Album of the week. Le nozze di Figaro

This Figaro is a cat destined to ruffle Mozartian dovecotes. Although it’s not the first studio recording using period instruments, the Greek conductor and his Perm Opera forces take such extreme interpretative options that this most beloved of Mozart’s operas certainly sounds rethought. The overture sizzles in just under four minutes — more a fried egg than Beecham’s boiled one. Elsewhere, Currentzis opts for leisurely tempi, bordering on the languid in the Countess’s Dove sono and Susanna’s Deh vieni. In these roles, Simone Kermes and Fanie Antonelou sound baby-dollish and virtually indistinguishable, making a nonsense of Figaro recognising Susanna’s voice in Act IV. Mary-Ellen Nesi’s Cherubino is more of a success, but the real stars are Christian van Horn’s darkly handsome-sounding Figaro and Andrei Bondarenko’s superb Count, the only singer here who sings Italian like a native. Most controversial will be the introduction of lute and hurdy-gurdy (!) to Mocart’s orchestra, and the obtrusive fortepiano continuo of Maxim Emelyanychev, whose improvisations include a snatch of a motif from a Bach violin partita. Not for traditionalists, this Figaro is unlike any other on disc. Worth a try for open-minded Mozartians. HC