Mozart - Don Giovanni / Giorgio Strehler · Riccardo Muti · T. Allen · E. Gruberova · Teatro alla Scala
This is the greatest of all operas. Mozart called it a "dramma giocoso," which might be translated as "serious comedy," and in fact it is tragic and comic at the same time--climaxing with a spectacular final scene in which the libertine hero (hero? let's say "central character") is dragged alive down to hell amid blood-curdling screams. Mozart treated this as a happy ending, and the punishment is richly earned by the rape, murder, and seduction that lead up to it, but at the same time Giovanni has a charm (most clearly displayed in the duet "La ci darem") that makes it easy to believe in his amorous conquests (which are brilliantly detailed in his servant Leporello's "catalogue aria").Don Giovannican be interpreted in many ways; the first DVD recording is a solid, middle-of-the-road interpretation, handsomely staged and photographed, generally well conducted and sung (though Thomas Allen has rough spots in his serenade), and acted capably if not brilliantly. It would be a good way to begin acquaintance with this masterpiece. Strikingly different concepts worth knowing are Joseph Losey's psychologically probing and symbol-laden movie version, and the Peter Sellars television production (both available on VHS), which plays out the drama in the wasteland of the modern South Bronx.--Joe McLellan