Mozart - Exsultate Jubilate, Porpora - Salve Regina, Haydn - Symphony No. 104 'London' / Kirchschlager, Ziesak, Muti, La Scala [DVD] - Classical Music Collection for Home Entertainment & Gift Giving

I picked this up from my local library, out of curiosity for the music of Nicola (or Niccolo`) Porpora. He was a famous vocal teacher in Naples in the 18th century. What a pleasant surprise ! The excellent austrian mezzo, Angelica Kirchschlager, does a very good job at singing the difficult Salve Regina(an "antiphone") which features some beatufiful passages and other less appealing parts. The German soprano Ruth Ziesak gives a fresh, smooth interpretation of the Exultate Jubilate by Mozart. Of course, this piece has been sung by a miriad of famous singers and it is difficult for anybody to better Arleen Auger or Edita Gruberova. Nonetheless, Ms. Ziesak has altogether a beautiful voice throughout the vocal spectrum. Muti conducts what was his orchestra at that time - Filarmonica della LaScala - with extreme precision and great balance between the music and the singing. The orchestra is - as it should be- chamber size, and sounds at times almost like a period orchestra- very different from the big band of Berstein and Arleen Auger. The London symphony by Haydn is also played well, and the quality of the DVD is excellent. It is unfortunate that this DVD is not apparently available at a normal price. Try it if you find in your local library.