Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Taddei's elegant Giovanni, 13 Jun 2002
Although there are so many Don Giovannis available, this one is particularly interesting because of Taddei's interpretation of the title role, and, I rank him among the best. We know Taddei as an excellent Leporello. Here, he plays and sings an elegant seducer. In this sense he is closer to Thomas Allen than to Waechter or his co-patriots Siepi or Pinza.
Also the Leporello of Italo Tajo is vocally and dramatically very convincing, and the scenes where Taddei and Tajo play together are very enjoyable. Valetti's Ottavio is a strong argument for this recording as well, whereas the female cast is, similar to the recordings of the last decades, less convincing. Carla Gavazzi must have been a good Elvira, but probably this was recorded too late for her, Curtis-Verna is a reliable Anna.
Rudolf's conducting is - in a positive sense - unspectacular.
The remastered sound (still Mono) is the best I ever heard in a Cetra recording of that period.
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3.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointing despite excellence in individual roles, 2 Mar 2009
L.E. Cantrell (see his review on Amazon.com) and I are usually of one mind when it comes to these remastered Cetra recordings but I have to part company with him on this one. I completely agree that Valletti's assumption of Ottavio is a cut above, that Taddei is at his characterful best, that the sound is much more than acceptable - but I think, too, that the casting here, especially in the three women, is dubious. Neither of the two big roles is in Mozartian style. I enjoy Maria/Mary Curtis Verna elsewhere (such as in her Cetra "Aida" or "La Gioconda", both with Corelli), but here she is really labouring. Every top note is scooped with a kind of clumsy portamento through her wide vibrato, and her coloratura is at best approximate. She makes much of her elegant but impassioned music sound simply effortful and strained. Similarly, Gavazza - great in verismo roles - sounds as if she has strayed in from the wrong opera and the Zerlina, too, is undistinguished. The men are much better and it's good to hear Taddei as the Don rather than in his more celebrated role as Leporello (in the Giulini recording); his lilting, mezza-voce Serenade is a particular delight, but he can still, at times, sound bumpy. I find the Masetto simply inadequate, vocally: a dry, elderly sound (as Mr Cantrell observes). Zerbini is fair as the Commendatore but hardly spine-chilling. Chief pleasure - apart from Valletti's contribution - comes from hearing Tajo and Taddei strike sparks off each other in the recitativo and their quickfire exchanges in the duets; only Italians can handle the language like that - but again, vocally I find Tajo ordinary. And, finally, the piano accompaniment to the recitative, although standard at the time, sounds really incongruous to modern ears.
The conducting is efficient, the sound excellent and it's not a bad way to get to know this great work - but it's certainly not my favourite. If you want to hear a big soprano voice still effectively negotiate Mozart's vocal line, try Arroyo on the splendid Davis set. I really wanted to like this issue but ultimately find that it has too many flaws to make it the version to live with.
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