Mozart: Die Zauberflote - William Christie, Les Arts Florissants (2 CDs)

Rosa Mannion, Hans-Peter Blochwitz, Natalie Dessay, Anton Scharinger, Reinhard Hagen, Willard WhiteLes Arts Florissants Orchestra & Chorus, William Christie "With a background primarily in the French Baroque, William Christie comes to Die Zauberflöte from an angle quite unlike anyone else's; yet this is as idiomatic and as deeply Mozartian a reading as any. In the booklet-note Christie remarks on the unforced singing that's one of his objectives, much more manageable with the gentler sound of period instruments. All this is borne out by the performance itself, which falls sweetly and lovingly on the ear.Overall the performance is quick and light-textured – and often quite dramatic. Some may find Christie less responsive than many more traditional interpreters to the quicksilver changes in mood, yet this is a part of his essentially broad and gentle view of Die Zauberflöte.His cast has few famous names, though there's Hans-Peter Blochwitz, probably the finest Tamino around these da