Great Recordings Of The Century - Mozart: Cosi Fan Tutte / Karajan, Schwarzkopf, Merriman, Otto, Simoneau, et al
By and large,Herbert von Karajan's 1954Così Fan Tutteis the most satisfying of his  early EMI Mozart opera recordings. The Philharmonia Orchestra, for one, played  like crazy for Karajan in his pre-Berlin Philharmonic days. True, EMI's new  transfer cannot disguise the recording's age; yet an added sense of room tone  gives the vivacious wind playing an extra, welcome edge. Karajan's fleet tempi  and knowing accentuations propel the music forward even more than the gaping  cuts in the recitatives. Elisabeth Schwarzkopf's Fiordiligi and Nan Merriman's  Dorabella are seductive and sizzling, with Lisa Otto's Despina not far behind.  As Ferrando, Léopold Simoneau's elegant legato and word-painting skills  come to the fore in "Un'aura amorosa," and Sesto Bruscantini's Alfonso remains  one of the best-sung on record. This shouldn't be your primaryCosì, but it's a release that has more than mere historic  interest. Full texts and translations are included.--Jed Distler