Music

Fiona Shepherd reviews festive albums, plus Jim Gilchrist on sax player Paul Towndrow’s birthday gig

This recording of Così fan tutte shows the much-loved opera in a completely new light. Based on research by Ian Woodfield of Queen’s University, Belfast, who has examined Mozart’s original manuscripts for clues about how he initially wanted it to be performed, it reveals altered relationships, swapped arias and more. Ferrando opens with La mia Fiordiligi rather than la mia Dorabella, forgotten arias are reinstated and it seems that Mozart originally intended the two main couples to start out as the opposite of what we’re used to. The recording comes from staged performances by the European Opera Centre and the young cast brings an exploratory freshness to the music. Laurent Pillot conducts the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, whose buoyant playing matches the spontaneous tone of the project. A refreshing reminder that such works were, in their time, fluid inventions.