It may be a silly story, but that isn’t the point: which is that the pastoral convention that lies behind Metastasio’s libretto for Il re pastore allows for a wide range of expression, amorous, tragic, wistful, comical, martial – anything you like. So it gives a composer plenty of working space, which suited the young Mozart in 1775 when his archbishop commissioned him to write an occasional piece, a serenata, for the visit to Salzburg of a Hapsburg Archduke. There are a couple of lively arias with trumpets to distinguish the majesty of Alexander the Great (Alessandro), whose benignity enables the right couples to pair off in the end; Aminta, the re pastore, the heir to the throne of Sidon who (Marie-Antionette-like) prefers his disguise as a simple shepherd, has two outstanding numbers, the fine “Aer tranquillo” and the famous and hauntingly lovely “L’amero, saro costante”, as well as a fine duet finale with his beloved Elisa; and the secondary couple each have a lightly scored aria to provide contrast, while Agenore is also assigned a fiery C minor piece at the dramatic juncture in his role. And there is a third aria for Alessandro, ingeniously scored with prominent flutes and supporting oboes, for a virtuoso flautist who happened to be in Salzburg at the time. Not all the music is first-rate Mozart; early in the work, before the characters have come to life, the tone is sometimes apt to seem bland. But clearly he had fun composing it, and performed with style and energy it’s an entertaining piece.
It certainly has plenty of energy here (I’m not so sure about style). Nikolaus Harnoncourt, in his usual way, gives the music very sharp profiles. Dynamics are unambiguous, accents are vigorous. The colourful orchestration is strongly brought out. The pulse is often quite elastic. I should be surprised if it sounded much like this in Mozart’s time, the use of period instruments here notwithstanding, but the music does on the whole benefit from this very incisive characterization and comes over more interestingly and more strikingly than it generally does in more conventionally stylish readings. There are as usual with Harnoncourt some arbitrary adjustments to Mozart’s articulation but not really damaging ones. I was sorry to note that the use of appoggiaturas was so casual and inconsistent (even when two singers have the same phrase); the helpful suggestions in the Neue Mozart-Ausgabe text are mostly ignored. There are some cuts, understandably, in the simple recitative.
Ann Murray, in the title-role, heads the cast in every sense: a big and masterly performance, the words clear, the tone ample and varied, the phrasing graceful, the fioritura perfectly defined. “L’amero” is taken extremely slowly, nothing like a Mozart andantino; the effect is a bit self-indulgent but it is breathtakingly beautiful, the orchestral playing (with solo violin, flutes and cor anglais) as well as the singing. The voice, a bright, well-defined soprano, of Eva Mei as Aminta’s beloved Elisa is rather closer to Murray’s than might be ideal, but hers is a capable performance and especially persuasive in the noble aria opening Act 2, a big two-tempo piece where she alternately grieves and spits out her defiance. Near the end of the duet there are a couple of notes (in bars 131 and 138) that seem to be flat or misconstrued. Inga Nielsen’s Tamiri shows some capacity for warm, rounded tone but is mostly somewhat constricted in sound, and her words are rarely clear. Her final aria has some delicate details of timing. Both tenors – again, rather similar voices – are firm and focused rather than warm or lyrical; Roberto Sacca as Alessandro brings a suitable touch of grandeur to his opening aria (the voice reminds me of the young Peter Schreier), while Markus Schafer does well in his last aria, the C minor outburst, even if the voice lacks the desirable depth.
There is virtually no sign, in terms of noises off, that this is a live recording. The recorded quality, as usual with Harnoncourt, is rather bright and reverberant; loud entries of the bass instruments often seem to cloud the textures. Woodwind and brass are well forward. In spite of any of my reservations, I have no doubt that this set breathes real life into a work that is often apt to seem static and conventional.'