Mozart: Don Giovanni

W.a. Mozart (Composer), Carlo Maria Giulini (Conductor), Philharmonia Chorus and Orchestra (Orchestra), Eberhard Waechter (Performer), Joan Sutherland (Performer), Elisabeth Schwarzkopf (Performer), Graziella Sciutti (Performer), Luigi Alva (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Eberhard Waechter, Joan Sutherland, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Graziella Sciutti, Luigi Alva
• Orchestra: Philharmonia Chorus and Orchestra
• Conductor: Carlo Maria Giulini
• Composer: W.a. Mozart
• Audio CD (November 17, 2009)
• Number of Discs: 4
• Label: EMI
• ASIN: B002N4DZ2G
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 1.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #50,707 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Ugh... another horribly remastered opera from EMI, November 29, 2009

By 

Great Faulkner's Ghost (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Mozart: Don Giovanni (Audio CD)

Ugh... This appears to be a repackaging of the horribly remastered three-disc "Great Recordings of the Century" from 2002, with the addition of a so-called "bonus disc," which simply replaces the printed libretto. I guess the "bonus" is that you get to print it out yourself on your home printer. But, the real fiasco is the re-use of the 2002 remastering, which is quite simply, horrible. It has no almost no high frequency response, sounds dull and muffled, more like a digitally synthesized message from your voicemail box than the sound of a splendid opera. It seems as though the only purpose of the 2002 remaster was to remove the tape hiss from the master tape, which was made in the golden era of stereo in the late 1950s, even though the hiss was hardly objectionable in the first instance, as evidenced by the excellent sound of the previous 1987 compact disc release. If you want to hear the difference, go to the MP3 download of the 1987 version, which still uses the 1987 mastering. You might also consider buying the highlights disc on CD, which still uses the 1987 mastering, and which, unlike the full opera, is still in print.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars This is a travesty, and I don't mean the opera, March 8, 2011

By 

tacks31 (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mozart: Don Giovanni (Audio CD)

What in the heck did EMI do to this recording? If you own the original CD issue, play it with the speakers inside plastic garbage bags. Then you'll in essence be listening to this reisue. The entire purpose of any re-release is to update a recording using the latest remastering technology. But this? This is trash. My recommendation: Sing your favorite arias from Don Giovanni while taking a shower. The acoustics are bound to be better.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A Great Recording Ruined, December 15, 2011

By 

Colin Harrison (Washington, D.C.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mozart: Don Giovanni (Audio CD)

This "Don Giovanni" is one of the great recordings of all time, and in the opinion of many, including myself, the greatest "Don Giovanni" on disc. Unfortunately, EMI has trashed this great recording with its atrocious "remastering." Someone at EMI obviously has decided that the one thing that listeners just cannot put up with is tape hiss; so, tape hiss on the original (1960) tapes has been filtered out. Unfortunately, in doing so, a good deal of the high frequencies on the recording have also been filtered out. The result is a sonically dull recording that sounds like it is being played through a thick blanket. This release is a sonic travesty. Avoid it at all costs.