Mozart: Bastien und Bastienne

Here is a solidly presented disc accompanied by a 95-page booklet, comprising Vol. 27 of the Philips Complete Mozart Edition. The boy Mozart wrote Bastien und Bustienne, his German Singspiel, in 1768 in response to a commission from Dr Mesmer, the founder of hypnotism, and it may have had its premiere in his house in Vienna that autumn. The French-sounding names of its principals are explained by the story's origin in a piece by Rousseau. The composer wrote the piece for tenor and soprano, but here two trebles sing the roles of the two lovers, while a boy alto is the 'pretended sorcerer' Colas. This is without historical justification, but since they are from the Vienna Boys' Choir and the only characters, I am perfectly happy for this to be so. They are delightful and characterful singers who put over the dialogue with charm and mostly with intelligence, though Georg Nigh muffs a line on track 15. I see that in 1987 SS found a "samishness" and "sexlessness" in the voices and felt that the young artists placed the opera on a puerile level. However, I note neither of those things, and what's wrong with young singers in a work written by a 12-year-old boy? As for the music, it has enough invention to make for worthwhile listening. Try Colas's orchestral entry on track 4 and hear Mozart using the Lydian mode to signify a mood that is both pastoral and strange, while his C minor nonsense aria "Diggi, daggi" on track 11 shows a born musical dramatist successfully spreading his wings. There's good orchestral support and recorded sound, and the fill-up of two songs with mandolin provides a pleasant bonus. -- Gramophone [5/1992]