User Reviews

Don Giovanni is one of my favourites, not just of Mozart's operas, but also ever. It has his perhaps darkest and most complex score, yet there is enough of his style and wit still, Don Giovanni is the most vivid of Mozart's titular characters, and the story is compelling with one of my favourite final scenes of all time. Although it is not for all tastes with the settings and I can think of better versions such as the Joseph Losey film, I found this Don Giovanni to be excellent. I do like this HD series, although there are a couple of disappointing ones(Hansel and Gretel, Tosca) and it is not necessarily a consistent series there are a number of gems in the mix(Thais, La Rondine, Eugene Onegin, Il Trittico, La Boheme, I Puritani, Anna Bolena, Armida). As far as this Don Giovanni goes, it is not quite one of the gems, but it didn't disappoint either.

Some may not like the sets, preferring a more sumptuous and somewhat more traditional approach. I found the stacked cubes found in the cemetery scene and even more impressively in Madamina, Il Catalogo è Questo with the use of the "tableau vivant" technique an interesting touch. I loved the costumes, they were evocative and looked beautiful, especially Elvira, who looks both elegant and fragile. Of the staging, which always engaged, the best was the Commendatore scene at the end, Giovanni's descent into hell is both terrifying and thrilling as it should be. As usual, the HD is of a high standard, and the sound and picture quality are crisp and clear. The video direction is mostly good as well, I admired the effort to let us see everything go on, but I couldn't help feeling at times that they were trying too hard.

With the musical side of things, it is exemplary. Fabio Luisi's conducting is stylish and witty, while allowing the darkness and complexity of the Commendatore scene to come through, and come through it did. The orchestra at the Met have always been consistently brilliant, and this Don Giovanni is no exception to the norm. Their sound is powerful and with beauty and style, and even more impressive is not only do they accompany the principals wonderfully allowing the storytelling of the recitatives to be effective but also they manage not to be swamped in a place as big as the Met. Mozart does require a bigger orchestra than Gluck, Monteverdi and Handel, but the orchestration for the likes of Verdi, Wagner and Richard Strauss are so grand and could fill the house, seeing as Mozart's orchestra while not small as such are not as large, the orchestra here did a great job in that respect.

The principal singing and overall performances are superb. Mariusz Kwiecień mayn't be my favourite Don Giovanni of all time, but even with his back injury(you could never tell though) he does do a fantastic job in the role, just like he did with Maletesta(Don Pasquale) and Enrico(Lucia Di Lammermoor). He has the agility for the role(something those with bigger voices don't always manage) and is very rich vocally. But he also is very seductive, charming and handsome, as well as devilish and destructive. He is very well matched by Luca Pisaroni as Leporello, in the most interesting relationship of the opera, who gives his most exciting performance yet with a deep voice, imposing height and an ability to make Leporello bumbling and hilarious(in his gestures and facial expressions) and loyal to his master.

As for the women, they are just as strong. Marina Rebeka sings like a nightingale with a creamy tone, on the other hand I did find her a little too sweet(this is more a characteristic for Zerlina) for such a fiery and vengeful character like Donna Anna. Faring much better is Barbara Frittoli as Elvira, a performance that is not quite as good as her Suor Angelica which shows off her wonderful musicality better I feel, but better than her Micaela, but still very good. The voice is appealing with some very musical singing on display, and in alternative to some of the mechanical acting I have seen from her at times the interpretation is deeply felt, spiteful and with heart.

Mojca Erdmann is a warm, flirty, witty and absolutely adorable Zerlina, a nice mix of Papagaena, Zerlina and even Barbarina too. Zerlina's music is some of the most florid the score becomes, and with an attractive if occasionally wan sound to her voice, Erdmann sings with ease. Joshua Bloom is a handsome and forceful Massetto, displaying good rapport with Erdmann and a lovely dark voice, perfect for the more forceful dimensions to Massetto character.

Ramon Vargas I know from his Don Carlos, Rodolfo and Lensky that he is a talented singer. Don Ottavio is played with a lot of purity, and Vargas sings with legato that just melts like the softest butter and his breath control, needed for the long runs in Il Mio Tesoro, really impresses. He could have done with more involvement with the other principals though I felt. Stefan Kocan is a good Commendatore, he has a strong presence. His voice is also very well projected, if a tad dry, I would have preferred a more black-hearted voice like Talvela on record and Salminen on stage.

All in all, excellent. 9/10 Bethany Cox

I have seen a lot of Don Giovannis. I've seen it set in a strip club, on a slag heap and in modern dress. I often wish that I could see a straightforward production in period costume with no gimmicks. Well here it is and, ungrateful wretch that I am, I found it quite boring.

Michael Grandage's production uses a simple but effective set set consisting of a network of boxes. This is becoming a Met trade mark. Similar sets were used in their productions of Doctor Atomic and The Damnation of Faust. At least it makes for quick scene changes.

There are some big names in the cast but the overall effect is underwhelming. Mariusz Kwiecien lacks gravitas as the Don. Luca Pisaroni is a colourless Leporello. Ramon Vargas is a stodgy Don Ottavio. Joshua Bloom is a decent enough Masetto. At least these roles are competently sung. I was less keen on Marina Rebeka's foghorn Donna Anna and Barbara Frittoli's shrill Donna Elvira. Mojka Erdmann is a charming Zerlina. It was good to see her too, after only hearing her as the Woodbird in Siegfried. Even she cannot reduce the embarrassment of her aria imploring Masetto to beat her. Most directors these days allow a touch of irony in this aria but this production appears to be an irony-free zone.

Let's face it, there is only one James Levine and he is the greatest opera conductor the world has ever known. Without him, we miss him, and he is irreplaceable.

That said, it's no excuse for soporific conducting by Fabio Luisi of the world's greatest opera, Don Giovanni. It's one of my two favorite operas, but I found this production a chore to get through, largely because of the conducting. The dull greys and beiges and washed-out browns and blacks of the set and costumes did not help at all.

There is some good singing in here, including Mariusz Kwiecien as a strong Don Giovanni, and the two female leads; but good singing relies on the musicianship of the conductor in order to come alive, and there is none here ... the music just drones on without momentum or intuition or musicality. In fact the only place this version comes alive musically is the finale of Act 1, when everyone and the chorus is onstage and in an uproar. Beyond that, except for the bursting flames of the descent to hell, and a couple of laughs at Leporello, the opera seems to be on life support.

Ramon Vargas seems quite miscast to me as Don Ottavio, who should have a clear pure light and extremely flexible voice, and a light and airy persona as well. In terms of Zerlina, she sings all right but each of her arias weirdly veers into vast ornamentations that are not in the score and are poorly done and that stick out like a sore thumb. Very odd and distracting. Please do not try to re-think the master.

Lastly, the production is beset by miking problems. There's a distinct dead spot across the entire left side of the stage that does not pick up the singers' voices. And not only that, the miking of the entire stage goes on and off distinctly at least three or four times during the opera.

In sum, a lot of problems with this production. I'm going back to recordings, or to Joseph Losey's wonderful 1979 filmized version.