Mozart: Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute)

Neville Marriner and his orchestra, long-established experts in 18th-century music, are joined for this project by a smooth combination of veteran Mozartians who have recorded their roles before, and newcomers singing their parts for the first time on records. Three newcomers are familiar to opera fans from other work and slip easily into their roles: Olaf Baer (a superb Lieder singer) is an appealing Papageno, Cheryl Studer an impressive Queen of the Night and Samuel Ramey a monumental Sarastro. Kiri Te Kanawa and Francesco Araiza are veterans in their roles but manage to make the roles seem new. --Joe Mclellan