Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Ouvertura
2. Act 1. Notte e giorno faticar
3. Act 1. Leporello, ove sei?
4. Act 1. Ma qual mai s'offre, o dei
5. Act 1. Ors�, spicciati presto
6. Act 1. Ah! chi mi dice mai
7. Act 1. Chi � l�?... (Stelle! che vedo!)
8. Act 1. Madamina, il catalogo � questo
9. Act 1. Giovinette che fate all'amore
10. Act 1. Manco male, � partita
11. Act 1. Ho capito, signor s�!
12. Act 1. Alfin siam liberati
13. Act 1. L� ci darem la mano
14. Act 1. Fermati, scellerato!
15. Act 1. Ah! fuggi il traditor!
16. Act 1. Mi par ch'oggi il demonio si diverta
17. Act 1. Non ti fidar, o misera
18. Act 1. Don Ottavio, son morta!
19. Act 1. Or sai chi l'onore
20. Act 1. Come mai creder deggio... Dalla sua pace

Disc 2:

1. Act 1. Io deggio, ad ogni patto
2. Act 1. Finch'han dal vino
3. Act 1. Masetto, senti un po'!
4. Act 1. Batti, batti o bel Masetto
5. Act 1. (Guarda un po' come seppe questa strega sedurmi)
6. Act 1. (Presto, presto, pria ch'ei venga)
7. Act 1. Bisogna aver coraggio
8. Act 1. Protegga il giusto cielo
9. Act 1. Riposate, vezzose ragazze!
10. Act 1. Venite pur avanti
11. Act 1. Ecco il birbo che t'ha offesa
12. Act 2. Eh via, buffone
13. Act 2. Leporello!... Signor?
14. Act 2. Ah! taci, ingiusto core
15. Act 2. Amico, che ti par?
16. Act 2. Deh, vieni alla finestra
17. Act 2. V'� gente alla finestra!
18. Act 2. Met� di voi qua vadano
19. Act 2. Vedrai, carino

Disc 3:

1. Act 2. Di molta faci il lume
2. Act 2. Sola, sola, in buio loco
3. Act 2. (Mille torbidi pensieri)
4. Act 2. Dunque quello sei tu... Ah, piet�, signori miei
5. Act 2. Ferma, perfido, ferma...
6. Act 2. Il mio tesoro intanto
7. Act 2. In quali eccessi, o numi
8. Act 2. Mi trad� quell'alma ingrata
9. Act 2. Ah, ah, ah, ah! questa � buona!
10. Act 2. O statua gentilissima
11. Act 2. Calmatevi, idol mio
12. Act 2. Crudele?... Non mi dir
13. Act 2. Gi� la mensa � preparata
14. Act 2. L'ultima prova dell'amor mio
15. Act 2. Don Giovanni, a cenar teco
16. Act 2. Ah, dov'� il perfido?
17. Act 2. Questo � il fin di chi fa mal!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #147285 in Music
• Released on: 1997-09-16
• Number of discs: 3

Customer Reviews

Impressive Don of Bryn Terfel
Bryn Terfel's Opera Arias album with James Levine gave us a taste of how his Don Giovanni would sound when he sang Don's serenade. Immediately one could see his portrayal brings to life the dark almost demonic side of the celebrated character, much different than a typical baritone Giovanni shows. This approach is not altogether new: Siepi, then Ghiaurov, and then Ramey made this interpretation a solid perfectly acceptable alternative. The "face" of the opera changes drastically - it's not a jocular, half-satirical showpiece about how a nobleman goes to hell to the delight of the plebeians anymore. Instead, the funny side of Mozart then is somewhat downplayed and his gift for drama is emphasized.

Terfel is very convincing as obsessed and often-sinister Don (now any volunteers for the role of Masetto?). Sometimes, though, he just has fun with the role, looks like it appeals to his personality. Leporello is played here by wonderful young basso Michele Pertusi who proved indispensable as a Rossini bass in recent years. His deep voice makes a nice contrast to Terfel's, particularly during their sparkling dialogues. (Btw, Terfel himself makes a fine Leporello due to his endless comical talents.)

This set boasts Sir Solti's greatest asset - Renee Fleming, possibly the finest Donna Anna on record. Her voice is powerful but never overbearing, rich and subtle at the same time. Ann Murray is a very nice Elvira, although I tend to look for striking difference between the two lead female voices (examples might be Tomowa-Sintow and Baltsa or Sutherland and Schwarzkopf". A pleasant surprise is Herbert Lippert's well-controlled elegant rendition of Don Ottavio's notoriously difficult arias (Sir Solti's support must not go unnoticed here - masterful!). Mario Luperi's Il Commendatore is powerful and haunting, his bass is very unusual and stands out strongly. Zerlina is a bit too serious, one misses the likes of Kathleen Battle, but it's not really a problem for this marvelous set.

Decca did a nice editing job on this live performance, the sound is clear and spacious, practically free of audience's "additions" that tend to ruin even the best of performances. Now there are two great DDD sets: this one and Karajan's DG studio recording. Both of them present dark-voiced Don Giovanni's, but, obviously, the two great conductors chose different ways of orchestrating. (The overture alone can illustrate what I mean here.) I wanted to hear both, the Berliners normally have a slight edge over LPO, but here I would not rush to make a choice. Samuel Ramey is somewhat more "seductively evil" if that's what you want to see, but Terfel can also be funny and he's not hesitant to experiment with his voice every now and then. Please stop comparing everything to the Giulini set, it gets old. Yes, that was a great performance, but completely different! (The sound there, by the way, is not any good). Should we just stop and settle there without allowing the younger singers to take a crack at Mozart's masterpiece? You think that's what he would want? As a matter of fact I want to hear more Aidas and more Carlos and more Figaros. The art of opera is a living art and must be appreciated as such. Also, could someone explain what is "quick and simple Mozart"? There's room for guessing here... And the Gardiner set is first, again, very different, and second, does not compare to this one. Comparing Orgonasova and Fleming? You decide. Just listen.

Impressive Don of Bryn Terfel
Bryn Terfel's Opera Arias album with James Levine gave us a taste of how his Don Giovanni would sound - he sang Don's serenade. Immediately one could see his portrayal brings to life the dark almost demonic side of the celebrated character, much different than a typical baritone Giovanni shows. This approach is not altogether new: Siepi, then Ghiaurov, and then Ramey made this interpretation a solid perfectly acceptable alternative. The "face" of the opera changes drastically - it's not a jocular, half-satirical showpiece about how a nobleman goes to hell to the delight of the plebeians anymore. Instead, the funny side of Mozart then is somewhat downplayed and his gift for drama is emphasized.

Terfel is very convincing as obsessed and often-sinister Don (now any volunteers for the role of Masetto?). Sometimes, though, he just has fun with the role, looks like it appeals to his personality. Leporello is played here by wonderful young basso Michele Pertusi who proved indispensable as a Rossini bass in recent years. His deep voice makes a nice contrast to Terfel's, particularly during their sparkling dialogues. (Btw, Terfel himself makes a fine Leporello due to his endless comical talents.)

This set boasts Sir Solti's greatest asset - Renée Fleming, possibly the finest Donna Anna on record. Her voice is powerful but never overbearing, rich and capable of subtlety at the same time. Ann Murray is a very nice Elvira, although I tend to look for striking difference between the two lead female voices (examples might be Tomowa-Sintow and Baltsa or Sutherland and Shwarzcopf. A pleasant surprise is Herbert Lippert's well- controlled elegant rendition of Don Ottavio notoriously difficult arias (Sir Solti's support must not go unnoticed here - masterful!). Mario Luperi's Il Commendatore is powerful and haunting, his bass is very unusual and stands out strongly. Zerlina is a bit too serious, one misses the likes of Kathleen Battle, but it's not really a problem for this marvelous set.

Decca did a nice editing job on this live performance, the sound is clear and spacious, practically free of audience's "additions" that tend to ruin even the best of performances. Now there are two great DDD sets: this one and Karajan's DG studio recording. Both of them present dark-voiced Don Giovanni's, but, obviously, the two great conductors chose different ways of orchestrating. (The overture alone can illustrate what I mean here.) I wanted to hear both, the Berliners normally have a slight edge over LPO, but here I would not rush to make a choice. Samuel Ramey is slightly more "seductively evil" if that's what you want to see, but Terfel can also be funny and he's not hesitant to experiment with his voice every now and then. Please stop comparing everything to the Giulini set, it gets old. Yes, that was a great performance, but completely different! (The sound there, by the way, is not any good). Should we just stop and settle there without allowing the younger singers to take a shot at Mozart's masterpiece? You think that's what he would want? As a matter of fact I want to hear more Aidas and more Turandots and more Figaros. The art of opera is a living art and must be appreciated as such. Also, could someone explain what is "quick and simple Mozart"? There's room for guessing here... And the Gardiner set is first, again, very different, focusing on period performance, and second, does not even compare to this one. Comparing Orgonasova and Fleming? You decide. Just listen.

Wretched except for Solti and Pertusi
Of all the Don Giovanni's I own, this is one of the worst, running neck and neck with the weird Bonynge set (Sutherland's second and pointless recording of Donna Anna). Solti conducts with spirit and Pertusi sounds gorgeous. But I have all the Solti recordings and bought this for Terfel and Fleming. I was sorely disappointed. Terfel is incapable of creating a character. He has one of the most distinctive beautiful bass baritone voices around but Don Giovanni is seductive, dangerous, aristocratic, and more importantly COMPLICATED. Terfel sounds like a thuggy lothario, utterly lacking in finesse. Now that singing actor Rene Pape (and HIS gorgeous voice) is on the scene, Terfel should watch his back. As for Fleming, her Donna Anna is COMPLETELY WRONG. Yes, the voice is beautiful but hello, there's more to Anna than sounding pretty. Anna is self-righteous, indignant, a "victim" with steely strength. Fleming sounds pretty. That's it. Where's the sense that she has something to hide in "Don Ottavio son morta!"? Or the rage in "Or s'ai chi l'onore"? She takes the "cors" in that great aria with a crescendo when they should be taken with bite and thrust. These are not pretty notes but cries of a wronged HEART. If Anna were this weak, she couldn't convince Ottavio to do anything, let alone wait a year to marry her. The rest of the cast ranges from good (Groop) to dreadful (Murray).
The best studio recording is still the Giulini - Waechter is a wonderful Giovanni (although I prefer Siepi), Sutherland's Anna is one of her best characterizations on disc (and she sounds gorgoeous, to boot), Alva is a fabulous Don Ottavio, and then there's Schwarzkopf (enough said).
My dream modern recording: Pape as the Don; Terfel as Leporello or the Commendatore; Mattila (though I worry about the coloratura) or Harteros (in a few years) as Anna; Goerke, Flannigan, or Radvonovsky as Elivira; Juan Diego Florez as Ottavio (WOW); Isabel Bayrakdarian as Zerlina; and D'Arcangelo as Masetto. I can dream...