# Contest: Le Nozze di Figaro - Overture



## Op.123 (Mar 25, 2013)

Fritz Busch 






Herbert von Karajan






Bruno Walter 






René Jacobs 






I hope I'm not encroaching on anybodys territory here! I thought this might be interesting.


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## ALT (Mar 1, 2021)

Erich Kleiber’s is indispensable.


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## ALT (Mar 1, 2021)

Op.123 said:


> I hope I'm not encroaching on anybodys territory here! I thought this might be interesting.


You don’t need to and shouldn’t feel obligated to apologize for initiating a contest of your own.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

When Busch started I had to check my YouTube settings to make sure I wasn't playing things at 1.25 0r 1.50. Kudos to the orchestra for being able to keep up, but if we've come to enjoy 3 or 4 hours of opera we're probably not in that much of a hurry. Karajan is only fractionally slower. I'm more comfortable with the tempi of Walter and Jacobs, and might prefer the latter's period orchestral sonority if only he would try to soften the percussive attacks and blaring brass that many HIP practitioners seem to think are part of an "authentic" sound.

Is a tossup beween Walter and Karajan. I'll take Walter, who's fast enough


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## Op.123 (Mar 25, 2013)

Woodduck said:


> When Busch started I had to check my YouTube settings to make sure I wasn't playing things at 1.25 0r 1.50. Kudos to the orchestra for being able to keep up, but if we've come to enjoy 3 or 4 hours of opera we're probably not in that much of a hurry. Karajan is only fractionally slower. I'm more comfortable with the tempi of Walter and Jacobs, and might prefer the latter's period orchestral sonority if only he would try to soften the percussive attacks and blaring brass that many HIP practitioners seem to think are part of an "authentic" sound.
> 
> Is a tossup beween Walter and Karajan. I'll take Walter, who's fast enough


I love Busch's tempo here. It's just fun. It is a comic opera after all. The orchestras virtuosity is also pretty impressive. The whole performance is conducted beautifully, not as fast as the overture but fairly briskly with plenty of respite in the lyrical sections.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Op.123 said:


> I love Busch's tempo here. It's just fun. It is a comic opera after all. The orchestras virtuosity is also pretty impressive. The whole performance is conducted beautifully, not as fast as the overture but fairly briskly with plenty of respite in the lyrical sections.


It made me think of animated cartoons - beeping roadrunners chased by wily coyotes and stuff like that. Sure, _Figaro_ is comic, but not madcap _buffo._ Ultimately a matter of taste, of course.


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## ALT (Mar 1, 2021)

If forced to choose one I’d go for Bruno Walter. But, really, none of the four impress as much as Erich Kleiber’s and since his was excluded, I vote for none.


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## OffPitchNeb (Jun 6, 2016)

ALT said:


> You don’t need to and shouldn’t feel obligated to apologize for initiating a contest of your own.


I know, right? 

It's Fritz Busch for me.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

Not a fan of the Overtures of Mozart. Busch is running behind the train, I can’t catch up. 
The Karajan is early K, before he became a god and conducted with his eyes closed - he has a great orchestra, too; his _tempi _were not marmoreal then.
I like the Walter, too, but not the Jacobs, who I find idiosyncratic.


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## jegreenwood (Dec 25, 2015)

I have the E. Kleiber recording, but I think I had only listened to the opera once. I just played the overture, and it’s terrific.

My imprint version for the Overture is Szell (as is the case for many Mozart works). I still enjoy that version.


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Sir Georg Solti on his all star cast on Decca.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

The Busch is something of a feat, but it just sounds too rushed for me. I like the more relaxed Jacobs, but am not so keen on the over-percussive effects. 

Hard to choose between Karajan and Walter. The tempos are almost identical and both have precision playing and a lovely airiness about them. I'm going for Karajan, mostly because he was lagging behind Walter and both deserved my vote.


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## feierlich (3 mo ago)

Teodor Currentzis. The full recording of the opera is out of this world.


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