Mozart - Don Giovanni / Allen, Gruberova, Murray, Araiza, Desderi, Mentzer, Muti, La Scala Opera

Rating:
Summary: Mostly Quite Good La Scala 'Don Giovanni'
Review: This DVD of 'Don Giovanni' comes from 1987 at La Scala, in Giorgio Strehler's fairly mainstream production (and thank goodness for that!) with mostly top-notch singers. It has been available before on VHS and even on DVD (on a different label) but at a much higher price. And it may be my imagination - I don't have the earlier releases at hand - but it seems to me that this issue is in cleaner sound and with clearer visuals. Riccardo Muti conducts the Scala forces in an exciting but well-controlled performance. Thomas Allen is outstanding as Don Juan, oozing charm as he snakes his way into the lives of all the women within sight. Claudio Desderi makes a suitably ambivalent (and rich-voiced) Leporello, disdaining his master at the same time he hopes to join in the debauchery. Suzanne Mentzer, looking absolutely delicious, looks (and sings) a wonderfully lively but naïve Zerlina; hers is my favorite performance here. Ann Murray is a somewhat muted Donna Elvira, but that approach can work and she pulls it off. Her voice is lush and she never shrieks during the ferocious moments. Sergey Koptchak is splendid as the Commendatore, although I did wonder why at the end he was mostly heard and not seen. Francisco Araiza sings nicely but is a bit wooden as Don Ottavio. Natale de Carolis makes a handsome young Masetto, sings ardently and is possibly the most tellingly subtle actor on the stage; he and Mentzer make the most attractive Zerlina and Masetto I recall ever seeing. The only significant letdown, and one of the reasons I gave this production four stars instead of five, is the Donna Anna of Edita Gruberova. She has been noted for her silvery coloratura and her lovely tone (as in her recording of 'Rusalka,' since, of course, trumped by that of Renée Fleming) but here she sounds tired, particularly early in the opera. This improves slightly as we go along, but the voice still sounds a bit worn. Her acting, as well, is merely serviceable.

Sets, costumes, direction are all a credit to their creators: Enzo Frigerio, Franca Squarciapino, and Giorgio Strehler. Lighting by Vannio Vanni is just the tiniest bit muted in this production, but it is otherwise adequate.

The opera takes just one DVD. There are no extras, not surprising considering the opera itself is just shy of three hours. The only subtitles are in English; there are not even Italian subtitles, but the Italian libretto is printed in the enclosed booklet. This is a bit cumbersome if one is trying to follow the libretto closely. Further, the divisions and settings of the various scenes are not marked in the libretto - it's the sung text only. Fortunately, differing from some booklets I've seen lately, the text is printed in black against white; there seems to be a trend towards printing white text (or even gray text) again dark backgrounds, which makes reading the tiny print exceedingly difficult, at least for those of us of a certain age.

I do recommend this DVD, but with the minor provisos stated above.

Scott Morrison