|
|
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
An Only Middling 'Don Giovanni' from Glyndebourne, 9 Sep 2005
This DVD of the 1977 production of 'Don Giovanni' done at Glyndebourne with musical direction by Bernard Haitink and stage direction by Peter Hall is a bit of a disappointment. Musically it is only mediocre, to be honest. The sound afforded the London Philharmonic is probably not even up to the standards of the late 1970s with strident strings and recessed winds. Haitink, of course, is a grand Mozartean and one can hear that the performance he got from his orchestra was a good one; it's just that we don't get to hear it in anything like modern sound. Add to that the less than wonderful casting and you get a so-so experience. Hall's direction is good and not tainted by attempts at too-clever direction, the stage and costume design by John Bury is also good -- the opera seems to have been updated a bit to the early 1800s, with the aristocrats in Beau Brummel-like costumes, the peasants in appropriate costumes of the period. The set is rustic, with buildings made from what look like weathered barn wood, and serviceable. Lighting is rather dark, which is OK considering how much of the action takes place at night; this does tend to emphasize the ugly underside of the drama, which is a valid conceit. By far the best singer/actors are Stafford Dean as Leporello and Elizabeth Gale as Zerlina. Each of them sings well and their acting has some life in it. John Rawnsley's Masetto is not far behind. Benjamin Luxon, while a fine singer, is miscast as the Don; he doesn't have the sex appeal or charm that one needs to make the Don a believable character. Further, his singing is uneven. His 'Deh, vieni all finestra' (the serenade) is simply fabulous, but the Champagne Aria is pallid. (I wanted to say the Champagne Aria was flat, but my pun-o-meter wouldn't let me get away with that.) Pierre Thau as the Commendatore was commendable.Rachel Yakar as Donna Elvira starts out well but becomes less so as the opera proceeds. The opposite occurs with the Donna Anna of Horiana Branisteanu, who begins the opera sounding tired and with poor breath support but she grows as the opera progresses; still, she is not an ideal Donna Anna even at her best. Her acting is generic, almost expressionless much of the time. Leo Goeke in the thankless role of Don Ottavio is mediocre. His voice has never struck me as anything but merely serviceable and at times is ugly. One cannot erase memories of Francisco Araiza in the Muti/La Scala DVD or particularly of Michael Schade in the 1999 Muti/Vienna DVD. Or, indeed, of Gösta Winbergh in the old Karajan video production. The bottom line is that this is probably not the 'Don Giovanni' to get unless perhaps you saw the 1977 Glyndebourne production and want it to commemorate the experience. Scott Morrison
|
![Otello [DVD]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/517H3EBEQHL._SL500_SS90_.jpg)
