Mozart - La Clemenza di Tito - James Levine - Orfeo d'Or

James Levine and the whole cast are very good in this live recording, but in my humble opinion is the extraordinary Tatiana Troyanos  who steals the show here.

Review

"Thankfully, days are past when K 621 was dismissed as statuary and marmoreal at that. Its renaissance commenced in the mid-Seventies with the release of Mozart: La Clemenza Di Tito which is still one of the Top Ten recordings of Mozart ever made: it's stellar. Further impetus came from Festung Europa. Recorded at the Salzburg Festival on the 3rd of August 1977, here is the cast, headed by Big Jim and the Vienna Philharmonic: Hollweg ,Neblett, Malfitano,Troyanos , Howells,  Rydl .

First and foremost, the stereo recording is excellent – and the Vienna Philharmonic has a lion’s share. It plays fierily. Indeed, given Tito’s standing at the time, everyone sings with zealotry if not missionary fervour. I cannot fault Levine’s pacing. He clearly believes in the drama of it all and stokes it accordingly like a fireman in a Union Pacific 4-8-4 locomotive. Other than the pronounced use of vibrato from most of the cast (which is more of an observation than annoyance) there’s much here to enjoy even if Davis is not unhorsed. Troyanos revels in the torments of Sesto and supremely so. Neblett has a big voice and she belts it out convincingly as a harpy extraordinaire. Maliftano is silky as Servilia. Hollweg may not have much bloom to his voice but at least he sings imperiously and not like a wimp. Rydl could have dined out on this performance for the remainder of his career. Anne Howells does what she can with Annio. Everything here works – not least the big ensembles at the end of each act which are seismic in impact. Suspension of disbelief – always a key determinant in K 621 – is apparent upon closure.

To his dying day, Mozart believed in Opera Seria. You should too!" - 
Bernard Michael O'Hanlon - www.amazon.co.uk