Customer Reviews

Mozart: Don Giovanni

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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.

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.

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.

The opera is a masterpiece, needless to say. And this performance is a reference for everyone. However, EMI's 2002 digital remastering is a disaster. No technical description is really needed: it should suffice to say that it sounds like an old (stereo) transistor radio... This remastering is a disgrace.