[It's] charming: Sigiswald Kuijken’s touch, as one might guess, is light and airy, the period instruments are well and expressively played, the recording itself is vivid and bright...Kuijken’s fast tempos, even for both of Sarastro’s arias, take some of the mystery out of this character and place him in a more popular, fairy-tale realm.
Suzie LeBlanc’s Pamina is loveliness itself, rising to heights in “Ach, ich fühls”, though not erasing memories of say, Gundula Janowitz and several others. Stephan Ganz is an enchanting Papageno, quick on his vocal feet, joyous and cowardly by turns, and like the rest, always intimate. Isolde Siebert is a cautious but accurate Queen of the Night, singing with as much venom as her little voice will allow and animated in the recits.
As suggested, Kuijken’s leadership is fleet and comic, the Three Ladies are sprightly and musical, and the Three Boys are from the Tölzer Knabenchor and are superb.
