Essential Mozart Opera is a very listenable collection of highlights from
Mozart's seven most frequently performed stage works, well suited to the casual listener wanting an introduction to this music. Assembled from Decca's catalog of complete opera recordings, it offers more uniformity of sound and approach than some samplers, if for no other reason than that four of the source recordings were conducted by
Georg Solti. The quality of the performances and the selection of excerpts from the individual works are a little uneven, but in each case the listener will hear some (though not nearly all) of the best moments from each piece. Highlights of the collection include
Frederica von Stade's "Voi che sapete,"
Samuel Ramey's "Non più andrai," and
Kiri Te Kanawa's "Dove Sono," all from The Marriage of Figaro;
Edita Gruberova's "Marten aller Arten" from The Abduction From the Seraglio; and
Lucia Popp's "Batti, batti" from Don Giovanni. Each one is among the finest recorded performances of those excerpts available anywhere. The inclusion of several overtures is a nice touch; among the unfortunate omissions (undoubtedly for reasons of available space) are Sarastro's arias from The Magic Flute and the beautiful "O padre adorato" from Idomeneo. In the end, anyone looking to this collection for their first experience with tunefulness and musical variety of
Mozart's operas will find a great deal to enjoy.