Of Masks and Maria

Augh! I've skipped two weeks!! Someone draw me up an indulgence, please!

This week, I would like to discuss something that's really been irking me: Maria Callas. For those of you who don't know, once you enter the opera world, half of the ravings you'll hear are about Callas, Callas, Callas. Everybody loves her. They can't get enough of her. Well, I'm going to reiterate my honest opinion on Callas-- I find it painful to listen to her sing. This isn't just because I want to be rebellious and not like Callas just for the sake of being different. It's just that she ruined Amelia of "Un Ballo in Maschera" for me. I think the problem is that people seem to think that if a singer is good for one thing, he/she must be good for everything. Maria Callas had a terrific chest voice and a nice vibrato. Her Carmen was fabulous! But soprano roles like Norma and Amelia were not really good for her (at least, in my opinion). It literally sounds like every time she had to sing a high note, she went "Oh, crud" in her head, and the note is shrill and stressed and literally painful. As a singer, I often find myself shifting my vocal chords, etc. in anticipation of singing the notes I hear, and when I listen to Callas, I can feel the pain she must have had in her throat when she sang those notes. I cringe. My throat goes, "Don't do it! For sweet, Italian Vivaldi's sake, DON'T DO IT!!!" But she does it. It hurts. Why, Maria, why?? Why did you do it??

Which brings me to my review of this EMI Classics recording of Verdi's "Un Ballo in Macschera." Well, not really. That was a weird segue. But let's start on that anyway.

 Now, about a year ago, an online friend introduced me to the world of Dmitri Hvorostovsky. Naturally, one of the first Youtube videos I found of him was his performance of "Alzatti...Eri tu" at the Cardiff Singer of the World Competition in 1989. It made me cry. I love Verdi, and after hearing that song, I knew I'd want to own the whole opera. So, I picked this one out for Christmas. At the time, it was one of the least expensive copies I could get, and even so, I think it was $20 or over. I hadn't heard any recordings of Maria Callas yet, but I figured, "Oh, everybody loves her. Let's give her a try!" And I did. But there are some funny things going on with this set.

From the "How well was this object made" standpoint: The CDs and booklet and slip cover came beautifully intact. However, the back of the CD case has the singer and time duration information for a similarly cast recording of Verdi's "Aida." This isn't very helpful, considering I neither own nor have heard "Aida," and the contents of the CD case are "Un Ballo in Maschera." Someone in manufacturing  made a boo-boo...

But anyway, that was just a small detail I thought I'd let you know of-- other EMI sets from the Maria Callas series might have similar problems. But let's get on with the opera, shall we?

I think "Maschera" is an incredible opera. It has a great prelude, very unique and distinguishable individual tunes, and the overall quality of the music is memorable, dramatic, and superb. Antonino Votto did a great job conducting and the chorus and orchestra of Milan were splendid. Tito Gobbi, who I enjoy very much, Fedora Barbieri, and Eugenia Ratti were excellent casting choices. Gobbi gave a warm, empathetic performance as Renato, Barbieri was a deliciously dark and mysterious Ulrica, and Ratti was delightfully charming as Oscar. She makes me want to sing Oscar someday. However, I'm afraid I can't say as much for Maria Callas and Giuseppe di Stefano, our Amelia and Riccardo. Aforesaid, Callas's performance makes my ears and my throat hurt, and Stefano's rendition of Riccardo is just too cold. Because of these two, my opinions of the characters are skewed. I think of Amelia as an overly dramatic, screechy woman who isn't really an important character and has kind of boring arias. I think of Riccardo as a cold, heartless, selfish, and haughty little man who can't see how other people feel past his own desires. Riccardo, to me, is the epitome of the tenor-whelp. He started the whole durn mess because he didn't have enough common sense to leave Amelia be, seeing as she was trying to save her marriage and actually be a good person. Stupid Count. Thinks he should just have everything he wants. It makes me mad every time I hear him go, "Ah, l'ho segnato il sacrifizio mio!" It's like, "Oh, I'm in love with this woman who's married to my best friend and I emotionally tortured her until she confessed she loved me too. I got her in a boatload of trouble. But I'm gonna send her and her hubby back to England to make it all better. Oh, my sacrifice! Boo-hoo-hoo! I don't get to have the chick who's already taken!" What a blockhead. What a whelp! And the only times Stefano uses any kind of emotional expression in his voice are during the scene at Urlica's cave and for "Oh qual soave brivido." That's it! No wonder I dislike Riccardo. 

So this is my overall opinion: I do not recommend this copy of "Un Ball in Maschera." Callas and Stefano are enough to ruin the main character for anyone new to the opera. However, if you are bent on trying Maria Callas's Amelia and want to hear the greatness of Gobbi, Barbieri, and Ratti, then go ahead. But-- and I can't put too fine a point on this-- familiarize yourself with a different version first!!! 

Until next time,

Your friend and fellow opera-lover,

~R.M.     

Faust, what were you thinking?

I mean, calling on the Devil? Selling him your soul?

Hiya! I've been having this craving to talk about Gonoud's "Faust" since the third week I accidentally never wrote. Oops. Well, there's a long, funny story that goes with my experience of "Faust." 

Long, long ago, when I was not yet an opera fan, I was obsessed with "The Phantom of the Opera." I saw the 2004 movie and got hooked. Subsequently, I saw a live production, learned all the songs, read the book by Gaston Leroux, and saw the silent 1928 film starring Lon Chaney. I couldn't get enough of the Phantom. But, I was a bit confused by all the musical references in the book, and I was particularly curious about those regarding "Faust." Many years later, my mother and I were parousing the opera section of a used music store when I came across a copy of "Faust" starring Placido Domingo, Nicolai Ghiaurov, and Mirella Freni as Faust, Mephistophelés, and Marguerite, respectively.

I had already decided that I was Ghiaurov's biggest fan, so I got the CD set. I might well mention here that the case was sealed by several stickers which the employees of the store had applied. Five minutes later and much to my chagrin, I discovered that the CD set was missing the libretto. Stupid used music store, selling incomplete opera sets without letting the customers check them! But I wouldn't let my hopes up. I would listen to "Faust" and understand it if it meant it would take years. And it did take years. For a long time it sat on my desk, waiting to be heard. I listened to the overture and the opening numbers countless times and tried to find online French/English side-by-side libretti. All the ones I found were incomplete, so it waited longer. And longer. And longer. Eventually, I read a libretto that was an "English Version" and kept up based on which characters were singing at that particular moment. However, I only got as far as the end of the second act. But then, I had an epiphany! I realized, if I found a copy at a library and listened to it once, just once, while reading a proper libretto, I'd remember what was going on-- I have good memory-- and I would probably never need the libretto for it again (although it was disappointing not to be able to have one on hand). And that was exactly what I did.

At one of my very favorite libraries, I listened to this fabulous copy of "Faust":

It was incredible. It actually made me cry. And I finally understood what the references in "La Fantóme De L'Opéra" meant. Then I came home and listened to my copy. 

No matter who is performing it where or when, Charles Gonoud's "Faust" is a great opera. It's dramatic, it's romantic, it's touching, it's French, it's beautiful. The overture is akin to Mozart's overture to "Don Giovanni"-- repeated dark, shadowy chords, setting the tone for the action of the opera, are the first notes the listener hears. It's riveting! Faust's vague, angry, and semi-repentant character keeps the audience guessing. The loyalty of Valentin, Siebel's sweetness, Marguerite's true repentance, and Mephistophelés's despicable heinousness are too true and too deep for us to doubt. I will confess though, I'm surprised at how much of "Faust" I can sleep through and still remember what's going on... Don't give me that look! I was tired!  So now that you know the terribly long story of how I discovered  "Faust," the claws come out... and the review begins.

Version 1: I'm going to be brutally honest. The more I listen to Mirella Freni, the less I like her. I don't have anything against her as a person or as a performer-- She's very professional. But she's not my style. And I think, like with Sutherland and Callas, she got really famous when her voice really was good for roles like Marguerite, and people didn't get over it. As far as her recordings, she didn't move on to roles that suited her maturing voice. But that's my humble opinion. Domingo and Ghiaurov are fabulous. I can never get over how versatile the former is and how just plain terrific the latter is. Thomas Allen as Valentin, Michéle Command as Siebel, Marc Vento as Wagner, and Jocelyne Taillon as Dame Marthe are all splendid, as is Georges Pretre's conducting. This copy also includes the ballet music of "Faust." It's a great recording. Just make sure you get a libretto.

Version 2: I love this version!!!! I can't say that enough. Richard Leech was brilliant as Faust, although I'll confess I thought he had a little trouble getting up to one particular high note, but I don't blame him and it didn't take away from the overall recording at all. José Van Dam was an astounding Mephistophelés, and I particularly want to note how well he sustained his voice in "Le Veau D'Or". It just gets me. His mastery of dramatic and vocal technique is incredible. Cheryl Studer was a Marguerite I could adore-- such a lofty, shimmering voice! Listening to her was a pleasure. Thomas Hampson (what's with all the Thomases as Valentin?) sang Valentin so well, I cried during his death scene. No joke. And I'm not normally a weeper, either. Martine Mahé was an adroable, charming Siebel, Marc Barrard was a delightful Wagner, and Nadine Denize was a very good Dame Marthe. Michel Plasson conducted beautifully. I'd also like to mention that this EMI Classics copy has an addendum which includes not only the ballet music, but also several duets, trios, and an extra aria that are extremely interesting to listen to-- I really enjoyed it.

All-in-all, from a learner's perspective, I'd say that the Leech-Van Dam-Studer version would be the best first "Faust," and when you're ready to try a new version,  the Domingo-Ghiaurov-Freni recording is a good option.

Until next week, folks!

~R.M. 

Magic Flutes for Halloween

Hi there! I know, I've been such a bad girl, skipping for three whole weeks. I mean, I said I was human, but really? Three weeks? And the way I figure it, no one's reading this blog anyway, and even if they were, they would've been turned off by my formal writing style, so I'm just going to ditch my old habits and be casual. And yes, I do actually write in that formalish way from habit. So anyway, I believe the last time I wrote a blog, back in the days of stone tablets and chisels, I said the next one was going to be about "Die Zauberflöte."

"Die Zauberflöte" was the first opera I ever saw. It was magical. And I must say, if you ever want to convince someone that opera can actually be cool, "Zauberflöte" is one of the best operas for achieving that goal. It's funny, it has dazzling music, it has touches of drama here and there, and it's Mozart, for crying out loud! Nobody can say they don't like Mozart! Fun fact: "The Magic Flute" was actually the last opera Mozart ever completed before he died. On that note, I'll begin my review of this particular recording...

The cast is as follows:

Uwe Heilman (Tamino, Tenor)

Ruth Zeisak (Pamina, Soprano)

Michael Kraus (Papageno, Baritone)

Sumi Jo (The Queen of the Night, Soprano)

Kurt Moll (Sarastro, Bass)

Adrianne Piczonka, Anntte Kuettenbaum, and Jard van Nes (The Three Ladies, Sopranos and Mezzo-soprano)

Markus Leitner, Max Emanuel Cencic, and Michael Rausch (The Three Genies, Treble, Alto, and Mezzo-soprano)

Heinz Zednik (Monostatos, Tenor)

Lotte Leitner (Papagena, Soprano)


I'm just going to come straight out with it: I love Sumi Jo. She is amazing, and I desperately wanted to own a full opera that had her in it. When I thought about what I'd love to hear her sing, all I could think of was Die Königen der Nacht. Sumi was born to sing Die Königen. Her accuracy, pitch, agility, and grace are flawless. Naturally though, I sampled the other voices as well to make sure I was getting a good version, and they are all lovely. Uwe Heilman makes for a sympathetic, non-whelpish Tamino, a Tamino I find myself enjoying and rather than getting annoyed by (and believe me, I've heard some really annoying tenors!). Ruth Ziesak's voice is so delicate and lovely, you can't help but love her from the moment you first hear her sing. I'd also like to mention how fabulous the Three Genies and the Three Ladies are in this recording-- they're perfect! Their respective melodies and harmonies are so perfectly intertwined, and yet each voice stands out so clearly and uniquely. It's amazing. Lotte Leitner, I will add, makes a delightful and charming Papagena!


Now let's move on to the more negative comments, and mind, I am trying to be fair and not too harsh. Sir Georg Solti, the conductor, kind of rushes through the thing, which works on a lot of levels, but on other levels, it ruins the effect. For example, Pamina's aria "Ach, Ich fühl's" is very rushed, and as a singer who has tried "Ach ich fühl's," I know that the song is hard enough as it is without having to speed it up. If you take that aria too fast, it loses every bit of emotion, poignancy, and melancholy that Mozart wrote into it. Nonetheless, Ms. Ziesak carried it off beautifully, but I'm just saying, Mr. Solti could have given her some room to feel her way through the aria instead of making her push it. And another thing: Papageno is my favorite character in the whole show. For years, I listened to a copy of "Die Zauberflöte" in which a baritone by the name of Gottfried Hornik sang Papageno, and I still adore his performance. It was sweet, sentimental, and still hilarious, and his voice wasn't "comical." He was a regular, light baritone, and his acting was captivating just from the sound. Michael Kraus is more of what you'd call a "comic" baritone, but he is very funny, he sings his part very beautifully, and he delivers his spoken lines well. I have no issues with his pitch or accuracy-- he's a great singer! The other two male singers I haven't discussed yet are also wonderful performers. Kurt Moll is a great bass, but I think the reason I'm having a little trouble with his performance is that I'm not accustomed to his particular voice type. Like I said, I've been listening to a different version of this opera for a very long time, and to be honest, I only purchased this new version a couple of months ago. I think I just need to get used to his voice type, so I won't let that make me form a hasty, biased opinion and tell everybody out there "I don't like him" or something like that; that's not the case at all. Also, Heinz Zednik has a gorgeous tenor voice. I think my only issue there is that I can hear he wasn't acting when he sang Monostatos in this recording. Beautiful tone isn't all you need to be a great opera singer... You've got to have emotion, too. I say these things with the greatest respect for the performers and their efforts-- I know I couldn't do half of the things they can, and I sure as heck wasn't there during the recording session.


One more funny little thing: I think they brought in separate actors to be the "Speaking voices" of Die Königen der Nacht and Papagena, because the speaking Königen sounds nothing like Sumi Jo's speaking voice, and either they brought in an older lady to play Papagena in disguise, or Ms. Leitner is very good at manipulating her voice to sound old! 


Overall, this recording is truly magnificent, and I would highly recommend it. Some other time I'll talk about the other version of "Die Zauberflöte" that I used to listen to, but for now, if you want a really good copy of "The Magic Flute," this Decca Records recording is probably the one for you. So long!

~R.M.
 

A First Taste of Elixir

This week, I'd like to review a copy of Gaetano Donizetti's "L'Elisir D'Amore" that I recently purchased. It stars Ileana Cotrubas as Adina, Placido Domingo as Nemorino, Ingvar Wixell as Belcore, Sir Geraint Evans as Dulcamara, and Lillian Watson as Gianetta, with John Pritchard conducting at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.


Let's start with Placido Domingo, the star of the show. I have heard Domingo sing many, many roles over my short five years of being an opera fan-- a sweet and slightly foppish Alfredo (in Verdi's "La Traviata), a manly and dashing Manrico (Verdi's "Il Trovatore"), a frustrated and bitter Faust (in Gonoud's "Faust"), and a broken-hearted yet vindictive Canio (in Leoncavallo's "Pagliacci"). He can manipulate his voice to such a great extent! I must say, after all of the roles I've heard him sing, it was refreshing and pleasantly surprising to hear him do Nemorino. He sounds so youthful, so credulous, so sympathetic! You just listen to him and think, "Aw, poor Nemorino! He's such a nice guy-- Adina should treat him better!" His acting is beautiful, and he hit notes verging on the falsetto range with ease. I've listened to clips of other tenors singing Nemorino, but, truth be told, Domingo is the most charming Nemorino I've yet heard, with Joseph Calléja following close in his footsteps.

Next, Ileana Cotrubas. I am a huge fan of hers! I love how full her voice is, and how delightfully she acts. She makes the perfect Violetta (Verdi's "La Traviata"), and her rendition of Tatyana in Tchaikovsky's "Eugene Onegin" is superb (I listened to her do the Letter Scene on Youtube). There is a youthful but very soulful quality to her voice, and it adds real depth to every character she sings. I really enjoy listening to her sing, and she did a great job with Adina, but I'll make a confession: The first couple of times I listened to "L'Elisir," I thought, "What's Violetta doing in this opera?" But that could be because I listened to her and Domingo in "La Traviata" for probably a year before I got my mitts on any other operas on CD. 

Let's hit the lower voices! You've probably guessed by now that I adore Ingvar Wixell, so that's a no-brainer. Getting to listen to him is a pleasure and an honor in itself. His introduction is very suave, and he's very playful and mischievous during the scene where he enlists Nemorino. Sir Geraint Evans is a side-splitting hilarious and puckishly charming Dulcamara! Hearing him go on about how he's known through the whole universe "and...and... and elsewhere, too!" and when he says "Musica, amaretto!" and "Si, Briconna?" makes me smile and sing along (which might be annoying or just plain weird to the people around me as I listen to my headphones, but so what?). These two are dead on in their roles!

I would also like to make note of Lillian Watson's excellence! Her voice is so sweet and pleasant, the listener is immediately whisked away to the pastoral locale of the opera, just from hearing her sing.

I have one qualm with this particular set, however: there is no physical libretto. The second disc of the set contains the libretto along with the second half of the opera. In other words, to read the words and translation, the listener must import both discs onto their computer, start the music, and open up the libretto from the second disc while it's still in the drive. I find this very frustrating, because I'm the kind of person who  figures out what's going on solely from reading the libretto, and also the kind who loves to look up the exact words of a certain aria at any given moment. Can't really do that if you're playing the opera from an ipod, boombox, or portable CD player. But, this is a really beautiful recording with a terrific cast, and I highly recommend it. 

Next week: "Die Zauberflöte" No. 1!

Until then, friends, I remain,

Yours truly,

~R.M.   

An Explanation

Hello again!

This week's blog is about my personal tastes, and here is the logic behind why I'm blogging about them:

1) When you see what my operatic preferences are, you'll know what angle I'm coming from when I say, "I don't think So-and-so's voice is the best" or "I think What's-his/her-name is the bomb digitty!"

2) If my tastes just so happen to be the same as yours, you'll find my blogs all the more helpful. 

Now, let's start at the beginning. I'm pretty new to the world of opera-- I've been an opera fan for about five years now-- but I'm the type who researches. When I find something I want to try, I try lots of different variations until I find exactly the one I want. In general, I love voices with strong vibratos; hence my love of Ingvar Wixell, Joseph Callejá, Kiri Te Kanawa, etc. It adds such a gentility to the sound. When it comes to female singers, I've found that I like older singers better-- Amelita Galli-Gurci, Erna Berger, Dorothy Bond, etc. with exceptions being Maria Callas and Roberta Peters. I like the delicate clarity of these voices, as opposed to the slightly muddled and lower-toned voices of the seventies, eighties, and nineties. Fortunately, the older sound has come back into vogue with sopranos like Kathleen Kim, Karita Matila, Louise Fribo, and Sumi Jo, all of whom I adore. There are a few singers I tend to boycott: aforementioned Maria Callas (listening to her sing the high notes of Amelia in "Un Ballo in Maschera" is literally painful), Montserrat Caballé (I think her voice is a little deep) and, of course, Joan Sutherland. 

 "Oh dear!" You must be thinking. "Those three are some of the most highly acclaimed singers in history! This girl's insane-- how can anyone boycott them???"


Well, allow me to explain. I have nothing against these ladies as people. In fact, I don't have anything against them as performers. Callas had a very lilting voice, Caballé's was steady and sure, and she's not half bad at acting, and Sutherland, "La Stupenda," had an incredible range, excellent breath control, and a very supple, flexible voice. However, these ladies were part of an unfortunate phenomenon. Each became very famous while they were young and their voices at their peak. As the years went by, their voices continued to mature, but they did not move on to roles that really suited their ages. At the age of thirty-three, Joan Sutherland's  soaring coluratura was unparalleled. At the age of forty-four, she was still playing the title role of Donizetti's "Lucia di Lammermoor," the role of a troubled young woman, and it pains me to say this, but she butchered it. Really butchered it. She had obviously become something more of a mezzo-soprano or even alto by that time, and the magic of her famous Lucia was lost. She would have made a tremendous Azucena in Verdi's "Il Trovatore" or some other such part, but somehow or other, she was still kept in roles like Gilda in Verdi's "Rigoletto" and Violetta in his "La Traviata" (both of whom are supposed to be young women, and have very difficult coloratura arias). 


Now that you know all about what I think of Joan Sutherland and sopranos in general, let's move on to the men. I'll come out with it straight off: I'm a Baritone lover. The word literally means "the sound of a man" and I love that. I believe that there are many roles written for tenors that should have been for baritones (Faust, Othello, and Cyrano de Bergerac, to name a few). My sister and I, when speaking of opera and musical theatre, have decided that the perennial rule is "The Tenor is Always the Whelp." However, I have found exceptions to that rule, and besides, we only say that about the characters, not the singers! Anyway, I love baritones who are capable of making their voices soft and still warm or loud and still consistent. Favorite baritones include Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Ingvar Wixell, Sherill Milnes, Tito Gobbi, Arturo la Porta (who unfortunately only ever recorded singing minor roles) and Robert Merrill. Bryn Terfel is also nice, but I get the feeling he's lost a lot of his passion and technique since he sang at the Cardiff Singer of the World Competition in 1989; his voice doesn't sound as strong, he doesn't move his mouth as much, and his acting is pretty much the same deal every time I hear him--nothing new. (Sorry if that was a bit too harsh) I also enjoy hearing a good bass take the stage, particularly Nicolai Ghiaurov, my absolute favorite singer. In the way of tenors, I do find Placido Domingo to be a very dependable and reliable singer-- good vibrato, great range, incredible acting skills, and so very, very versatile! But I also like Jussi Bjöerling, the aforementioned Joseph Calleja, Enrico Caruso, Franco Corelli, and of course, Luciano Pavarotti. What a stereotype I am!


I recently discovered the importance of a good conductor. Herbert von Karajan and Richard Bonynge are very reliable conductors. Also, if you ever find a recording that says it's conducted by Arturo Toscanini, I would highly recommend it. Toscanini worked with Verdi himself, and Verdi (who was very picky about how his operas were conducted) was pleased by Toscanini's accuracy. He could remember his place in the score without sheet music, for heaven's sake! 

Now, here's a tricky one: what kind of operas I like. As I said, I'm pretty new to opera, but I have developed a few preferences as to which composers I enjoy and don't enjoy. I like Mozart (of course)and would like to listen to more Classical opera, and I'd also like to try Baroque operas, just to know what they're like. I love Romantic composers: Verdi, Donizetti, Bellini, Rossini, etc. I'm indifferent about Tchaikovsky's operas (but I adore his symphonies!), although "Eugene Onegin" is pretty good and "Pique Dame" looks really interesting. I am not incredibly fond of Wagner, although I'll confess I like "The Flying Dutchman" and I'm curious about "Parsifal," "The Meistersingers of Nüremburg" and "Lohengrin." As for Post-Romanticism... Puccini is pretty darn good, although in my opinion, even his arias sound like more recitatives, but I need to look into that more deeply. After all, Andrew Lloyd-Webber copied Puccini! I love Leoncavallo's "Pagliacci," but very much dislike its famous counterpart, Mascagni's "Cavalleria Rusticana" (it felt like it was dragging on for eternity even though it was only an hour long!) I'm not terribly fond of modern operas, but I must say, I enjoy Gian-Carlo Menotti's work (in particular, "The Telephone" and "The Medium").  


Well, there you have it. My likes, my dislikes, my pet peeves, my fandoms, everything. Now you know my perspective on opera, and you know my reasons for saying the things I say. Next week: An exploration of "L'Elisir D'Amore" (The Elixir of Love) by Donizetti.
Until then, I remain


Yours Truly,


~R.M.

A Tale of Two Giovannis

Hello, everyone! Before I begin, allow me to explain the purpose of this blog: I am here to write reviews of opera recordings and live performances I happen to catch (such as the "Live From the Met" simulcasts). I'm writing these reviews to help opera lovers such as myself find the best recordings of their favorite shows and also direct them towards ways to access live opera via movie theatres and television. I'm hoping to write these blogs once a week, but seeing as I am human and not a Martian, there is a chance I might miss a date or two. With that said, I shall begin...

Several months ago, an acquaintance of mine introduced me to a version of Mozart's "Don Giovanni" that was made into a film. It starred the ever-astounding Russian baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky as both the Don and Leporello, and went by the titles "Don Giovanni Unmasked" and "Don Giovanni: Leporello's Revenge." Not having heard "Giovanni" before and not being fluent in 18th-century Italian, I waited to look into it until I had heard a full version and knew what the plotline was like. After listening to half of a full version starring Ingvar Wixell, I found that iTunes was selling the soundtrack of the film for $10, so I bought the music immediately and read a translated libretto to figure out the plot. I was absolutely addicted to it. Dmitri Hvorostovsky perfectly captures Giovanni's haughtiness and Leporello's cowardice and makes it sound easy. His slower-paced, lilting rendition of "Deh Vieni Alla Finestra" soon became my favorite song. Gary Reylea, the bass who played the Commendatore, was astounding,and Dominique Labelle made a crystal-clear and dazzling Donna Anna. In fact, I felt that "Don Giovanni: Leporello's Revenge" held only two disappointments: it is NOT a full version of "Don Giovanni;" it is basically an hour-long "Selections From" collection, and Barbara Dunn-Prosser's Donna Elvira was not exactly the shimmering, delicate sort of voice type I would look for. However, it is still an excellent recording, and I would highly recommend it or the film version (available in six parts on Youtube with German subtitles), which is absolutely brilliant.

Now for the second "Giovanni"! I mentioned in the last paragraph that I listened to half of a recording of "Don Giovanni" with Ingvar Wixell before purchasing "Leporello's Revenge." Well, I really liked the cast of that recording, and when I had money, I decided I wanted a full version of the opera so that I could hear it as Mozart meant it to be heard. I was worried that I would not be able to find that recording for sale (I had listened to it at a library), and wound up purchasing the exact thing I had listened to, but in a different cover: the Philips 3-disc "Complete Mozart Edition." The image with the mask is the edition you'll find for sale on the web. It stars Ingvar Wixell as Giovanni, Wladimiro Ganzarolli as Leporello, Kiri Te Kanawa as Donna Elvira, Mirella Freni as Zerlina with Richard Van Allan as her Massetto, Martina Arroyo as Donna Anna paired with Stuart Burrows as Don Ottavio, and finally, Luigi Roni as the Commendatore. I adore Kanawa's voice, and its clarity and emotion definitely lent a great deal of poignancy to the character of Elvira. Ingvar Wixell, too, has become one of my favorite singers since I heard him as Don Giovanni-- his voice can be both gentle and commanding, both sincere and disregarding with the slightest, deftest little change. Down sides to this recording? Well, I think Ms. Arroyo might have been having a hard day (vocally speaking) when this recording was made: in the opening scene, she didn't quite seem to make it to the highest notes (at least, not with the ease and accuracy with which Dominique Labelle pulled it off), and overall, her scales and arpeggios seem a little bit stressed. And normally, I'm not that big of a Mirella Freni fan, but she does make a very charming Zerlina. Only one other thing really, truly irks me, and that is fixable with iTunes. For those of you who don't know, "Don Giovanni" first premiered in Prague in 1786 or 87. Shortly after, Mozart went back to Vienna and tried to play it there, only to have the finicky Viennese rebuff him. So he added a few extra arias and recitatives (such as Ottavio's aria "Dalla Sua Pace") and tried again. Most people today perform and record the Viennese rendition of "Don Giovanni." However, I believe that Mozart really wanted it to be heard as it was done in Prague. On iTunes, these extra bits can be easily taken away from the playlist (which is what I do, but that's just me), although musically and historically, they could be very interesting to listen to. On a whole, though, the Philips recording is lovely, and I think that anyone trying to get acquainted with "Don Giovanni" would really enjoy it.

I hope that this post was helpful to somebody out there, or at least that is was enjoyable to read. Tune in next week for a treatise on my personal tastes and biases, so that it's easier to understand the angle I'm coming from when I comment on these performances. Until then, I remain your friend and fellow opera-lover,

~R.M.