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Don Giovanni is one of the timeless classics of all opera. Mozart's music, and the words of his great collaborator Da Ponte, are brought to life in Francesca Zambello's engrossing production from 2002 with its rich and colourful designs by Maria Bjornson. The music is memorable, dramatic and enjoyable: from the seductive solo voices of the famous 'La ci darem la mano' to the fabulous ensemble as Don Giovanni's infatuated conquests, vengeful victims and their outraged relatives join forces for justice. And retribution does finally come to Don Giovanni, a serial womanizer and a murderer, with the searing flames of Hell ready to engulf him. Simon Keenlyside heads the outstanding cast, conducted by renowned Mozart expert Charles Mackerras.
Review
'Given a cast of this quality, outstanding staging opportunities, and a director of Zambello's genius, and Don Giovanni feels as if it is bursting on the world for the first time all over again... Each role has been thought out and sharply realised by director and respective performer, and jointly make a convincing whole.' --Online Review London
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
29 of 32 people found the following review helpful
I first saw this production of Don Giovanni at the Royal Opera House in 2002,
and I have yet to experience anything which comes close to expressing the genius
behind what is probably the greatest all-round creation in the history of opera.
That said, I have never seen a second-rate performance of any opera at Covent Garden,
a situation which, I believe reinforces the reputation of the Royal Opera House as
a venue where {on the whole} a certain standard of excellence can be assured.
All in all, the performance on this DVD captures and sustains all of the opera's
musical perfection and power, cumulating in a last secene which seems to transcend
art and music drama in general, thereby giving the impression that a certain musical
ne plus ultra has indeed been reached.
In addition, this production boasts a fine cast headed by a Simon keenlyside in fine
form as the Don. Keenlyside brings about just the right amount of dark intent to the
role without ever negleting the Don's indifference in regard to his actions and his
nihilistic impulses which are essential in any performance of this 'Opera of all Operas'.
After watching the curtain call at the end of this performance, I became convinced that
some members of the cast were aware that they had just taken part in something special,
and the 2005 Glyndebourne production of 'Gilulio Cesare' came to mind, another almost
faultless interpretation which has since become an operatic classic on DVD.
In terms of pure operatic production, this recording of Don Giovanni, along with the above
mentioned Handel masterpiece represent all what is great and eternal about 18th century
opera, where mortal beings appear to be taken over by the influence of immortal genius,
and, as a result, assist in a kind of life-enhancing force which could well be envisaged
as being a reason for life itself. If in doubt please buy this DVD and become a willing
sacrifice to the divine force and power which is 18th century opera.
and I have yet to experience anything which comes close to expressing the genius
behind what is probably the greatest all-round creation in the history of opera.
That said, I have never seen a second-rate performance of any opera at Covent Garden,
a situation which, I believe reinforces the reputation of the Royal Opera House as
a venue where {on the whole} a certain standard of excellence can be assured.
All in all, the performance on this DVD captures and sustains all of the opera's
musical perfection and power, cumulating in a last secene which seems to transcend
art and music drama in general, thereby giving the impression that a certain musical
ne plus ultra has indeed been reached.
In addition, this production boasts a fine cast headed by a Simon keenlyside in fine
form as the Don. Keenlyside brings about just the right amount of dark intent to the
role without ever negleting the Don's indifference in regard to his actions and his
nihilistic impulses which are essential in any performance of this 'Opera of all Operas'.
After watching the curtain call at the end of this performance, I became convinced that
some members of the cast were aware that they had just taken part in something special,
and the 2005 Glyndebourne production of 'Gilulio Cesare' came to mind, another almost
faultless interpretation which has since become an operatic classic on DVD.
In terms of pure operatic production, this recording of Don Giovanni, along with the above
mentioned Handel masterpiece represent all what is great and eternal about 18th century
opera, where mortal beings appear to be taken over by the influence of immortal genius,
and, as a result, assist in a kind of life-enhancing force which could well be envisaged
as being a reason for life itself. If in doubt please buy this DVD and become a willing
sacrifice to the divine force and power which is 18th century opera.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Amazon Verified Purchase
The Royal Opera House excels itself with this stunning production of one of the top 5 operas ever written. If you want a traditional staging then this cannot be bettered and with Sir Charles Mackerras conducting,the music is of high quality. Simon Keenlyside makes a truly memorable Don Giovanni. He is by turns cruel,seductive,funny,evil and sexy-just as the Don should be. His interaction with the marvellous Kyle Ketelsen as Leporello was well done. In Joyce Di Donato we have a fiery and yet vulnerable Donna Elvira. Di Donato was in splendid voice. It was good also to be pleasantly surprised by the gorgeous tone of Ramon Vargas, a tenor who can be a little hit and miss for me, here he was a strong Don Ottavio. Praise too to Eric Halfvarson's Commendatore, Miah Perrson's Zerlina-conveying perfectly the balance between coquette and innocent,and Robert Gleadow's fine Masetto. I confess the only disappointment was Marina Poplavskaya as Donna Anna. While he vocal talent cannot be faulted I just felt that she held herself a little aloof and the pleas for 'vengeance' did not raise the hairs on the back of the neck(but then for that you really should listen to the late Dame Joan Sutherland). Keenlyside was an athletic and vital Don, bare chested for much of the final act he cut an inpressive figure and the final postscript,albeit brief, showed him to have just what he desired in purgatory-probably he didn't get such a bad deal going to Hell after all? As a humerous aside, keep your eyes open for the look on Ms Polavskaya's face when Joyce Di Donato gets a bigger bouquet than her at curtain call!! I also have a marvellous modern day production from Salzburg with the fabulous Thomas Hampson and Ildebrand D'Archangelo. This goes alongside it as the best traditional production.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
I own several recordings of Mozart's masterpiece, Don Giovanni, and I think this one is my favourite. The performers are all excellent, both vocally and dramatically. Joyce DiDonato is a strong, powerfully sung Elvira, and I have to say that although I am a huge Simon Keenlyside fan, the star of this production, for me,is Kyle Ketelsen - the best Leporello I've ever seen. He has the most brilliantly comic facial expressions and a fine voice. The only minus on this recording in my opinion is the Don's rather ugly costume and even more hideous long ginger wig that often gets in his mouth, but that's a minor quibble. And I have to say that the final blink-and-you-miss-it flash of the Don in all his naked glory was a brave thing to do for a man who was then approaching 50, although he appears to be in fine shape for his age!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Three worthy contenders and a surprise winner for me
There are now several choices available of this opera so in this review I am going to consider three contrasting productions. Read more
Published 5 months ago by I. Giles
A good, but flawed, Don Giovanni
I enjoyed this performance, but ultimately felt that, huge fan of Charles Mackerras as I am, it lacked any real sense of doom. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Glilla Bear
well balanced casting
I have 5 Don Giovannis in my collection, and all except one are excellent, and that includes this one,
The ever changing revolving sets are excellent. Read more
The ever changing revolving sets are excellent. Read more
Published 7 months ago by I. Zaneres
The One to Catch
Operas are like buses and this is the second Don Giovanni that I have caught in a week. I watched the 2010 Glyndebourne production a few days ago and enjoyed it very much but I... Read more
Published 15 months ago by Leonard Cope
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