Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – La Finta Giardiniera DVD – Julia Kleiter, Gabriel Bermudez 

Almost a quarter of a century ago Harnoncourt presented his reading of this rediscovered work on CD, but in this version from the Zurich Opera directed by well-known Austrian actor Tobias Moretti, the great Mozart magician conducted a staged production for the first time in an acclaimed production recorded live in February 2006. The Zurich Opera gathered a superb cast for this production: Italian soprano Eva Mei sings the Countess Violante, known as Sandrina, the feigned gardener of the title. Spanish soprano Isabel Rey is her opponent Arminda, and Arminda’s former lover, the melancholy Cavaliere Ramiro, is sung by Romanian mezzo Liliana Nikiteanu.Moretti’s staging presents the action in a modern villa in a hierarchal world of the rich and famous.