MOZART: “Le Nozze di Figaro.” Felicity Lott,...

MOZART: “Le Nozze di Figaro.” Felicity Lott, Gianna Rolandi, Faith Esham, Richard Stilwell, Claudio Desderi; Glyndebourne Chorus and London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Bernard Haitink; Angel CDCC-49753 (three compact discs). For a recording based on a celebrated staged production (Peter Hall’s at Glyndebourne in 1984), it’s amazing how little theatrical atmosphere Haitink and his seasoned international cast evoke and astonishing how little ensemble feeling pervades their efforts. Never the most spontaneous of Mozartians, the Dutch conductor here maintains a stylistically enlightened but dramatically torpid stance through this note-complete edition, making a long performance seem interminable. The finest singing comes from Lott’s patrician, vulnerable countess and Desderi’s robust Figaro. Esham’s pallid Cherubino and Rolandi’s relentlessly pert and often vulgar Susanna scarcely represent American vocal standards at their best.