“The opera of all operas” – E. T. A. Hoffmann on Mozart’s Don Giovanni
One small paragraph isn’t enough to demonstrate the impact that Mozart’s Don Giovanni has had and continues to have on the history of opera. The second collaboration between Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Lorenzo Da Ponte resulted in a masterpiece that uniquely combines the comic, the dramatic and the supernatural. It requires not only eight singers of the highest calibre for the principal roles, but also singing actors who are equally at home in moments of extreme drama and dark comedy.
Decent Recordings with Certain Virtues
There is an inevitable sense of lethargy within Herbert von Karajan’s last Mozart opera studio recording (Deutsche Grammophon, 1985). The Austrian maestro’s best days were clearly behind him, but he still managed to inject some of his brilliance into the performance from time to time. The recording boasts one of the best master-servant dynamics in recorded history with Samuel Ramey’s Giovanni and Ferruccio Furlanetto’s Leporello, along with Kathleen Battle as a brilliant Zerlina and Paata Burchuladze as a striking Commendatore. The rest of the cast is uneven, with Agnes Baltsa as Elvira doing mostly well, but Anna Tomowa-Sintow and Gösta Winbergh as Anna and Ottavio less so.
Sir Neville Marriner’s 1991 version for Philips, swift and compulsive, is led by Thomas Allen as one of the best modern Don Giovannis. Charming but scheming and evil. Francisco Araiza gives us one of the best Don Ottavios in history, gallant and heroic, but also intimate and touching. Karita Mattila as Donna Elvira is determined and plays her character very well. The rest of the cast, like Karajan’s, is very inconsistent.
In the 1995 Telarc version, Sir Charles Mackerras and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra deliver a very intimate and unique version of the work, which feels like a period instrument approach but with modern instruments. Bo Skovhus is the vocal highlight of the recording, managing to dominate every aspect of Don Giovanni. Jerry Hadley, perhaps lacking the elegance of other tenors such as Araiza or Dermota, makes a memorable Don Ottavio, while Alessandro Corbelli’s Leporello lacks the necessary vocal weight but compensates with a gift for comedy. The rest of the soloists don’t do anything to improve the performance.
The 2000 recording for Naxos is more conventional in its approach and musical direction. Michael Halász is in charge, and while he doesn’t do anything wrong, his command of the work lacks depth. Bo Skovhus is once again a superb Don, but this time he is supported by a better ensemble, including Adrianne Pieczonka’s fantastic Donna Anna, Renato Girolami’s witty Leporello and Regina Schörg’s lighter than usual but fiery Donna Elvira.
Solid Recordings with Some Drawbacks
The 1972 Philips recording is characterised by Sir Colin Davis’ superb understanding of both the composer and the work. The female cast is one of the very best in the discography, with the underrated Martina Arroyo as an amazing Donna Anna, Kiri Te Kanawa as a lovely Donna Elvira and Mirella Freni as an unsurpassable Zerlina. The male cast, on the other hand, doesn’t come close, although Ingvar Wixell as Giovanni and Stuart Burrows as Ottavio give a decent account of themselves.
Bernard Haitink’s 1983 version for EMI/Warner is light and full of detail. The clear understanding between conductor, singers and orchestra is evident from the first note to the last. Thomas Allen continues to show why he is one of the best Don Giovannis in recorded history, similar to his performance with Marriner eight years later, but more fiery and impulsive, at the expense of some of the understanding of the character that inevitably comes with experience singing the role. Donna Anna and Donna Elvira are masterfully sung by Carol Vaness and Maria Ewing, the former full of expression and the latter full of tenacity and vengeance. The rest of the cast, though not so good individually, do reasonably well with the help of the conductor.
Claudio Abbado hasn’t always been at ease with Mozart’s operas, but he does very well in this 1997 recording for Deutsche Grammophon. His approach benefits the more serious characters and scenes, but takes away some of the opera’s comedy. The master-servant dynamic between Simon Keenlyside’s intelligent Don Giovanni and Bryn Terfel’s lively Leporello is one of the highlights of the performance, along with Carmela Remigio’s Anna and Soile Isokoski’s Elvira. Uwe Heilmann, though a fine tenor, doesn’t seem to be at his best on this recording.
This live recording, made in Aix-en-Provence in 1999 for Virgin Classics/Erato, boasts the blisteringly fast musical direction of Daniel Harding with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra. Although it lacks polish and at times takes away from some of the opera’s most dramatic passages, there is much to be praised in this exciting vision of the work, particularly in the recitatives and comic passages. Peter Mattei is an ideal Don Giovanni, his intelligence and wit as a singing actor give him absolute control of every scene he’s in. Guided by the conductor’s clear vision, the rest of the soloists do well and form a great ensemble for Mattei to have his way with.
Some Period Instrument Options
As with any Mozart opera, the period instrument movement has made a number of recordings of Don Giovanni, but not as successfully as other works such as Idomeneo or Le nozze di Figaro. There’s still some good stuff out there. Arnold Östman’s 1989 recording for Decca has some great singers, such as Håkan Hagegård, Arleen Auger and Bryn Terfel, but the musical direction is flat and uninspired. On the other hand, René Jacobs for Harmonia Mundi (2006) conducts the work excellently and in a very innovative way, but the singers are nothing special. Sir John Eliot Gardiner’s live recording for Archiv in 1994 is a nice balance between the two, as the direction is fine and the singers are very good, especially Rodney Gilfry’s Don Giovanni.
Noteworthy Live Recordings
Bruno Walter’s 1942 live recording from the Metropolitan Opera (Memories/various labels) has a rough sound quality, which is to be expected given the time of recording, but it allows you to appreciate the legendary Ezio Pinza’s portrayal of Don Giovanni, one of the best ever to sing the role and the blueprint for all the basses who would go on to sing it. Jarmila Novotná’s Elvira and Bidú Sayão’s Zerlina are also two performances to behold. The conductor, a Mozart expert, brings drama and energy to the work.
This 1953 live recording from the Salzburg Festival (Orfeo) is marked by Wilhelm Furtwängler’s uniquely masterful conducting of the work. His slow, solemn tempi, while taking some of the wit out of the opera’s comic moments, greatly enhance the dramatic sections of the work. The cast, led by Cesare Siepi’s superlative Giovanni, a fitting successor to Ezio Pinza, is worthy of its conductor. Elisabeth Grümmer is an outstanding Donna Anna and, at her side, Anton Dermota portrays an ideal Don Ottavio. As Donna Elvira, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf is incomparable, Walter Berry is a Masetto full of youthful energy and Raffaele Arié sings an apt Commendatore. On the other hand, Otto Edelmann as Leporello lacks comic ability and Erna Berger as Zerlina sounds a little too old for the part.
Again from the Salzburg Festival (Myto/Various labels, 1956), but this time with Dimitri Mitropoulos conducting, we have this fantastic live recording, more fluid and theatrical than Furtwängler, but with less weight and depth. Siepi, Grümmer and Berry reprise their great performances as the Don, Anna and Masetto, but with more freedom and flexibility. Léopold Simoneau sings one of the best Ottavios on record and Gottlob Frick shows why his Commendatore is one of the best. Lisa Della Casa, though a very good singer, fails to bring out all the nuances of Donna Elvira and Rita Streich’s Zerlina suffers from the same. On the other hand, Fernando Corena is a fine Leporello, even if his characterisation is a little exaggerated.
Herbert von Karajan’s best recorded reading of the opera is this live version from the Salzburg Festival in 1960 (Myto/Various labels). His musical direction is fast, impulsive and fiery, almost the antithesis of Furtwängler’s interpretation and, to some extent, his own from 25 years later. Eberhard Wächter portrays the Don as hot-headed, lusty and energetic, but always in control. A young Leontyne Price portrays an anthological Donna Anna, while Cesare Valletti’s Don Ottavio is one of the very best. Elisabeth Schwarzkopf’s Donna Elvira remains unsurpassed and the peasant lovers, portrayed by Graziella Sciutti and Rolando Panerai, are fantastic. Nicola Zaccaria as the Commendatore rounds off the cast nicely.
Prime Selections
Ferenc Fricsay’s interpretations of Mozart are always superb, and this one is no exception (Deutsche Grammophon, 1958). His understanding of both the drama and the comedy of the opera and how they interact is remarkable. If Ezio Pinza laid down the blueprint for the basses who would sing the Don, the legendary Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau did the same for the baritones who would follow in his footsteps: elegant, intelligent and charming, but at the same time manipulative and lustful. Ernst Haefliger, Maria Stader and Irmgard Seefried, as Ottavio, Elvira and Zerlina respectively, make very effective contributions to the recording. Sena Jurinac, despite her beautiful voice, doesn’t seem to understand the character of Donna Anna and Karl Kohn’s Leporello, as well as Walter Kreppel’s Commendatore, barely meet the standards of an okay performance.
The 1966 version for EMI/Warner is clearly characterised by Otto Klemperer’s monumental interpretation of the opera. In a Furtwänglerian manner, the darker, more dramatic moments of the opera are heightened, while the lighter and more comic sections lack some of their wit. Nicolai Ghiaurov sings one of the best bass versions of Don Giovanni and Mirella Freni’s Zerlina is basically perfect. Walter Berry is a very good Leporello, while Nicolai Gedda’s Ottavio is more heroic than usual, a welcome addition. Claire Watson as Donna Anna, Christa Ludwig as Donna Elvira and Paolo Montarsolo as Masetto seem to struggle with the conductor’s tempi, while Franz Crass as the Commendatore seems to benefit from them.
Karl Böhm’s 1967 recording for Deutsche Grammophon is rather slow, but very powerful and stylish, without losing the comedy. Fischer-Dieskau is again a superb Don Giovanni, this time less impulsive and ardent but more cerebral and scheming. Ezio Flagello does well as Leporello, though he’s a little bland at times, Martina Arroyo thrives as Donna Elvira and Peter Schreier’s Don Ottavio, though lacking the vocal beauty of singers like Valletti or Araiza, makes up for it with his intelligence and characterisation. Birgit Nilsson barely succeeds as Donna Anna and Alfredo Mariotti sounds too old for the role of Masetto. On the other hand, Reri Grist’s Zerlina is delightful and Martti Talvela’s Commendatore is striking.
Riccardo Muti’s 1990 interpretation for EMI/Warner is fantastic, full of energy and rhythmically perfect. The comic moments are appropriately light and the darker scenes very dramatic. Samuel Ramey, usually known as a superb Giovanni, is Leporello this time, and he does a wonderful job. His voice is rich and his characterisation full of nuance. Opposite him is William Shimell’s Giovanni, who has a good voice but his characterisation is rough and vulgar; compared to Ramey he sounds more like the servant. Cheryl Studer excels as Donna Anna and Carol Vaness, usually a delightful Donna Anna, dazzles as a very dramatic Donna Elvira. Frank Lopardo, like Gedda, is a more heroic Ottavio, but lacks that bit of elegance needed for the character. The rest of the cast is adequate and does well.
Contenders for Best Choice
The first studio recording of Don Giovanni, conducted by Fritz Busch, has aged beautifully (Naxos, 1936). Without the intellectualism of Furtwängler and Klemperer or the exuberance of early Karajan or Fricsay, this version is very balanced. The singers aren’t big names like Fischer-Dieskau, Pinza or Schwarzkopf, but they work well as an ensemble and help each other to achieve an absolutely fantastic performance. The vocal highlights are Salvatore Baccaloni’s Leporello, Ina Souez’s Donna Anna and Koloman von Pataky’s Don Ottavio, while Luise Helletsgruber’s Donna Elvira falls a little short.
Erich Leinsdorf’s 1959 version for Decca is incisive and direct. Cesare Siepi is once again an ideal Don Giovanni and, as in other recordings, has great chemistry with Fernando Corena’s somewhat exaggerated but well-sung Leporello. Cesare Valletti gives a masterclass in singing Ottavio and Leontyne Price’s Elvira is one of the most compelling on disc. Birgit Nilsson’s Anna is a bit of a mismatch, as she was in the 1967 Böhm recording, but she does better here. Heinz Blankenburg is a Masetto full of life, while Eugenia Ratti’s Zerlina is well sung, if a little dry. Arnold van Mill’s Commendatore isn’t the best, but works adequately well.
Another version from 1959, this time for EMI/Warner and conducted by Carlo Maria Giulini, is widely regarded as one of the best recordings of Don Giovanni. And rightly so: the Italian maestro conducts the work in such a theatrical way that you feel you’re listening to a live performance. The singers also contribute to this, with Eberhard Wächter’s impulsive Don Giovanni leading the cast and Giuseppe Taddei portraying an exceptional Leporello. Joan Sutherland’s Donna Anna is vocally impeccable, even if her diction can be problematic at times, and Elisabeth Schwarzkopf once again shows why she’s the best Donna Elvira ever recorded. Gottlob Frick can only be described as “the Commendatore himself”, as other reviewers have said before, and the peasant newlyweds, Graziella Sciutti and Piero Cappuccilli, are first-rate. The only drawback is Luigi Alva’s Ottavio, tender and charming, but very nasal in tone and lacking in strength and determination.
The Best Pick
My first choice for Mozart’s Don Giovanni is Josef Krips’ 1955 version for Decca. As with Busch, the musical direction is very balanced, giving the necessary importance to the humorous and the dramatic. I’ve talked at length about Siepi, Corena, Dermota and Berry in this guide; the point is that they all sing the best version of their roles in this recording, with the help of Krips, who gives them the essential balance between total freedom and the necessary guidelines to give their absolute best. Suzanne Danco’s Donna Anna is aristocratic yet passionate and this version of Lisa Della Casa’s Elvira is the one closest to Schwarzkopf’s. Hilde Güden’s Zerlina is dazzling and Kurt Böhme’s Commendatore is almost Fafnerian, in an otherworldly, positive way.
