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.