Great Recordings Of The Century - Mozart: Die Zauberflote / Karajan, Dermota, Seefried, Lipp, et al
Among recordings of Mozart'sMagic Flutethat omit the spoken  dialogue,Herbert von Karajan's 1950 Vienna Philharmonic traversal stands out for its tightly knit  vocal ensembles and outstanding cast. Irmgard Seefried's silvery Pamina  complements the lyrical flexibility that Anton Dermota brings to Tamino; Erich  Kunz is a bubbly, yet dignified, Papageno; and Ludwig Weber imbues Sarastro's  arias with gorgeous, sustained tones. At the other end of the pitch spectrum,  Wilma Lipp effortlessly negotiates the Queen of the Night's stratospheric turf.  The sonics are a tad overresonant and diffuse, yet it's clear that Karajan could  make the temperamental Vienna Philharmonic of that period play better than their  norm for conductors who were more famous at the time.Klemperer's stereo EMI recording  remains the first choice among dialogue-free versions of Mozart's valedictory  opera, but lovers of supreme Mozart singing cannot pass up this excellently  remastered entry in EMI'sGreat Recordings of the Centuryseries.--Jed Distler