Vedrò mentr'io sospiro... - Thomas Allen, Philip Langridge, Jane Berbié, Samuel Ramey, Kurt Moll, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Georg Solti
10. "Riconosci in questo amplesso" - "Eccovi, o caro amico" - "Andiamo, andiam, bel paggio" - Jane Berbié, Samuel Ramey, Kurt Moll, Philip Langridge, Thomas Allen, Lucia Popp, Yvonne Kenny, Frederica von Stade, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Georg Solti

Disc 3:

1. E Susanna non vien...Dove sono i biei momenti...Io - Kiri Te Kanawa, Giorgio Tadeo, Thomas Allen, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Georg Solti
2. Cosa mi narri!...Che soave zeffiretto...Piegato è - Kiri Te Kanawa, Lucia Popp, Yvonne Kenny, Giorgio Tadeo, Thomas Allen, Samuel Ramey, The London Opera Chorus, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Georg Solti
3. Ecco la marcia...Eh, già, solita usanza - Samuel Ramey, Lucia Popp, Thomas Allen, Kiri Te Kanawa, Lynda Russell, Anne Mason, The London Opera Chorus, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Georg Solti
4. L'ho perduta...Barbarina, cos'hai? - Yvonne Kenny, Samuel Ramey, Jane Berbié, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Georg Solti
5. Il capro e la capretta...Nel padiglione a manca - Jane Berbié, Yvonne Kenny, Samuel Ramey, Robert Tear, Kurt Moll, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Georg Solti
6. "In quegli anni in cui val poco" - Robert Tear, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Georg Solti
7. "Tutto è disposto" - "Aprite un po' quegli occhi" - Samuel Ramey, Lucia Popp, Jane Berbié, Kiri Te Kanawa, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Georg Solti
8. Giunse alfin il momento...Deh, vieni, non tardar... - Lucia Popp, Samuel Ramey, Frederica von Stade, Kiri Te Kanawa, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Georg Solti
9. Pian pianin le andrò più presso...Tutto è tranquillo - Frederica von Stade, Kiri Te Kanawa, Thomas Allen, Lucia Popp, Samuel Ramey, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Georg Solti
10. "Gente, gente, all'armi" - London Philharmonic Orchestra, Georg Solti, Thomas Allen, Samuel Ramey, Philip Langridge, Robert Tear, Giorgio Tadeo, Kurt Moll, Lucia Popp, Kiri Te Kanawa

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4290 in Music
• Released on: 1984-01-20
• Number of discs: 3
• Format: Box set
• Dimensions: 1.08 pounds
• Running time: 168 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
An all-star cast and conductor, with an equally stellar set of recording engineers working at the dawn of the digital era, have produced a Marriage of Figaro that is probably the one to pick if you can stand living with only one. Georg Solti, a conductor sometimes noted for violence, has mellowed considerably for Mozart; the conducting is vigorous, the tempos often sharply contrasted, but the work is seen as a whole (a very large, complex whole) and balance and proportion are maintained. The whole cast is fine; the most notable work is done by Kiri Te Kanawa, who owned the role of the Countess for a generation; Frederica von Stade, a hilarious and musically sensitive Cherubino; Samuel Ramey as Figaro; and Thomas Allen as the Count. --Joe McLellan

Customer Reviews

A recording that does justice to Mozart's score!
I simply cannot find a fault with this recording - Ramey's Figaro and von Stade's Cherubino are, for me, highlights, but the entire cast, orchestra and conductor perform without flaw. The sheer joyous radiance of the music and the performing makes me smile every time I listen to it. This must surely be the best recording of Figaro around? If I could have but one CD set in my collection, I would have to have this.

Simply The Best!
Although this recording is now seventeen years old, it remains (for me, at least) the best one available by a long way. The all-star cast cannot be bettered and I would single out Lucia Popp for her brilliant portrayal of Susanna. If you only want one recording of "Le Nozze di Figaro", you won't getter a better one than this.

Technically and aesthetically brilliant production
The furious pace of Solti's overture annoyed some early critics but I find it totally in keeping with the inane plot of this great opera. Described as demonstration quality by the Penguin Guide on release, this version of Mozart's masterpiece is also a masterpiece of human engineering. Twenty years on, it is still the yardstick for opera on CD. Now for the music. If you know opera, you know how good this cast is, and they perform at their peak here. It's silly to have favourite bits of opera, but we all do it, and mine is less than four minutes on disk 1. Cherubino's aria "Voi, che sapete" is, in my view, one of the most sublimely beautiful pieces of music ever written. Only Mozart could have assigned such a joy to so ludicrous a character. But, the whole work is littered with almost equal gems. I've had this since it was released and it still sparkles.