Product: Mozart: Don Giovanni (1977 Glyndbourne Festival Opera) [VHS]
Rating: 5.0
A Classic Performance
Though there are many performances of Don Giovanni on DVD nowadays, this one stands in a league by itself. It will not be to everyone's taste; it is filmed in black and white, and has monaural sound. However, unlike most other film versions, there are no gimmicks or Eurotrash or alterations of the plot or meaning; the settings and costumes are all tasteful, realistic and in their proper period. By today's standards, some of the acting is rather foursquare (particularly by Gencer and Stich-Randall) or hammy (Bruscantini, a wonderfully comic presence in some other filmed operas) -- not that most filmed operas offer anything better. But what counts above all is the singing, and that is on an exalted plane that few other performances have equaled and virtually none surpassed. Mario Petri, little known outside of Italy, is a superlative Don -- suitably handsome, debonair, and seductive in appearance, with a handsome, mellifluous voice as smooth as silk and perfectly produced in all its registers. His finely nuanced interpretation that brings out every aspect of the protagonist's multi-faceted character -- its charm, roguishness, cruelty, and narcissism. Sesto Bruscantini was the premier basso buffo of his day, and unlike the often crude Fernando Corena he lavishes true parlando singing on his turn as a rather hapless Leporello. Luigi Alva was a first-class artist saddled with a second-class voice, but his Don Ottavio here is one of his best achievements on disc, and outshines many rivals. The little-know Renato Cesari is an excellent Masetto, who once again takes care to sing his part rather than engage in bluster, but without slighting characterization. Graziella Sciutti practically owned the role of Zerlina, and employs her bright but sweet soubrette soprano to excellent effect, supplemented by acting that is alternately perky and demure. Teresa Stich-Randall is perhaps a bit of an acquired taste; her voice was one of aristocratic pureness and total technical security, but a bit lacking in warmth and passion; while she dispatches the role of Donna Anna with a vocal accuracy seldom matched by others, her temperament was better suited to roles such as the Countess in Figaro and Eurydice in Gluck's Orfeo. Surprisingly, Leyla Gencer is less of a spitfire Donna Elvira that one would have supposed from her other assumptions of bel canto and Verdi heroines, but her singing is always most able and expressive. The only letdown vocally is the Commendatore of the totally obscure Heinz Borst; his voice is too light in timbre and rather hollow and wobbly in production. Francesco Molinari-Pradelli outscore many putatively more qualified Mozart conductors in leading a performance that is brisk, fluid, and transparent, and yet weighty at key dramatic moments when needed. Overall, one could argue that this should receive only four stars rather than five, due to some of the minor flaws and limitations mentioned here; but I give it five because of how it totally outshines the competition. This set can go alongside the classic 1954 Wilhelm Furtwaengler performance from Salzburg as a historical treasure of an immortal operatic performance.