I love that opera.

Very appropriate for Nino.

The ghost is the Commondatorie, who Don Giovanni murders in the first act while trying to rape his daughter. He later stands before his grave and invites him to dine with him, which he now does in the final act, to drag him to hell.

BTW, Don Giovanni == Don Juan.

Mozart, the greatest opera composer ever. This is his greatest, along with Le Nozze do Figaro. Very difficult to decide which.

R&K

Last edited Mon Feb 15, 2016, 09:03 PM - Edit history (1)

I heard a Met performance of this on the radio recently and it was absolutely chilling. If I were going to produce that opera I'd end it with that scene.

Last edited Mon Feb 15, 2016, 08:37 PM - Edit history (4)

Here it is. A most chilling cinematic scene from a great film, of the same scene. Neville Marriner conducting.

The best performance is the early 60's Carlos Maria Giulini recording:
A taste from the beginning, certainly awesome.


Of course, there is always the Catalogue aria:


Then there's the Don trying to make love with a married girl in what is the most romantic scene in the opera, "La ci darem la mano"


The final scene from Giulini's recording, unfortunately cut off:


I don't know any composer who had such a feeling for story telling. He was a master of the ensemble, working together to weave a narrative, as is evident in the first clip.

Don Giovanni, and Giulini's version, is justifiably celebrated.

Frick vs Moll.... A nice situation to have.


But that recording is superb. I even went and looked.. and I have it... It's been a long time since I listened to any Don Giovanni.

Thanks,

And Giulini's orchestration is absolutely wonderful. Check out his Le Nozze di Figaro with Wächter, Taddei, Schwarzkoph, Moffo, and the incredible Fiorenza Cossotto as Cherubino. The second act is jaw dropping.

Here's Cossotto with Cherubino's two big arias from the first and second acts, respectively:

Oopsie di, not do. Stupid auto correct.

My 'opera years' were the late '60s then mid-'70s- mid-'80s. Still must have maybe 100 recordings...

I am quite a bit more familiar with the orchestral repertoire.

Mark Twain was leaving a performance of a Wagner opera in NYC when a reporter thrust a pad and pencil into his face and asked him what he thought of the performance. In great style, Clemens was quoted, "Wagner's music isn't as bad as it sounds."

(BTW, I also love Wagner. Solti's Ring recordings are wonderful!)

My best to you.

2014, Das Rheingold; 2015, Die Walkure, 2016, Siegfried, 2017, Gotterdammerung.

I've seen the first two installments. Stage production by La Fura Dels Baus out of Spain. Huge LCD screens for backdrop walls, synchronized.You can go to their website and see some clips of their productions.

Absolutely stunning. Anybody who thinks opera is boring just hasn't been to one in the last 20 years!

Last year at Die Walkure, I looked into the orchestra pit at Intermission and saw a row of 10 French horns. I was told it was 9 French horns and one Wagner horn. Amazing!

It is the old Grand Circus movie theater and has been totally renovated as the Detroit Opera House. It has one of the largest orchestra pits on the planet.

Strauss requires seriously large forces. I think there were 6 string basses! When they'd all sawed away at once, ones tummy wubbles. It's a long night as it's a single act. But damn! What an experience! Dance of the veils and all.

I've seen a few more there. My favorite was a Le Nozze di Figaro which was splendidly performed.

Ciao!

I haven't seen Salome or Lulu yet. I saw "Electra" and hated it. Absolutely hated it. In fact, it's the only opera of the many I have seen that I could not find anything to like about.

I also saw "Ariadne auf Naxos" which is 3 acts of three different stories stuck together. I enjoyed that a lot more.

At least where I am they are called Surtitles(TM). And that opened up a new world of understanding to me. First time I saw Surtitles was at Hansel and Gretel (in English for the kids) in 1988 and then at Samson et Dalila in 1990. Then I actually knew what was going on!

I first heard him live at the MET singing Sparafucile-- mid '70s. OMG !!

His recording of Figaro with Solti, London Phil, Te Kanawa, von Stade, Thomas Allen and Lucia Popp is to die for...

His low Cs as Sarastro could fill a house, although I don't know that he sang it live very much. That's the thing with Flute... and parts like... the 'Tenor' in Rosenkavalier.. The heavies don't chose to sing them..

Thanks for waking me up.

thank you, dear pangaia, foryour input...

Gottlob Frick.. also another great..

Last edited Wed Feb 17, 2016, 11:18 PM - Edit history (2)

Both amazing. Different in plot, though both were subject to censorship because they showed the aristocracy (Don Giovanni and Count Almaviva) in an unflattering light as skirt chasers.

Samuel Ramey is awesome. I've seen him in Susanna, Mefistofeles, and Attila. Don Giovanni and Leporello are both baritones, but Sam decided to be a hybrid bass-baritone somewhere along the way. He escaped from Colby, Kansas. Sometimes he's kinda stiff but he's usually quite good.

I saw Sir Thomas Allen many years ago (1991-bicentennial of Mozart's death) in Don Giovanni. He went through a trapdoor into hell and it was fabulous.

It bugs me that Scalia died peacefully in his sleep in a kingly suite at a lovely location where he was apparently being wined, dined and fêted like the powerful royalty he saw himself as. Likely with the return of favors in the past or anticipated in the mix.

The injustice of this begs of some grand operatic or Shakespearean other-worldly demise. Thanks for this offering for our collective psychic healing, Velveteen Ocelot!