Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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37 of 37 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Magnificent Don!, August 6, 2000
James Conlon leads the Cologne Orchestra in this exciting 1991 production of Don Giovanni. Conlon conducts well; it is readily apparent that he is expert with Mozart's magnificent music and supports his singers well.The Michael Hampe production is a traditional staging, simple and uncomplicated, and lends a welcome rustic quality to the production, not at all glossy and lavish as in the La Scala production, also on DVD. The costumes are somewhat drab and understated: shades of black and dark brown, with the occasional white apron, scarf, or chemise. The camera work is highly professional, with just the right amount of close-ups and distant shots. During the late 1970s and 1980s, Thomas Allen was one of the premier Don Giovannis, and it is clear in this production that he is a master in the role. He is a bit past his prime, and his voice has the occasional dryness, but he makes up for it with his outstanding acting. He appears more comfortable in this Cologne production than he did under Muti in the La Scala DVD. Ferrucio Furlanetto is in fine voice as Leporello and, as ever, he is a joy to watch. World-reknowned Matthias Holle as the Commandatore is a major plus, and Reinhard Dorn is fine as Masetto. Kjell Magnus Sandve's strikingly handsome looks complements his well-sung Don Ottavio and dismisses the notion that Don Ottavio is a wimp. The trio of women are outstanding. Carolyn James as Donna Anna is convincing, her soprano strong and beautiful. At times, her lower voice is not as strong as her high notes, but she is to be commended on her fine performance. This production catches Carol Vaness in her prime, and her Donna Elvira is magnficently sung. We are fortunate to see the young and beautiful Andrea Rost near the onset of her career, her bright and clarion soprano a perfect fit for Zerlina. The DVD is beautifully presented in a clear plastic case and is accompanied with a slick 32-page pamphlet with pictures, synopsis, and notes on the performance and cast. This is a thoroughly enjoyable DVD, highly recommended, and is a "must-have" for those of us who love Mozart and Don Giovanni.
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21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best contender on DVD so far..., August 18, 2003
Now that I have seen all of the Don Giovannis currently available on DVD in North America (Conlon, Karajan, Losey, Harnoncourt, and Muti) in my opinion this is easily the best of the lot. Its one major flaw is the lame treatment of Don Giovanni's final scene w/ the Commendatore, more of which later. Of the other productions on DVD, principal competition comes from the Karajan version on Sony, which uses the exact same production and staging (by Michael Hampe). I must admit that I was rather disappointed when I realized that this was the case, as I found that staging to be rather cold, dark and uninvolving in the Karajan version. However, this version manages to inject much more life and warmth into the production, and while Hampe's staging will never be my favorite, this production manages to make the best of it. The principal reason for the extra warmth of this version is the cast, which I find preferable to Karajan's in every instance, especially in acting and stage manner. Thomas Allen's Don Giovanni is superior in every way to Samuel Ramey's w/ Karajan - he is simply much more convincing in the role. Ferruccio Furlanetto plays Leporello quite nicely in both versions, but seems to be having more fun here. Even though Karajan had very strong Donnas in his version, Carolyn James and Carol Vanness are superb in the present version, and offer more sympathic portrayals overall (esp. James' Donna Anna). And Conlon's Zerlina (forget her name) is light years better than Kathleen Battle's undistinguished performance for Karajan. The rest of the case is equally fine - there is no real weak link anywhere. Conlon's conducting is truly first-rate - everything is well-judged, lively and totally natural, without ever sounding dull or routine. In fact, based on this and on some recent live performances I've heard him conduct with the Boston Symphony, I'd say that among conductors Conlon is one of the best current Mozarteans, and is quite underrated in this regard. I hope he records more Mozart in the future... As other reviewers have pointed out, this set's achilles heel is the extremely lame Commendatore scene. I don't know whether this is after peformance patch-up job as some seem to think (it seems like part of the original performance to me...) or if it is simply a completely unimaginative directoral concept, but whatever the case, it is a disappointment, especially since the rest of the opera is so solid. And the post-production special effects (worthy of a 1960's B-level sci-fi movie) are supremely cheesy, and totally unneccesary... Technically, the DVD is pretty good. Picture is clearer and sharper than in the Karajan version, although there seems to have been a problem with one of the cameras, resulting in certain long-distance shots having some major distortion in the top left-hand corner of the screen. I did not find this to be a big deal, however, as it is confined to only a few shots. Sound quality is also pretty good. The orchestra is a little soft sounding at first, but the voices are very clearly recorded. Volume needs to be turned up a little more than normal for best results. The subtitles are absolutely maddening, however. Apart from offering only a "bare bones" translation (just enough info to give you a general idea) their placement is rather erratic - sometimes they appear before a character sings their line, sometimes during, and sometimes they simply drop out all together (for example Zerlina's aria Batti, battti is completely absent of subtitles, as is the final chorus...). Really poorly done... But aside from that and the Commendatore scene, I'd say this is the one to get if you want a Don Giovanni on DVD. There is another production of Don Giovanni on Arthaus - w/ Harnoncourt conducting. That version offers perhaps the best singer currently doing the role of Don Giovanni (Rodney Gilfry - absolutely riveting) but the Eurotrash staging and Harnoncourt's unbearably ugly and eccentric conducting completely take it out of the running for me. I give Conlon's 5 stars only because it is the best currently available - on an absoute scale it probably is closer to a 4, or 4.5. But I'm still waiting for a true 5 star Don Giovanni to come out on DVD...
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Overall, August 9, 2001
By A Customer
...although this is not my "dream" performance, it seems like the best one currently available on DVD. As for the other reviews which fault it for Sound Quality (this criticism I find wildly exaggerated) and for the awkward "patch-up" scene(s), I can only counter by saying that this is the only video of Don Giovanni where I cannot point to at least 1 badly-cast role, and its excellent camera work gives it a most "intimate" feel. In fact,while it is (largely) a live performance, it seems to be where the gestures are sized with the camera in mind. I agree with the comment that Thomas Allen appears older and slightly less vital that in his La Scala version (another consequence of the intimate camera work), but he is still wickedly and magnificently Thomas Allen. The Leporello is also surprisingly good. My 5-star rating here is inflated, in order to counter the ridiculous 1-star rating by another reviewer. In truth, this probably deserves 4 stars.
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