# Who is the best Don Giovanni according to you and why?



## Amagliani (Jul 28, 2013)

For me this is Ildebrando D'Arcangelo, for his Don Giovanni has has everything - the charm, the beauty, the passion for life and no woman can resist him. He doesn't just sing Don Giovanni - he IS Don Giovanni.

That's it:
First act:




Second act:


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

As a purely vocal Don, try Wachter on the Guilini set.


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## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

I love how this user has 12 posts and every single one tells about the same thing with the same two YouTube links included. I know the man is handsome, but please! Or it some kind of e-claqueur?



> his Don Giovanni has has everything - the charm, the beauty, the passion for life and no woman can resist him


Agreed, these things he may have. What he doesn't have, though, is first-class baritone voice on pair with greatest Don Giovannis in history (like Wachter mentioned above). But if you're a fangirl with hots on the man himself, I assume this is rather minor issue?


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## moody (Nov 5, 2011)

The greatest Don Giovanni was Ezio Pinza and he had all the above attributes. The first bass to be a pin-up and I imagine the last.
Eberhard Waechter mentioned also above was very dangerous and he was actually a baron so quite aristocratic.
In the 50s and 60s Cesare Siepi was all the rage and he was charismatic, but his actual technique could have been better.
Naturally DFD recorded him ,but he is unpleasant and hectoring.


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

moody said:


> In the 50s and 60s Cesare Siepi was all the rage and he was charismatic, but his actual technique could have been better.


Siepi is my hero. Enormously entertaining even today (well, to me).


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## Revenant (Aug 27, 2013)

moody said:


> The greatest Don Giovanni was Ezio Pinza and he had all the above attributes. The first bass to be a pin-up and I imagine the last. [...]


I feel the same way. I've not only heard many selections of DG sung by Pinza, but I have a set of live Met performance from the early 40s to base myself on my opinion. Another opinion derived from the same set is that Salvatore Baccaloni (what a name!) was the best Leporello.


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## moody (Nov 5, 2011)

deggial said:


> Siepi is my hero. Enormously entertaining even today (well, to me).


I hope not today--because he's no longer with us,the Commendatore got him for sure this time.
Do you know the others mentioned in my post?


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## moody (Nov 5, 2011)

Revenant said:


> I feel the same way. I've not only heard many selections of DG sung by Pinza, but I have a set of live Met performance from the early 40s to base myself on my opinion. Another opinion derived from the same set is that Salvatore Baccaloni (what a name!) was the best Leporello.


Baccaloni was so very funny,that must be the one conducted by Bruno Walter ?


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

moody said:


> I hope not today--because he's no longer with us,the Commendatore got him for sure this time.
> Do you know the others mentioned in my post?


Pinza and DFD yes, although I have not heard their DGs. I don't know Waechter. I'll check them out at some point. Maybe not DFD, as although I like him he doesn't strike me as a DG type.


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## Reichstag aus LICHT (Oct 25, 2010)

My favourite modern recording is Abbado's, with Terfel and Keenlyside (another suave and good-looking Don). Giulini's recording still beats all the competition, however.


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## Pip (Aug 16, 2013)

Well - I go first for Pinza, because of the voice, but then Siepi, who can be seen and heard on the DVD from Salzburg 1954 with Furtwängler, was the complete package. More modern Sam Ramey was great - also to be seen on DVD(karajan).
Those are the Basses - but one bass was even more incredible - George London.
Baritones who have sung the role with distinction are Gobbi, Wächter, Fischer-Dieskau and Tom Allen amongst others.
I like the Don Giovanni to have an edge to his voice, who can change from sweet to sardonic in the blink of an eye.
All of the above qualify, although Pinza, whose beautiful voice is difficult to resist, is let down by the plinky-plonky piano recitatives, which they used at the Met at the time.

For the all round experience, with the wonderful Felsenreitschule as the stage, the Furtwängler DVD is hard to beat.


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

Pip said:


> For the all round experience, with the wonderful Felsenreitschule as the stage, the Furtwängler DVD is hard to beat.


side issue: I heard Felsenreitschule is a bit of a ***** venue (echoey). Is this true?


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## Revenant (Aug 27, 2013)

moody said:


> Baccaloni was so very funny,that must be the one conducted by Bruno Walter ?


Yes. Bruno Walter cond., with Bidu Sayao and Rose Bampton. The Met live 1942. I suppose it must have been one of Pinza's last stage Don Giovannis.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

For me, Peter Mattei. I find his voice unbearably seductive. I want to fall at his feet when he sings "deh vieni". And I think he has a good insight into the Don, as a spoilt boy has been brought up by the servants in his aristocratic parents' house and has never been denied anything. I love this DVD with a fabulous ensemble cast who spent a year refining their interpretations together.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

deggial said:


> side issue: I heard Felsenreitschule is a bit of a ***** venue (echoey). Is this true?


A bit OT, but I would love to have seen this Die Soldaten production which brilliantly made use of the entire width of the stage to present a huge tableau of different rooms and groups:


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## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

DavidA said:


> As a purely vocal Don, try Wachter on the Guilini set.


That's one highly praised recorded performance I've never cared for.

Though he has since claimed he wasn't really right for the role, I like Bryn Terfel, who sang the role at the Met in 2000 and can be seen on the DVD. For his Don, the pursuit is the thing. However, I don't say Terfel is necessarily the best Don; in fact, with his very British appearance he sometimes reminds me more of a rake in a Jane Austen novel than of Don Giovanni! I suppose Pinza or Siepi was the greatest, though I do like Thomas Allen on the EMI recording.


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## moody (Nov 5, 2011)

Pip said:


> Well - I go first for Pinza, because of the voice, but then Siepi, who can be seen and heard on the DVD from Salzburg 1954 with Furtwängler, was the complete package. More modern Sam Ramey was great - also to be seen on DVD(karajan).
> Those are the Basses - but one bass was even more incredible - George London.
> Baritones who have sung the role with distinction are Gobbi, Wächter, Fischer-Dieskau and Tom Allen amongst others.
> I like the Don Giovanni to have an edge to his voice, who can change from sweet to sardonic in the blink of an eye.
> ...


I must say that I'm surprised you like the woolly George London altho the rest of the cast ,presuming you are referring to his Moralt recording ,are damned good. Leopold Simoneau always perfect,Sena Jurinac, Walter Berry (Masetto for Furtwaengler), and Eberhard Waechter plus Gabriella Sciutti not terribly into her part.
Of course I have no experience of London live,but on record I find him unexciting.
The Furtwaengler is great stuff with one of my favourites,Erna Berger ,although visually hardly a teenager ,certainly sounds like one. I always found the clumsy German Leporello with his mouthings and over performing a slight problem.
As for piano continuo in the 40's Met performance it was normal at the time and you didn't notice a problem .
The rest of it is quite extraordinary.


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## Logos (Nov 3, 2012)

Of those recorded in decent sound, Siepi is the best. Siepi had that effortlessly charming, Errol Flynn quality--one actually believes he could have seduced hundreds of women.


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## moody (Nov 5, 2011)

Revenant said:


> Yes. Bruno Walter cond., with Bidu Sayao and Rose Bampton. The Met live 1942. I suppose it must have been one of Pinza's last stage Don Giovannis.


Bidu sayao was not much appreciated in the Uk,but she should have been--perhaps she never visited here.


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

mamascarlatti said:


> A bit OT, but I would love to have seen this Die Soldaten production which brilliantly made use of the entire width of the stage to present a huge tableau of different rooms and groups:


looks amazing all right!


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## Pip (Aug 16, 2013)

deggial said:


> looks amazing all right!











It can be a great setting if the designer is any good.............


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## Pip (Aug 16, 2013)

moody said:


> I must say that I'm surprised you like the woolly George London altho the rest of the cast ,presuming you are referring to his Moralt recording ,are damned good. Leopold Simoneau always perfect,Sena Jurinac, Walter Berry (Masetto for Furtwaengler), and Eberhard Waechter plus Gabriella Sciutti not terribly into her part.
> Of course I have no experience of London live,but on record I find him unexciting.
> The Furtwaengler is great stuff with one of my favourites,Erna Berger ,although visually hardly a teenager ,certainly sounds like one. I always found the clumsy German Leporello with his mouthings and over performing a slight problem.
> As for piano continuo in the 40's Met performance it was normal at the time and you didn't notice a problem .
> The rest of it is quite extraordinary.


No I was referring to London generally as a great Don Giovanni. 
I don't give rosettes to singers who have only ever recorded roles without having performed them on stage. In London's case
he sang it in Vienna in German under Kubelik and at the Met in Italian - performance listed below.

Don Giovanni............George London
Donna Anna..............Eleanor Steber
Don Ottavio.............Cesare Valletti
Donna Elvira............Lisa Della Casa
Leporello...............Ezio Flagello
Zerlina.................Laurel Hurley
Masetto.................Theodor Uppman
Commendatore............William Wilderman

Conductor...............Karl Böhm

I find that he also had the ability to change from dulcet voiced to malevolence at the snap of a finger and his dark timbre was ideally suited for the role.
It is to be regretted that CG were not performing Mozart during the 50's otherwise he may have sung there, In fact the only time he sang with the company at all was at the 1963 Edinburgh Festival in the Damnation of Faust.

As for the Furtwängler DVD, I don't mind Edelmann so much, he was never my favorite singer, but to have Siepi, Della Casa, Grümmer, Dermota et.al. is more than enough compensation. Not to mention Furtwängler of course...................
This production has dated a great deal, but, when served this kind of performance, who cares, I don't. We are not blessed with many visually preserved productions from almost 60 years ago, but we should be thankful for this one.


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

My favourites are also Siepi and Pinza.

Just to mention someone else, I like this very italianate recording:


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## moody (Nov 5, 2011)

Pip said:


> No I was referring to London generally as a great Don Giovanni.
> I don't give rosettes to singers who have only ever recorded roles without having performed them on stage. In London's case
> he sang it in Vienna in German under Kubelik and at the Met in Italian - performance listed below.
> 
> ...


It is a fact that the Furtwaengler film was what really got me into opera. It was released to the general cinema circuit and I went along and was knocked over by the whole experience. I was only sixteen in 1954 but it was obvious that the ladies were something special .


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## Yashin (Jul 22, 2011)

I do like Siepi a lot. More modern interpreters i enjoy are Keenlyside, Dohmann and Boris Martinovich. Actually the Keenlyside recording conducted by Abbado is brilliant but i love the Don of Boris Martinovich on the recording by Alain Lombard - slow, dark and frightening!

Not a fan of Terfel as Don. Much prefer him as Leporello


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## moody (Nov 5, 2011)

Reichstag aus LICHT said:


> My favourite modern recording is Abbado's, with Terfel and Keenlyside (another suave and good-looking Don). Giulini's recording still beats all the competition, however.


I can imagine a lot of decriptions of Mr.Terfel but suave isn't one of them.


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## Itullian (Aug 27, 2011)

Of the ones I've heard Siepi is my choice.


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## Reichstag aus LICHT (Oct 25, 2010)

moody said:


> I can imagine a lot of decriptions of Mr.Terfel but suave isn't one of them.


I was referring to Keenlyside, actually. Mind you, I bet Terfel could do "suave" if it were asked of him


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## Revenant (Aug 27, 2013)

moody said:


> [...] The Furtwaengler is great stuff with one of my favourites,Erna Berger ,although visually hardly a teenager ,certainly sounds like one. I always found the clumsy German Leporello with his mouthings and over performing a slight problem. [...]


I have a video of the filmed version of this production (in color) and you're right, Erna Berger was no teenager in 1954. The acting and staging looks like an awkward school play (ah, the fifites), but Berger and Siepi do their very best. And there's Furtwangler and orchestra. He died later that same year. Siepi is rightfully ranked just below Pinza as DG, imo. Since I grew up in the 60s, he was of course the DG in the very first recorded version that I heard. The Leinsdorf I think it was.


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

My favorite, of course, is my "baritone god," Sherrill Milnes. He has the requisite elegance and suavity for Giovanni, but that element of danger to which at least some women (Zerlina) seem initially drawn.


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## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

MAuer said:


> My favorite, of course, is my "baritone god," Sherrill Milnes. He has the requisite elegance and suavity for Giovanni, but that element of danger to which at least some women (Zerlina) seem initially drawn.


I've heard some of his Don on the live recording from about 1977. I agree that his conception fits in well with what the conductor (Karl Boehm, I believe) seemed to be going for, which was a rather heavy, moralistic interpretation. I was most struck by the way he delivered the recitatives, simply because I'd never heard him in "secco" recitatives before (though I had heard him do spoken dialogue, on the Abbado CARMEN).


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## moody (Nov 5, 2011)

Reichstag aus LICHT said:


> I was referring to Keenlyside, actually. Mind you, I bet Terfel could do "suave" if it were asked of him


So you were,sorry about that.


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

Bellinilover said:


> That's one highly praised recorded performance I've never cared for.
> 
> Though he has since claimed he wasn't really right for the role, I like Bryn Terfel, who sang the role at the Met in 2000 and can be seen on the DVD. For his Don, the pursuit is the thing. However, I don't say Terfel is necessarily the best Don; in fact, with his very British appearance he sometimes reminds me more of a rake in a Jane Austen novel than of Don Giovanni! I suppose Pinza or Siepi was the greatest, though I do like Thomas Allen on the EMI recording.


I don't know what Wachter was like on stage but on Guilini's recording he could hardly be bettered as the philanderer. He has a beautiful voice and seductive tone which easily beats other Dons.
Of course, it help that the rest of the cast is superlative. One of Legge's best opera recordings.


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

I checked Wachter out - not bad but I don't particularly like his voice. Very good-looking, though.


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## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

DavidA said:


> I don't know what Wachter was like on stage but on Guilini's recording he could hardly be bettered as the philanderer. He has a beautiful voice and seductive tone which easily beats other Dons.
> Of course, it help that the rest of the cast is superlative. One of Legge's best opera recordings.


I agree with you that he has the ability to sound mellifluous, as in "Deh, vieni alla finestra." I don't care for the rough, thrusting edge his voice takes on during the Don's nastier moments. But more than that, I find his interpretation of Don Giovanni too manic. Certainly it fits in with the overall tone of the recording, which I would describe as "commedia dell'arte" (the characters are more "types" than "real people"). He's just not my own preferred Don.


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## Dongiovanni (Jul 30, 2012)

A good Don should look the part, and should be able to sing with many different colours. He should sound sweet and tempting, but also course, malicious. It should be clear that Don Giovanni has no regrets, and he will not repent, but also that his actions are not working anymore, he is a failed man.

Some Don's I like:
Rod Gilfry: Even though this is semi-staged, Gilfry is very convincing. 





Gerald Finley:


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## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

*Dongiovanni:* That sense of "his actions are not working anymore" is something I believe Terfel puts across very well.


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## Vaneyes (May 11, 2010)

Samuel Ramey...because I say so.

View attachment 26146


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## moody (Nov 5, 2011)

Revenant said:


> I have a video of the filmed version of this production (in color) and you're right, Erna Berger was no teenager in 1954. The acting and staging looks like an awkward school play (ah, the fifites), but Berger and Siepi do their very best. And there's Furtwangler and orchestra. He died later that same year. Siepi is rightfully ranked just below Pinza as DG, imo. Since I grew up in the 60s, he was of course the DG in the very first recorded version that I heard. The Leinsdorf I think it was.


He did it first with Josef Krips and the VPO in 1955 for British Decca,the Leinsdorf was on RCA I imagine.


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## moody (Nov 5, 2011)

Revenant said:


> I have a video of the filmed version of this production (in color) and you're right, Erna Berger was no teenager in 1954. The acting and staging looks like an awkward school play (ah, the fifites), but Berger and Siepi do their very best. And there's Furtwangler and orchestra. He died later that same year. Siepi is rightfully ranked just below Pinza as DG, imo. Since I grew up in the 60s, he was of course the DG in the very first recorded version that I heard. The Leinsdorf I think it was.


Ms.Berger was actually fifty four, but then she was singing Gilda at the Met at fifty and made a very good recording for RCA of "Rigoletto" with Leonard Warren.I listen to it often and it's on Naxos now cheap.


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

moody said:


> Ms.Berger was actually fifty four, but then she was singing Gilda at the Met at fifty and made a very good recording for RCA of "Rigoletto" with Leonard Warren.I listen to it often and it's on Naxos now cheap.


They could tend to get away with it more years ago. Today a 50 year-old Gilda or Zerlina on film would be considered anachronistic, to say the least, however well they sang!


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## Revenant (Aug 27, 2013)

moody said:


> Ms.Berger was actually fifty four, but then she was singing Gilda at the Met at fifty and made a very good recording for RCA of "Rigoletto" with Leonard Warren.I listen to it often and it's on Naxos now cheap.


I have that Rig too. And another one again with Warren, Bjorling and Peters. Warren was one of my favorite baritones because I grew up listening to him and remember his onstage death. Bjorling, Warren and Tibbett all died the same year.


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## TrevBus (Jun 6, 2013)

Pinza and Siepi are probably considred the best, w/a big nod to Ramey(the only role I liked him in). Siepa I liked better as Figaro, as in the Marriage of. My favorite, however and perhaps mostly because I saw him do the role live, twice; Thomas Allen. Such a rake and schemer, I have never seen on stage before, IMO


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## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

TrevBus said:


> Pinza and Siepa





TrevBus said:


> Siepa I liked better as Figaro


Who is that Siepa guy.

Sounds like Russian name.


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## moody (Nov 5, 2011)

DavidA said:


> They could tend to get away with it more years ago. Today a 50 year-old Gilda or Zerlina on film would be considered anachronistic, to say the least, however well they sang!


Yes,you could always have a lousy pin-up singer --there's a lot of that about.
This was a film of a performance and of course the artists are some way from the stage.
I remember a film of "Aida" with a very young Sophia Loren dubbed as "Aida",it was laughable. (But Sexy).


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## moody (Nov 5, 2011)

Aramis said:


> Who is that Siepa guy.
> 
> Sounds like Russian name.


No.he's Cesare Siepi and he's Italian.


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## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

moody said:


> No.he's Cesare Siepi and he's Italian.


s
WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT


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## moody (Nov 5, 2011)

Aramis said:


> s
> WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT


Is there something wrong with you or what ?
You thought he was Russian,when he is well known or were you attempting to be amusing at Trevbuses cost ?


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## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

moody said:


> Is there something wrong with you or what ?
> You thought he was Russian,when he is well known or were you attempting to be amusing at Trevbuses cost ?


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## TrevBus (Jun 6, 2013)

Aramis said:


> Who is that Siepa guy.
> 
> Sounds like Russian name.


Yeah, my bad. It's called lousy typing and NOT proof reading. Fixed.


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## Revenant (Aug 27, 2013)

moody said:


> Yes,you could always have a lousy pin-up singer --there's a lot of that about.
> This was a film of a performance and of course the artists are some way from the stage.
> I remember a film of "Aida" with a very young Sophia Loren dubbed as "Aida",it was laughable. (But Sexy).


I remember that my parents took me to see that film in the early '50s. It was dubbed by Tebaldi, Gobbi and iirc, del Monaco. I wonder why they didn't use the singers as actors? (Well, keep Loren and dub her, but why the others?) The Rhadames looked like a vertically-challenged actor. A cheesy film indeed, but sounded good to me back then.


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

Revenant said:


> I remember that my parents took me to see that film in the early '50s. It was dubbed by Tebaldi, Gobbi and iirc, del Monaco. I wonder why they didn't use the singers as actors? (Well, keep Loren and dub her, but why the others?) The Rhadames looked like a vertically-challenged actor. A cheesy film indeed, but sounded good to me back then.


I remember seeing this as a lad. First opera I actually saw. I can remember the Rhadames being rather portly. From what I've seen Del Monaco had much more stage presence anyway, despite his habit of belting each note out as if it was his last.


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## mchriste (Aug 16, 2013)

What a difficult question!
For me, there is no single "best" Don Giovanni overall, it really depends on the aria.
So after some thinking, I would break it down as follows:

*La ci darem la mano*
I vote for *Peter Mattei*.
_Why_: He is just soooo smooth and suave! What a predator, poor Zerlina... or not?

Example:





*Fin'chan dal Vino*
Here my vote goes to *Simon Keenlyside*.
_Why_: His explosive energy.

Example: I only found a concert version on youtube but I like the one from the Mackerras DVD even better.






*Deh vieni alla Finestra*
The Don of choice here is *Cesare Siepi*.
_Why_: Nobody else sounds and acts nearly as cocky. One of my very favorite opera scenes, his overacting is just hilarious!

Example:





*The Commendatore Scene*
And finally, *Samual Ramey*.
_Why_: I realize that I am unable to judge this scene objectively. Kurt Moll is _the_ Commendatore for the ages, so any scene without him is automatically disqualified! Having said that, Ramey's deep, vibrant voice really underscores his defiant attitude.
Even without the elephant in the room (Moll), I do think Ramey's "No, no, nooooo...!" is perfect.

Example: I'd give (almost) anything for a HD version of this particular performance.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

My favourite DVD of Don Giovanni is now up on YouTube, which is a good thing because it is hard to come by. What I love about it is that every word counts in conveying the drama. The cast had been playing this for a whole year and in shows in the ensemble playing. And my favourite baritone, Peter Mattei, playing the Don as a spoilt boy who never had any good parenting (in his own words)


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## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

mamascarlatti said:


> And my favourite baritone, Peter Mattei, playing the Don as a spoilt boy who never had any good parenting (in his own words)


So I'm taking a guess - the commendatore scene is done as if his father would come back from the grave, when the door opens to dramatic chords, we see him sitting on armchair, reading a newspaper and smoking pipe. Then he lifts his gaze, takes off his glasses and sings "Don Giovanni, you're spoiled kid, let's talk about your life over supper... or are you afraid of thrashing?!" and DG replies "me heart is steadfast, I'm a grown man now... I shall come!".


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

mamascarlatti said:


> My favourite DVD of Don Giovanni is now up on YouTube, which is a good thing because it is hard to come by.


It's part of a collection from Festival d'Aix-en-Provence. The set was cheap & I only got it for _The Love For Three Oranges_ in Russian. It was only when I looked properly that I realised I'd got that _Don Giovanni_ as well.










And yes Peter Mattei is superb.


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## Lucrezia (Nov 21, 2013)

Reichstag aus LICHT said:


> I was referring to Keenlyside, actually. Mind you, I bet Terfel could do "suave" if it were asked of him


Fully agreed!!!
I just loooved Terfel as DG in Zeffirelli's MET production 2000. I would never have thought that Bryn could be sooo sophisticated and tempting. The duet with Zerlina, the way he is caressing her with his voice, the way he is moving his hands are out of this world
I don't claim that he is the best but he really surprised me in a good way.


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

DavidA said:


> despite his habit of belting each note out as if it was his last.


no kidding! his Pollione gave me a headache.


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## StevenOBrien (Jun 27, 2011)

I don't think people will agree with me on this, but I personally think that Maazel's recording for the 1979 Losey film is miles ahead of every other recording.


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## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

StevenOBrien said:


> I don't think people will agree with me on this, but I personally think that Maazel's recording for the 1979 Losey film is miles ahead of every other recording.


I certainly don't - it's great in many ways: Raimondi, Moser, Kiri, Berganza and Jean-Cloude van Damme are superb, but then you get controversial Don Ottavio (I didn't like him much and think I'm not alone here) and the Commendatore, though not bad, is surely far from competing with greatest basses. Great introduction to the work and one of most notable recordings, but very far from definitive.


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## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

Lucrezia said:


> Fully agreed!!!
> I just loooved Terfel as DG in Zeffirelli's MET production 2000. I would never have thought that Bryn could be sooo sophisticated and tempting. The duet with Zerlina, the way he is caressing her with his voice, the way he is moving his hands are out of this world
> I don't claim that he is the best but he really surprised me in a good way.


I agree -- so you can imagine my surprise and slight disappointment when, a few years ago during a Lyric Opera of Chicago broadcast intermission feature, Terfel claimed he wasn't really right for Don Giovanni and much preferred singing Leporello!


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## OperaMaven (May 5, 2014)

I think I'd have to agree with that assessment. Have access to Vivalavoce via Internet, and I think they've played both versions - Terfel as Leporello was definitely the better, even though he did outshout Keenlyside and very nearly the Commendatore as well.

As to favorites, I haven't heard _or_ seen anyone to surpass Cesare Siepi (I'm showing my age here, but was permanently impressed by a 1950s telecast w/Siepi as the Don, sung in English).


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## peterb (Mar 7, 2014)

I thought Thomas Quasthoff did a great job as the Commendatore in this semi-staged version:






Has anyone seen Rene Pape as the Don? How is he?


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

Bellinilover said:


> I agree -- so you can imagine my surprise and slight disappointment when, a few years ago during a Lyric Opera of Chicago broadcast intermission feature, Terfel claimed he wasn't really right for Don Giovanni and much preferred singing Leporello!


I heard him say that at the ROH broadcast. The problem is that Bryn doesn't really look the part in the Met DVD. The voice is great though. Mind you, having sat through the sheer idiocy of the ROH production, I could only wish Bryn and Zefferelli were back!


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

DavidA said:


> I heard him say that at the ROH broadcast. The problem is that Bryn doesn't really look the part in the Met DVD. The voice is great though. Mind you, having sat through the sheer idiocy of the ROH production, I could only wish Bryn and Zefferelli were back!


I liked the ROH version. Not all of it worked, but it was quite interesting.


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## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

DavidA said:


> I heard him say that at the ROH broadcast. The problem is that Bryn doesn't really look the part in the Met DVD. The voice is great though. Mind you, having sat through the sheer idiocy of the ROH production, I could only wish Bryn and Zefferelli were back!


I know what you mean. Bryn always looks very British, even as Scarpia!


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

mamascarlatti said:


> I liked the ROH version. Not all of it worked, but it was quite interesting.


Sorry to disagree, but IMO it was hopeless as it completely missed the dramatic points Mozart and da Ponte were making in the opera. The director had his own thoughts on it and was going to give us his rather than Mozart's Giovanni.


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

Bellinilover said:


> I know what you mean. Bryn always looks very British, even as Scarpia!


I had Bryn's Don DVD on when my daughter came in. She said: "is that an opera about fat men?"


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

DavidA said:


> Sorry to disagree, but IMO it was hopeless as it completely missed the dramatic points Mozart and da Ponte were making in the opera. The director had his own thoughts on it and was going to give us his rather than Mozart's Giovanni.


You have made your point quite frequently about this production on this forum. I am saying here that not everyone shares your point of view, some of us quite enjoy some directorial interference as a change from the straight tellings.

Sometimes it works really well, sometimes it doesn't. I'm not sure this was entirely convincing, (I don't buy the 19th concept of Donna Anna as a willing participant) but there were aspects of this show I really enjoyed - some of the singing (not Ottavio though) the empty nihilistic persona of Don G; the credible and intimate relationship between Elvira and the Don, Zerlina's animation and light-heartedness, the brilliant revolving set, and the utterly mesmerising voice of Alexander Tsymbalyuk as the Commendatore.

I'd rather see something like this than a boring, flabby and uninspired straight production with no acting (cough La Scala 1987 cough)


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Ezio Pinza was my favorite Don Giovanni of all time. Not too shabby in South Pacific either.

Why? Just listen to that incomparably sexy deep rich voice!


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## Dongiovanni (Jul 30, 2012)

mamascarlatti said:


> You have made your point quite frequently about this production on this forum. I am saying here that not everyone shares your point of view, some of us quite enjoy some directorial interference as a change from the straight tellings.
> 
> Sometimes it works really well, sometimes it doesn't. I'm not sure this was entirely convincing, (I don't buy the 19th concept of Donna Anna as a willing participant) but there were aspects of this show I really enjoyed - some of the singing (not Ottavio though) the empty nihilistic persona of Don G; the credible and intimate relationship between Elvira and the Don, Zerlina's animation and light-heartedness, the brilliant revolving set, and the utterly mesmerising voice of Alexander Tsymbalyuk as the Commendatore.
> 
> I'd rather see something like this than a boring, flabby and uninspired straight production with no acting (cough La Scala 1987 cough)


I stopped watching the new ROH DG after the half of the first act. I will give it another go, and I'm almost positive I will go to the 2015 production with Maltman, Röschmann (!), Lezhneva (!!). I don't like all that projection. Kwicien is pretty good as DG, better then in his MET performance. Donna Anna is not my cup of tea, too light.

There is a very good documentary on the singer who performs Zerlina. This shows the stress a singer is , it's almost chilling to watch at some points.






I did see Holten's Juan, and this is a very good attempt to put DG into cinema. I think I like it better then the ROH production, even with all the swearing and the English abridged version of this masterpiece.

About the Scala production... the 2011 was not much better. It had an excellent cast though, except for Ottavio and Zerlina.

I agree with the interpretation of Anna. She is not innocent. And the same goes for Zerlina. She is a very slew girl and the music shows it. She has some very good arias. I especially like the aria where she makes up with Masetto.


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

mamascarlatti said:


> You have made your point quite frequently about this production on this forum. I am saying here that not everyone shares your point of view, some of us quite enjoy some directorial interference as a change from the straight tellings.
> 
> Sometimes it works really well, sometimes it doesn't. I'm not sure this was entirely convincing, (I don't buy the 19th concept of Donna Anna as a willing participant) but there were aspects of this show I really enjoyed - some of the singing (not Ottavio though) the empty nihilistic persona of Don G; the credible and intimate relationship between Elvira and the Don, Zerlina's animation and light-heartedness, the brilliant revolving set, and the utterly mesmerising voice of Alexander Tsymbalyuk as the Commendatore.
> 
> I'd rather see something like this than a boring, flabby and uninspired straight production with no acting (cough La Scala 1987 cough)


I realise not everyone shares my opinion. That's the nature of opinion!

The problem is with these interventionist directors that nine times out of ten, the bad outweighs any enlightenment they might try and bring to the piece. In this case, nothing relevant to Mozart's & da Ponte's concept was said. The Don is by nature a psychopath and to try and examine his personality is not the point Mozart is making as there's very little to examine (apart from what the director made up). It's the people suffering around him that the opera is really about.

Interesting that I found the set design irritating after a short time. But that's opinion!


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## Figleaf (Jun 10, 2014)

This is probably off-topic since it concerns a lost film that will probably never come to light, but apparently the first ever sound film of an opera excerpt was of Victor Maurel's Don Giovanni, made for the Paris Exposition of 1900. (I guess there is a chance that either the silent film or its separately-recorded cylinder 'soundtrack' will turn up in an attic somewhere- I live in hope!) It would be a priceless opportunity to see as well as hear the reigning Don Giovanni of the late 19th century, and movement and gesture were of course an integral aspect of his performing style, much emphasised by contemporary reviewers. He also pioneered some sort of authentic performance of the opera (and wrote about it too), staging it at the more intimate Opéra Comique in direct competition with the production that ran concurrently at the Opéra with Maurice Renaud as the Don. What an amazing treats for the opera goers of the day! Both singers were celebrated beauties, Renaud exotically pretty and Maurel athletic and butch. Both recorded the serenade of course, and these fragments are fascinating: Renaud smarmy and insinuating, Maurel elegant and with a beauty of voice that he seldom gets credit for, although he is hampered by an accompanist who keeps trying to hurry up the tempo like he's got a train to catch. Also indecently hasty is Battistini in Finch' han dal vino, although his charisma knocks your socks off. I love his record of La ci darem la mano: so voluptuous, and with the recitative in particular beautifully sung in real golden age style, although only the most hardened (as it were) sex addict would want to have it off with Emilia Corsi's unattractively-voiced Zerlina! Very interesting too is Melchissédec's recording of the serenade, since he's someone I revere, although he sounds pretty old to be the Don,a bit like the joke about the old roué who still chases the girls but can't quite remember why. All these old fragments are pretty fascinating in their own right, although how authentically Mozartian they are I really don't know. I did have the George London one on LP once; I think I threw it away in disgust.


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

mamascarlatti said:


> some of the singing (not Ottavio though)


speaking of different opinions on that production, I like Don Ottavio a lot. Otherwise I mostly agree with you (the empty nihilistic Don was rather meh).


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

Dongiovanni said:


> the 2015 production with Maltman, Röschmann (!), Lezhneva (!!).


I am going again, specifically for Röschmann. Just saw her on Sunday  I've never warmed up to Lezhneva but she might be different (warmer) live.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Siepi hands down. Why? Because he was King of the Dons!


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

deggial said:


> speaking of different opinions on that production, I like Don Ottavio a lot.


Really? I just didn't think he had the vocal goods for the role - very uneven tone and a lot of straining. I kept worrying he was going to crack.


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

mamascarlatti said:


> Really? I just didn't think he had the vocal goods for the role - very uneven tone and a lot of straining. I kept worrying he was going to crack.


That's not what I heard! I'm very sure he sounded really good. However, if the DVD comes out and I'm proven wrong I'll have to eat my words and admit memories are weird  or maybe ROH enhances... also I saw the saw on 14 February but I know Poli had to miss at least one performance due to illness sometime later during the run which could have had something to do with this.


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## TxllxT (Mar 2, 2011)

Well, this Don Giovanni carries a dagger that really pierces the heart, together with a conductor who really whips the orchestra (Concertgebouworkest) in a mindblowing manner. So beware, do not give this one a try!! I warned you!


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