Mozart: Così fan tutte – Fritz Busch & Glyndebourne Festival (1935 Recording, EMI Classics 2CD)

UPC: 077776386423 

MPN: CHS 7 63864 2 

Brand Name: EMI Classics 

Product Type: 2 Audio CDs – Digitally Remastered Historical Recording

Overview

This historic 1935 Glyndebourne Festival performance of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Così fan tutte, conducted by Fritz Busch, remains one of the earliest and most influential complete opera recordings ever made. Sung in Italian, this performance radiates freshness and intimacy, preserving the brilliance and spontaneity of the original Glyndebourne stage production that helped establish the Festival’s reputation for Mozart excellence.

Digitally remastered from 78 rpm discs at Abbey Road Studios by Keith Hardwick, this ADD mono release captures the warmth and vitality of Busch’s conducting, alongside a stellar cast led by Ina Souez, Luise Helletsgruber, Heddle Nash, and Willi Domgraf-Fassbaender.

Product Features

• Format: 2 × Compact Discs (Audio CD)
• Sound: Mono – Digitally Remastered (ADD)

• Total Running Time:

  Recording Date: June 25–28, 1935
  • CD 1: 77:09
  • CD 2: 76:19
• Recording Location: Glyndebourne Festival Opera House, England
• Libretto: Lorenzo da Ponte
• Language: Italian
• Genre: Opera (Classical / Historical Recording)
• Audio Restoration: Abbey Road Studios, London
• Remastering Year: 1991 (EMI Records Ltd.)
• Country of Manufacture: Germany
• Catalog Number: CHS 7 63864 2 / CDHB 63864
• Label: EMI Classics

Cast & Credits

• Fiordiligi – Ina Souez
• Dorabella – Luise Helletsgruber
• Ferrando – Heddle Nash
• Guglielmo – Willi Domgraf-Fassbaender
• Don Alfonso – John Brownlee
• Despina – Irene Eisinger
• Chorus and Orchestra: Glyndebourne Festival Opera
• Conductor: Fritz Busch
• Producer: David Bicknell
• Recording Engineer: Unknown
• Audio Transfer & Remastering: Keith Hardwick (Abbey Road Studios)

Interesting Facts

• A Landmark Recording: One of the first-ever complete opera recordings from Glyndebourne, marking the start of the festival’s long-standing Mozart tradition.
• Pioneering Sound Restoration: Digitally transferred from original 78s at Abbey Road Studios, preserving remarkable clarity and warmth for a 1935 recording.
• Historical Context: Recorded during Glyndebourne’s inaugural season under the artistic direction of Fritz Busch, who had fled Nazi Germany only two years earlier.
• Collector’s Gem: This EMI Classics edition is prized for both its historical significance and its superb remastering quality, making it an essential addition for opera connoisseurs and collectors.

Publishers

© 1991 EMI Records Ltd. Digitally remastered and restored at Abbey Road Studios, London. Design concept: Sylvie Trambouze | Cover photo: Ina Souez

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