# Giovanni - books, CDs, DVDs



## ttucker23 (Mar 28, 2009)

Hi.

I'm currently 'studying' Mozart's glorious Don Giovanni opera with a culture group I belong to, and I'm looking for material to help inform our discussion. Specifically:

* Any good articles online that provide analysis and insights into the opera.
* The best recorded versions of the opera (I have the Giulini and the Gardiner, but am keen to explore others).
* The best DVDs of the opera (I have the Joseph Losey film version, but wondering which are the best full stagings recorded live).

Any help would be gratefully received.


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## katdad (Jan 1, 2009)

As for Giovanni DVDs, I'd highly recommend the Metropolitan Opera version w. Bryn Terfel as the Don. It's a first rate theatrical production, clever stage directing and very "watchable". Starring roles are tops (Renee Fleming, Furlanetto, etc.), and audio very good, something you don't always get with actual on-stage singing.

I sadly made the mistake of getting the new DVD w. Keenlyside as the Don. It was a dreadful Eurotrash production, staging made zero sense and made me writhe in anguish, seeing Mozart so ill served.

And a word of comment -- I don't look down on productions simply because they aren't "traditional" in their staging. I enjoy creativity in production and think that it's perfectly all right to modify the staging from original. But NOT if it destroys the original opera and if events occur onstage that are simply thrown into the production by the director saying "Look at me! I'm soooo clever! Who gives a damn about the actual plot!"

This terrible new production showed me the backside of the director, frankly. Supernuminary characters moved across the stage for no reason, video projection made no sense, the principals "acted" ways that were contrary to the story line or the lyrics. At times I skipped thru the DVD or fast forwarded -- and this was during a beloved Mozart opera. I'm a fan of Simon Keenlyside and his singing was first rate (as was that from others in the cast) but all that hard work and artistry was ruined.


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## ttucker23 (Mar 28, 2009)

Thanks Katdad.

I was tempted by the Met DVD, but read some reviews that said Terfel was not a great Don - what are your thoughts? Does he work well in the title role?

Since posting here I've seen the Salzburg Festival production from 1953, conducted by Furtwangler with the Vienna Philharmonic, and with Cesare Siepi in the lead role, and I was very impressed with this (I borrowed it from our local library and I'm now tempted to buy it).

However, this recommendation of yours sounds good too.

Thanks again.


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## katdad (Jan 1, 2009)

Terfel is just fine -- he just doesn't look nasty enough -- you can see the good guy inside "leaking out" and he certainly isn't the "lean and hungry" type.

But his singing is first rate, as is the whole cast and production. I agree that visually, Terfel doesn't look depraved -- he's more of a Figaro. But other than that one single point, the DVD is easily the best Giovanni. Furlanetto as Leporello is wonderful, especially.


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## Freidank (Apr 29, 2009)

In case you're looking for something other than 'just' theoretical investigations into the work, I would suggest the 'essay' - _'The Immediate erotic stages - or - The musically-erotic' _(not sure exactly how it's translated into English) from _Søren Kierkegaard's _pseudonymous work _'Either-Or.'_

It is, as you might have guessed given the authors name, a philosophical text with the 'purpose' - not solely, of course - of determining why the idea of _Don Juan _is most truthfully expressed through music, as opposed to - for example - the poem by _Lord Byron_ and the play by _Molière,_

It might be difficult to comprehend without some contextual knowledge - which you could get by 'simply' reading _'Either-Or' _in its entirety - but still highly recommendable.


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