Mozart Opera Glyndebourne Collection
March 2006 Reviewed by: Wes Marshall Format: DVD	(all ratings out of 5): Overall Enjoyment Picture Quality Packaged Extras Sound Quality

Boxed sets are tricky things. They look nice on our shelves, lending satisfaction that in one fell swoop we’ve covered an important area of the repertoire. Generally, they come at a discount to the price of buying all the discs separately. For collectors, they can even be objects of pride.

But just like ordering the Blue Plate Special at the local diner -- no substitutions! -- you may get stuck with something you don’t want, and even start wondering if those Brussels Sprouts on your plate are there because they couldn’t sell them yesterday and they need to get rid of them.

Just so with this largest-ever box of DVDs of Mozart operas. The people at Glyndebourne are known for putting on stellar shows, generally well cast and using the best conductors, stage designers, directors and singers available. With 72 years under their belts, you might think that they could put forth nigh-on-perfect versions of these venerable operas. Well, two out of six isn’t too bad.

Let’s get past the worst first. Idomeneo uses a cut version of the opera and the sound is awful. The whole production has the feel that the crew knew they were putting on second-rate Mozart, so they decided to do a second-rate job. Don Giovanni, which should have the twin titans of Benjamin Luxon and Bernard Haitink to recommend it, still comes off somewhat dank and uninteresting. There are your Brussels Sprouts.

The other four performances belong on the meat side of the plate. While all come from TV productions at least a quarter century old, and the sound and picture suffer in comparison with today’s best, each has something special to recommend it.

Così fan tutte offers a good opportunity to hear Thomas Allen as a young man, but it also offers the chance to hear John Pritchard, gloriously conducting the London Philharmonic in a most engaging way. Die Entfuhhrung aus dem Serail features a cast largely unknown (at least to me) but uniformly good singers. This is a singspiel -- i.e., part of the work is spoken instead of sung. Not my favorite format, but the director does a fine job and the finale is handled beautifully.

The last two operas are like adding a fine, mature Bordeaux to our Blue Plate Special. As these performances age, they seem to gain in stature. Le Nozze di Figaro has the most extravagant casting imaginable. Putting Ileana Cotrubas, Kiri Te Kanawa (was she gorgeous when she was in her 20s), Benjamin Luxon and Frederica von Stade all on one stage was an amazing feat, but having them all in perfect voice, ready for the show and directed this sensitively -- well, we can only be thankful the cameras were rolling. And while the casting for Die Zauberflöte may not be as generous, it is superb at every turn, and we can be thankful we get such an eyeful of pop artist David Hockney’s wild sets.

This box set lists for $105.98, but Amazon sells it for $94.99, and I’ve seen it going for as little as $65. Six Mozart operas, 15 hours worth, even if they aren’t the best possible performances, are a bargain at these prices. You could pay as much for a first-class modern version of the last two operas and miss the first four.

À la carte or Blue Plate? Tough decision. I'd go à la carte and pick the best (probably multiple) performances available. But if this box were the sum total of my Mozart opera collection, I’d still have years of satisfaction.

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