Programs · Episode

MOZART: Don Giovanni

Program: At the Opera
Aired: Saturday, September 30, 2017 @ 6:00 pm
Hosted by Lisa Simeone

Few operas have stories as perfectly suited to a composer as Mozart's Don Giovanni.  It's hard to imagine a more complex weave of antic comedy, shocking violence and emotional betrayals than librettist Lorenzo da Ponte's incisive adaptation of the Don Juan legend — or a composer better equipped to handle it than Mozart. At the Opera examines Mozart's masterpiece in recordings ranging from an acclaimed, 2007 release on period instruments, to an early stereo recording from 1955.

FEATURED RECORDINGS:

Charles Mackerras, conductor
Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Chorus
CAST: Bo Skovhus (Don Giovanni); Alessandro Corbelli (Leporello); Christine Brewer (Donna Anna); Felicity Lott (Donna Elvira); Jerry Hadley (Don Ottavio); Nuccia Fucile (Zerlina); Umberto Chiummo (Masetto/Il Commendatore)
(Telarc 80726)

René Jacobs, conductor
Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, RIAS Chamber Choir
CAST: Johannes Weisser (Don Giovanni); Lorenzo Regazzo (Leporello); Olga Pasichnyk (Donna Anna); Alexandrina Pendatchanska (Donna Elvira); Kenneth Tarver (Don Ottavio); Sunhai Im (Zerlina); Nikolay Borchev (Masetto); Alessandro Guerzoni (Il Commendatore)(Harmonia Mundi 901964)

Roger Norrington, conductor
London Classical Players, Schütz Choir of London
CAST: Andreas Schmidt (Don Giovanni); Gregory Yurisich (Leporello); Amanda Halgrimson (Donna Anna); Lynne Dawson (Donna Elvira); John Mark Ainsley (Don Ottavio); Nancy Argenta (Zerlina); Gerald Finley (Masetto); Alastair Miles (Il Commendatore)
(EMI 54859)

Herbert von Karajan, conductor
Berlin Philharmonic, German Opera Chorus
CAST: Samuel Ramey (Don Giovanni); Ferruccio Furlanetto (Leporello); Anna Tomowa-Sintow (Donna Anna); Agnes Baltsa (Donna Elvira); Gösta Winbergh (Don Ottavio); Kathleen Battle (Zerlina); Alexander Malta (Masetto); Paata Burchuladze (Il Commentatore)
(DG 419179)

Josef Krips, conductor
Vienna Philharmonic, Vienna State Opera Chorus
CAST: Cesare Siepe (Don Giovanni); Fernando Corena (Leporello); Suzanne Danco (Donna Anna); Lisa della Casa (Donna Elvira); Anton Dermota (Don Ottavio); Hilde Gueden (Zerlina); Walter Berry (Masetto); Kurt Böhme (Il Commendatore)
(Decca 4781389) 

MORE ABOUT THE OPERA:

There are plenty of great operas that reveal their true intentions right from the start — think of the ebullient overtures that launch the brilliant comedies of Rossini and the portentous preludes introducing Verdi's complex tragedies.  There are others that open with cards held closer to their vests, and Mozart's enigmatic Don Giovanni takes the latter approach.

The overture to Don Giovanni begins in a dark D Minor key that seems to suggest impending tragedy. Yet the music's quick pivot to a bouncy D Major represents only the first in the opera's compelling progression of abrupt, emotional u-turns.

Actually, a close look at Mozart's own description of the opera warns us not to make any assumptions about its dramatic character. He called it a "dramma giocoso" — literally, a "playful drama" — which at first seems to be a severe case of misdirection; the action begins with an attempted rape, quickly followed by a cold-blooded murder.

Yet, in between the shocking opening sequence and a climactic scene that finds Giovanni plunging into the fires of hell, the notorious Don leads us through exploits that make the character hard to resist.  And it's Giovanni himself, with his deeply unsettling appeal, who provides the dramatically shifting core of Mozart's masterpiece.

Make no mistake:  Don Giovanni is a genuine villain. He's a serial womanizer, a rapist, a killer — and that's just touching the surface.  Yet, the opera also has a strong comic element, driven by Giovanni's devious schemes and high jinx.  As he heaps scorn on his pitiable victims, laughing at them all the while, audiences tend to laugh right along with him. Still, Lorenzo da Ponte's libretto and Mozart's matchless music ensure that the dire consequences of those schemes are as evident as their humor.

The result is a unique and often disturbing ambiguity that's at the core of Mozart's masterpiece. The Don's personality is so beguiling that it's easy to root for him even as his dark side becomes more and more obvious. Yet, when he eventually receives a personal invitation to hell, and his enemies rejoice, it's hard to blame them.

Don Giovanni is routinely listed among the finest operas ever composed. Some have even called it the greatest of them all. That's a pretty bold statement, but however you rank it, Mozart's opera is a brilliant combination of stark human tragedy and touching comedy, set to music of limitless genius.

On At the Opera, host Lisa Simeone presents an in-depth look at Don Giovanni through five distinctive recordings, including an early stereo opera recording, from 1955, and a vividly-realized 2007 release featuring one of the world's foremost period instrument ensembles, the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra.

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