Product: Mozart: Don Giovanni (1977 Glyndbourne Festival Opera) [VHS]
Rating: 5.0
Masterpiece of a masterpiece
A perfect visual companion to the capital Guilini EMI recording. First-rate performances all around, singing and acting, staging and directing; not a sour note in the piece. I generally prefer filmed performances before live audiences but this production has the feel of a live performance (and not the feel of those Hollywood productions--"Carmen," "Traviata"). I hadn't heard of Petri, but he plays the title role with power, guile and charm. His paean to "liberta" is convincing. Bruscantini is brilliant as Leporello (I didn't think Taddei could be rivalled). Gencer and Stich-Randall play Elvira and Anna with dignity. As in the Guilini EMI recording, Alva is masterful in his two difficult Ottavio arias and Sciuti is utterly enchanting in her Zerlina arias. Cesari plays the cuckolded Masetto with dignity.Molinari-Pradelli conducts at a proper pace. Actually, the performance sounds as clear as a CD. I didn't notice any cuts. The only drawback--not too annoying--might be the synchronization between voice and lips in some moments, but this film was made in 1960.