Okay this is not one of my favourite productions of Don Giovanni of all time. I do prefer the 1979 Losey film and the 1987 Karajan, 1990 Met, 2000 Met, 2001 Zurich and 1954 Furtwangler productions. The 1995 Glyndebourne performance I also prefer. This is however one of the better Don Giovannis I've seen recently, a little better than the 1999 Salzburg performance which had some weird costumes but the great performances, conducting and what was done with Giovanni's character made up for things, and the very recent La Scala production, which I was very mixed on.
This Don Giovanni is perhaps not for traditionalists though. The setting is updated to the 40s, which may perplex those used to the settings of Mozart's time. However considering the lighting added to the darkness and complexity of the opera and how you still get the sense that Giovanni is an aristocrat this approach still worked very well. I never got the sense that it was disturbing the characters or the music. The staging always maintains interest and we do get a sense at least of the characters' internal conflicts, Donna Anna especially. The video directing is very effective, the crucial arias are done in very intimate close-ups while the rest of the world is very outside.
Musically, the production is excellent. The orchestral playing is full of style and beauty of tone, with lush strings and delicate(when needed) woodwind, yet the darkness of the Overture and Commendatore scene are done to thrilling effect. The conducting is not the most definitive reading of the productions I've seen, I have a big spot for Furtwangler's more romantic but very musical and dramatic approach. However, it is very incisive and shows sensitivity to his singers and has good musicianship and phrasing.
Carlos Alvarez is great as the Don, seductive, handsome and charming yet thoroughly despicable with an arrogant and devilish streak to him. I have always loved his dark burnished baritone sound and it is the same here with some good agility. Lorenzo Regazzo, in a performance that is far better than his rough-around-the-edges Masetto in the 1999 Salzburg performance, is a funny, loyal and bumbling Leoporello and is in good voice. His Catalogue aria is very well done, if not one of my favourite renditions(Walter Berry in the 1961 Deutsch Oper and 1977 Salzburg Festival live performance and Jose Van Dam in Losey's film are among my favourites. He and Alvarez's chemistry together is very convincing.
Jose Bros is one of the better Ottavios I've seen in recent years along with Piotr Beczala for the 2006 Salzburg performance. He sings stylistically and with verve, and also with excellent phrasing, a ringing top and good breath control(he copes better than most with the long and florid runs in Il Mio Tesoro). He also gives what I consider a thankless role emotional depth as well. Maria Bayo evokes pathos and dignity, as well as fire and sympathy as Donna Anna, the most difficult of the female roles of the opera, and sings beautifully. José Antonio López is a good Masetto, he is handsome and plays the role with charm.
Sonia Ganassi is an impassioned and spiteful Elvira, yet does well as ever providing the opera's heart. His arias are sung confidently and even with a powerful voice has good agility, very like her Rosina from 1999 with Florez. María José Moreno plays Zerlina with warmth and is also adorable. Batti Batti is very passionately sung. I was disappointed with Alfred Reiter though, not because he is bad but considering the character of the Commendatore I would have preferred a deeper and somewhat darker-in-tone voice. He is not quite as fearsome as one would hope, I especially find Macurdy, Salminen and Moll terrifying as well as Talvela on record. I will give you this, the final Commendatore scene is much better staged than the 2006 Salzburg production which I was disgusted by.
Overall, may be updated but this Don Giovanni does work very well and is helped by excellent performances. 9/10 Bethany Cox
This Don Giovanni is perhaps not for traditionalists though. The setting is updated to the 40s, which may perplex those used to the settings of Mozart's time. However considering the lighting added to the darkness and complexity of the opera and how you still get the sense that Giovanni is an aristocrat this approach still worked very well. I never got the sense that it was disturbing the characters or the music. The staging always maintains interest and we do get a sense at least of the characters' internal conflicts, Donna Anna especially. The video directing is very effective, the crucial arias are done in very intimate close-ups while the rest of the world is very outside.
Musically, the production is excellent. The orchestral playing is full of style and beauty of tone, with lush strings and delicate(when needed) woodwind, yet the darkness of the Overture and Commendatore scene are done to thrilling effect. The conducting is not the most definitive reading of the productions I've seen, I have a big spot for Furtwangler's more romantic but very musical and dramatic approach. However, it is very incisive and shows sensitivity to his singers and has good musicianship and phrasing.
Carlos Alvarez is great as the Don, seductive, handsome and charming yet thoroughly despicable with an arrogant and devilish streak to him. I have always loved his dark burnished baritone sound and it is the same here with some good agility. Lorenzo Regazzo, in a performance that is far better than his rough-around-the-edges Masetto in the 1999 Salzburg performance, is a funny, loyal and bumbling Leoporello and is in good voice. His Catalogue aria is very well done, if not one of my favourite renditions(Walter Berry in the 1961 Deutsch Oper and 1977 Salzburg Festival live performance and Jose Van Dam in Losey's film are among my favourites. He and Alvarez's chemistry together is very convincing.
Jose Bros is one of the better Ottavios I've seen in recent years along with Piotr Beczala for the 2006 Salzburg performance. He sings stylistically and with verve, and also with excellent phrasing, a ringing top and good breath control(he copes better than most with the long and florid runs in Il Mio Tesoro). He also gives what I consider a thankless role emotional depth as well. Maria Bayo evokes pathos and dignity, as well as fire and sympathy as Donna Anna, the most difficult of the female roles of the opera, and sings beautifully. José Antonio López is a good Masetto, he is handsome and plays the role with charm.
Sonia Ganassi is an impassioned and spiteful Elvira, yet does well as ever providing the opera's heart. His arias are sung confidently and even with a powerful voice has good agility, very like her Rosina from 1999 with Florez. María José Moreno plays Zerlina with warmth and is also adorable. Batti Batti is very passionately sung. I was disappointed with Alfred Reiter though, not because he is bad but considering the character of the Commendatore I would have preferred a deeper and somewhat darker-in-tone voice. He is not quite as fearsome as one would hope, I especially find Macurdy, Salminen and Moll terrifying as well as Talvela on record. I will give you this, the final Commendatore scene is much better staged than the 2006 Salzburg production which I was disgusted by.
Overall, may be updated but this Don Giovanni does work very well and is helped by excellent performances. 9/10 Bethany Cox
