"The basic conceit here, as soprano Laura Aikin puts it, is that Konstanze 'has fallen in love with' Bassa Selim; in the even more provocative words of stage director Johan Simons, the union of Belmonte and Konstanze is a 'marriage of convenience.' As operatic interpretations go these days, this heightening of the romantic conflict latent in the libretto is far from outrageous.… The Overture is played with tremendous dash, virtuosity, and color…. The singers do a more than creditable job…. Aiken is a formidable heroine, especially in her moments of dejection, which have a palpable despair. Edgaras Montvidas, tonally attractive and generally fluent in his phrasing, captures the cluelessness of her country-club lover with beguiling sweetness. Smallwood is a high-spirited Pedrillo. Best of the youngsters, though, is Mojca Erdmann as an effervescent Blonde—in her miniskirt and high-heeled vinyl boots, brandishing her belt and her dazzling smile where necessary, she's a disarming combination of dominatrix, lap dancer, and apple-pie girl next door, all aspects of her personality tumbling out with self-confident and pure-voiced virtuosity. Towering over the quartet of lovers, though, is the veteran of the cast, Kurt Rydl, a surprisingly sympathetic Osmin who dominates the stage both visually and aurally…. The sound is exceptionally good … [and] the visual component is excellent too."—Fanfare