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36 of 39 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Much-Needed Freshness for an Old Classic, October 9, 2007
I was blown away by Rene Jacob's Cosi Fan Tutte. His follow-up rendition of Le Nozze di Figaro was also a fresh, fun, lively, and engaging, and forced listeners to this old classic to re-think the way we hear this jewel of standard operatic repertoire. Jacobs did it again with Mozart's oft-neglected masterpiece, La Clemenza di Tito, by breathing some serious life into this serious work. And today (9 October 2007) his long-awaited Don Giovanni has been released in the states, and far exceeds my expectations.
Like his three other recordings of Mozart's operas, Rene Jacobs is making us re-think what we consider to be "Mozartian." Years ago, Maria Callas criticized the habit performers have of singing and playing Mozart as though they were on their "tip-toes." Finally, Rene Jacobs gives us a reading that does not beat-around-the-bush with the mannered "tip-toed" singing and playing we are used to. Like his other Mozart releases for the HM label, this one is dramatic: sometimes tender, sometimes bombastic, sometimes hilarious, sometimes austere and horrifying, full of that 18th century "Sturm und Drang" that Mozart was famed for.
Indeed, Rene Jacobs has said that in a recording his singers "must act using only their voice." And this is what they do. The result is 3-CDs full of music where you will never find yourself skipping over any recitatives. His characters are fully developed and fully acted, with the instrumental ensemble (especially the often overlooked fortepiano continuo in the dry recitatives) providing the perfect support for the action. This is true musical drama the Jacobs gives us.
Much credit goes to Jacob's casting decisions. I cannot begin to express how impressed I am with Alexandrina Pendatchanska in the role of Donna Elvira. After hearing her hot-red-blooded Vitellia in La Clemenza di Tito, I thought she would be perfect for the vengeful Donna Elvira, and here she is. I am excited to finally hear an Elvira who truly sounds as though she is vacillating between loving remorse, and vengeful, murderous hatred for Don Giovanni.
Sunhae Im is a charming soprano soubrette, perfectly appropriate for the role of Zerlina. She is girlish, playful, and naive, and completely believable in her role. She gives a devilish laugh at the end of her "torture duet" with Leporello in the second act, adding a kind of sassiness to her character. Her screams during the Finale in the first act make the action seem more real and unrestrained.
Detractors from Johannes Weisser's Don Giovanni usually find issues with his somewhat lighter timbre than what we are used to hearing. I'd say to these detractors to do a little historical/musicological research on the voices Mozart actually wrote for. Jacobs, if he wanted to create music the way Mozart would have heard it, was correct/judicious in choosing Weisser for the role. The original libretto (as well as many of the preexisting plays/dramas DaPonte based his libretto on) calls for Don Giovanni to be a YOUNG and licentious nobleman, NOT the aging and libidinous "senex amans" we are used to seeing. It is also true that the ORIGINAL Don Giovanni (Luigi Bassi in 1787) that Mozart wrote for was only TWENTY-ONE years old when he premiered the role, as compared to Johannes Weisser who is likewise still in his twenties. Weisser is great vocal actor, full of the suave-ness the Don needs. When his character is dragged down to Hell at the end of the opera, he gives THE most terrifying, hair-rasing howl I've heard on record.
Lorenzo Regazzo is a terrific Leporello. He displays the apropos oafishness and "buffo" that his character has always needed.
But like all of Rene Jacob's Mozart recordings, one of the most striking features is the secco recitatives. The fortepianist created delightful commentary on the action by improvising his lines, in the manner Mozart and other composers/conductors/continuists of this time would have done.
In terms of interpretation, Rene Jacobs has never been one to follow the mainstream. This recording is no exception. Be prepared to hear some sudden tempo changes. These are, however, an acquired taste that get better and more "listenable" with subsequent hearings. In actuality, these tempo changes make sense when one takes into account the words in DaPonte's libretto.
Be prepared to hear a different version of Don Giovanni we are used to hearing. Indeed, the version we usually hear or see today is more like a pastiche of two completely versions Mozart used: one for Vienna, and one for Prague. The version recorded by Jacobs is the Vienna version, in which an entire middle section of the second act (as well as a few other parts here and there) is completely re-written. This gives us, as listeners, a more exact reference as to what Mozart's first Viennese audience would have heard back in the late 1780s. Rene Jacobs, however, realizing that this decision would mean scrapping entire arias, some of them favorites of operatic repertoire, has included these Prague arias in an Appendix on the 3rd CD. So fear not- this recording is complete (if not more complete than other recordings out there).
I tend to now judge all my other Mozart recordings to the ones Jacobs has released for Harmonia Mundi. It may be because Jacobs has seemed to rehabilitate these old favorites so successfully that I feel as though I am sitting in an 18th century opera house witnessing Mozart himself direct. I truly foresee myself making this Don Giovanni the new standard for which I judge future performances of this classic. Do not hesitate to purchase this one!!! (My only hope is that Jacobs will be good enough to give us an Ideomeneo, Die Entfuehrung aus dem Serail, or Die Zauberfloete sometime soon!)
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46 of 53 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
And pigs the world over have taken flight!, October 10, 2007
My passion for classical music and opera began about 11 years ago after finally seeing the movie Amadeus. I immediately began snapping up Mozart's works - including his operas. My first three purchases were Seraglio, Figaro and The Magic Flute. When the time came to purchase Don Giovanni, I began to do my research. Every guide I picked up recommended Guilini's above all. One reviewer went as far as to say there is a greater chance of pigs flying than a Don Giovanni that rivals Guilini's ever being recorded. Being that I loved his Figaro (became huge Wachter, Taddei, and Schwartzkopf fans through it) and after all the rave reviews, it was a no-brainer. After first hearing, I was obsessed with that recording. Other than an occassional listen to Figaro (my favorite opera) I listened the Giulini Don Giovanni non-stop for a good few months.
As I became more familiar with the work, I realized something - the Guiulini recording is phenomenal right up until the Commendatore Scene. Then it takes a wrong turn due to slow tempos and a complete lack of excitement and drama, especially in the orchestral playing and conducting. So, I began searching for more recordings of the work and made purchase after purchase, which resulted in disappointment after disappointment. I began to agree with the reviewer who said pigs would fly before a recording came along that rivaled Giulini's Don Giovanni.
With the astounding success of Jacob's Cosi, Figaro, and Clemenza (my favorite recordings of these works, I had high hopes for his Don Giovanni. After listening to this recording non-stop for the past two days, I can only conclude that somewhere over the farmlands pigs must be flying. This recording not only rivals Giulini, it tops it (and all other recordings I have) hands down!
What I love most about this recording is finally we have a Commendatore Scene that is riveting, electrifying and terrifying. Jacobs hits the nail on the head throughout the entire work, but this scene is something to behold. He also adds, IMO, a touch of comedy. After Leporello is sent to investigate Elvira's scream and returns and does his "Ta ta ta ta!" and Don Giovanni replies there's a gentle "knock-knock" on the door (as if Little Red Ridinghood is knocking) followed by two strong cords, Leporellos "Ah sentite" and Don Giovanni's "Qualcun batte (there's someone knocking)" there's another gentle knock-knock-knock. Then as Leporello refuses to open the door, the Commendatores pounding is powerful and loud (as it should be). The orchestra, thoughout this scene, creates non-stop fireworks, and when Don Giovanni screams his final "No" it's as if an explosion sounded. The following chorus is truly spectacular - fast, loud, frightening and exciting. I have often been playing this entire scene over and over. It's truly magnificant.
The cast is great throughout. Pendatchanska's Elvira is truly inspiring - finally we have an Elvira on disc that completely conveys rage and a breaking heart at the same time. Tarver's Ottavio is excellent and making us believe he adores Anna. His voice is sweet and loving. Ragazzo's Leporello is just fantastic, and I have no issues with Pasichnyk's Anna. It's nice to hear an Anna that isn't a dramatic soprano, which doesn't quite work IMO. I am in love with Weisser's Don Giovanni and Jacobs (in the liner notes) makes a great argument for using a younger singer, and I agree with him. All in all an excellent cast who not only sing their roles, but act them ... the comedy and drama sinces through in every scene.
As with his other Mozart works, Jacobs allows for ornamentation. Once again, it is done most tastefully and really adds to the piece. The ornamentation in "Non mi dir" is exceptionally beautiful and here Pasichnyk will light your heart ablaze.
Once again, tempos differ here to what we are most accoustomed to and it works better. Jacobs, again, has done his research and makes a great case for all the choices he's made, whether you agree with him or not. I, for one, tend to agree that most conductors simply mis-interpret Mozart. It is well known that Mozart preferred fast tempos in many places that I feel are taken way too slow. You will also hear things you may have never noticed before in other recordings, as Jacobs interestingly brings some different orchestral voices to the forefront at certain times.
All in all, a most excellent recording. Finally I feel we have a recording worthly of Mozart's great masterpiece. My obsession with the work has returned.
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16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A brimming jewel-box!, October 14, 2007
This recording has the signature Jacobs sound: sweeping and vibrant with lovingly punctuated, crisp details. The orchestra here is an assertive dramatic protagonist and competes with the singers, interrupting at will, or merging into breathtakingly seamless ensembles where you cannot tell where an instrument ends and a voice begins. All sounds seem to come from one mind, one throat; this orchestra truly sounds like a human being. The singers are a great cast. Especially faultless is Leporello of Lorenzo Regazzo with his thousand mercurial acting nuances. His rich, painterly voice of exceptional beauty is set against Don Giovanni, here a spoiled but charming youth sung by Johannes Weisser with a deliberately careless yet not unpleasing tone. These two characters and their relationship are particularly engaging. Pasichnyk is a strong, beautifully-voiced Donna Anna. Don Ottavio of Tarver is also one of the more pleasant-sounding voices of the cast. Pendatchanska interprets Donna Elvira as especially desperate and tormented, and it works. Im's Zerlina boasts precise coloratura. The entire cast is excellent, perfectly well-matched, and convincing in their roles.
The most satisfying aspect of the recording is that something so researched, and seeking so carefully to be accurate to the performance practices of Mozart's time sounds so fresh and beautiful, that it both validates Jacobs's approach and captivates and delights the lucky listener of any musical preference.
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