Yannick Nézet-Séguin
With the concert performance and recording of 'The Abduction from the Seraglio,' the Mozart opera project initiated by Yannick Nézet-Séguin and Rolando Villazón enters its third phase. The tenor's increasingly profound engagement with Mozart began in Salzburg with 'Il re pastore' and 'Lucio Silla,' continued with 'Don Giovanni' and 'Così fan tutte' in Baden-Baden, and was complemented by a recording of Mozart concert arias. Critics praised the vibrant conductor Nézet-Séguin as a consistent force, together with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, which reliably delivers historically accurate tonal colors, and the Vocal Ensemble Rastatt with its unified, powerful sound. In the dialogues, Villazón impressed with his charming presence and skillfully employed Spanish accent. The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung praised both Diana Damrau for her brilliant interpretation of Konstanze, with wonderful moments of vocal authenticity, and Anna Prohaska, who, as an extraordinary blonde, lent unexpected intimacy and depth to the extroverted role through her expressiveness, humor, and joie de vivre.
The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung praised both Diana Damrau for her brilliant interpretation of Konstanze, with wonderful moments of vocal authenticity, and Anna Prohaska, who, as an extraordinary blonde, lent the extroverted role unexpected intimacy and depth.