[.ca] Philosophers Stone (Ltd.Ed)

From Amazon.com:
What this is not is a previously unknown opera by Mozart; what it is, is a sheer delight, a pastiche by several composers, including Mozart, performed in 1790 at the same theatre and by the same company that, in the following year, presented Mozart's Die Zauberflöte. In fact, Mozart's contribution to The Philospher's Stone is limited to about five minutes of music, but his spirit pervades. This premiere recording includes a bonus CD with a discussion of the piece as well as musical illustrations. Textually, almost every character in Magic Flute has a parallel in this work: Papageno and Papagena are here Lubano and Lubanara, for example, and musically they are eerily alike as well. The world is one of fairy tale and alchemy. It never plumbs the depths of Mozart's late works, but there's joyously good music to latch onto nonetheless. The entire cast is good, with special kudos going to Paul Austin Kelly, who sings tenor music that is difficult enough and chock full of coloratura to match the Queen of the Night's acrobatics. If the entire score is without extra-special brilliance, at least what we get is top-level, very-late-18th-century generic music--sort of like Salieri and company mixed with Mozart. And this definitive performance, on period instruments led by Martin Pearlman, will please everyone. Mozart, not quite; necessary, absolutely. --Robert Levine

WOOOOOOOOOOOONDERFUL! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONDERFUL!:
I have not liked an opera this much, since well- Die Zauberflote! What a perfect opera to rank along with Le nozze di Figaro, Cosi fan tutte, Don Giovanni, and Die Zauberflote as one of my favorite operas! I bought it ONLY because it bore the name Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and had that name not been on there this would have been a huge loss. The entire opera is WONDERFUL. Yes the 1 hour and 50 minutes of music that Mozart didn't write is sublime and WONDERFUL! I can't rave enough. If you love GREAT music- get this.... The duet done by Mozart is wonderful as well!

Perfect? No. Worthwhile? Oh, yes.:
After looking at the other reviews, I thought that they had said it all, and said it well. But since there are only four, I thought I would chime in. While similar to Die Zauberflote in many ways (which should be enough of a recommendation to many), this is an excellent example of singspiel complete with comedy, drama, romance and touches of the supernatural. The sound is excellent, the performances solid, and it really is a fine opera in its own right. The adorable 'cat' duet betwen Lubano and Lubanara is almost worth the price by itself, in my opinion, but there's much more to it than that. As I mentioned, other reviewers have already said it all. I'll just add that it's all true. This production really is an accomplishment, and hopefully it will be recognized as a major work in years to come. In the meantime, be the first on your block to own it. You'll thank yourself for it later.

Invaluable insight into Mozart's The Magic Flute:
While I generally agree with the other reviewers of this disc, I would like to add that, for anyone who is fascinated and intrigued by Mozart's Magic Flute, this disc is essential listening. The parallel characters and similar plot motifs (and similar musical motifs, even between the Magic Flute and the non-Mozart music in Der Stein der Weisen) shed light on the fairy-tale elements of Mozart's opera so as to balance out the notion that The Magic Flute sprang up entirely from Mozart's and Schikaneder's Masonic ideas. I also suspect that there is somewhat more of Mozart's music in this piece than the press reviewer counts. I interpret the attribution column of the liner notes to say that Mozart wrote much of the second-act finale, and, while I am no musicologist, the segments of that finale seem to build in the way that a Mozart finale does. Still, if you listen to The Magic Flute only because of the grandeur of the music and are really put off by the plot, this singspiel will only annoy you further, since Mozart was using his considerable talents here simply in support of yet another bizarre fairy tale. I would be a bit more generous to the singers than some of the other reviewers. I enjoyed listening to all the performances and felt that the characters, such as they were (there is a good deal of fairy and folk tale formula here), were brought to life successfully. The orchestra of authentic instruments under Martin Pearlman always sounds good to me. There were never any moments when I felt I was putting up with an inferior performance simply because it was the only performance available.

He's done it again:
I agree with all the wonderful things previous reviewers have said about the music in Der Stein der Weisen and its performance by Boston Baroque and Company under the direction of Mr. Pearlman. I would add that Martin Pearlman's discussion on the bonus disc is worth the price of purchase. He discusses what is known of the work's history, the relationship between the collaborators, and key aspects of the music itself. Mr. Pearlman's comments are insightful and engaging, and the musical discussion is on a level to appeal to seasoned musicians, without leaving anyone else out. The whole production is a remarkable achievement.

Enjoyable Curiosity:
This is a German singspiel, composed by a variety of late 18th century Viennese composers, including Mozart, for theatrical entertainment. It is good fun and entertaining, though it really contains no stunning pieces or enriching music. Mozart's contributions are jolly, but they are not profound or dramatic music of the sort which makes the Magic Flute a towering masterpiece. Instead, the work is more a demonstration of how much pleasurable vocal work was being written at the end of the 18th century and how much richer we are for being able to delve into it in first class recordings. The performance here is excellent, making for a most enjoyable set. There are no outstanding voices, nor should there be, and the Boston Baroque ensemble sounds just right. The only real weakness is that, as with all singspiels, there are long bits of German dialogue which do not make rewarding listening on repeated hearings or if one is not fluent in German. Don't get this set because it has bits by Mozart -- they are only a small fraction of the music and they are far from being his best work -- but because its a pleasant and enlightening set. But it's not for people who would not consider buying operas by Salieri, Cimarosa, etc., but only go for the big names.

• Overture
• Introduction: 'Ihr Madchen! Ihr Junglinge!'
• Dialogue
• Aria; 'Alle Wetter! O Ihr Gotter!'
• Dialogue
• Aria; 'So Ein Schones Weibchen'
• Dialogue
• Chorus And Solo; 'Welch Reizende Musik'
• Dialogue
• Duet; 'Tralleralara! Tralleralla!'
• Dialogue
• Recitativ; 'Das Wirst Du Nie'
• Dialogue
• Chorus And Solo; 'Seht Doch! Mit Gold'nem Geweih'
• Dialogue
• Aria; 'Ein Madchen, Die Von Liebe Heiss'
• Dialogue
• Recitative; 'Das Wirst Du Nie' - Aria: Welch Fremde Stimme Horte Ich?
• Finale; 'Wohin Nadine'
• 'O Leibster Vater'
• 'Seht Doch! Mit Gold'nem Geweih'
• 'Ihr Freunde, Ihr Madchen'
• 'Erhebet Eure Haupter'
• 'Wut Und Verzweiflung'
• 'Ich Muss Nadin E Eilig Nach'
• 'So Kommt Denn, Ohne Zu Verweilen'
• Overture
• Chorus With Solo And Recitative: 'Ach, Astromonte
• Dialogue
• Aria; 'Den Madchen Trauet Nicht Zu Viel'
• Dialogue
• Marsch
• Dialogue
• Duet; 'Nun, Liebes Weibchen'
• Dialogue
• Aria; 'Nadir, Du siegst'
• Dialogue
• Aria; 'Ihr Gutigen Gotter'
• Dialogue
• Chorus; 'Astromont' Stirbt Durch Uns'
• Dialogue
• Arie; 'Die Lieb Ist Wohl Ein Narrisch Ding'
• Dialogue
• Aria; 'Mein Einziger, Liebster Nadir!'
• Dialogue
• Finale; 'Miau! Miau!'
• 'Fuhl Meine Macht'
• 'O Astromonte Hore Mich!'
• 'Jungling, Nadine Ist Tot'
• 'Fort, Armer Jungling'
• 'Du Schwarzer Teuful'
• 'Nadir, Ermord' Erst Diesen Hier'
• 'Nadir! Nadir, Der Sieg Ist Dein'
• 'Herr Astromonte, Wir Danken Euch'