Mozart: Don Giovanni (Zurich, 2001)
 
 

Cast: Rodney Gilfry (Giovanni), László Polgár (Leporello), Isabel Rey (Anna), Cecilia Bartoli (Elvira), Roberto Saccá (Ottavio), Liliana Nikiteanu (Zerlina), Oliver Widmer (Masetto), Matti Salminen (Commendatore); Chorus and Orchestra of the Opernhaus Zürich, Nikolaus Harnoncourt (conductor)

Originally recorded at the Zurich Opera House in 2001

Published by Arthaus Musik in 2002 in two versions:
NTSC (100 329/region 0/ with menus in English, French, Spanish and Japanese and subtitles in the same languages and Italian), and PAL (100 328/region 0/ with menus in English, German, French and Spanish and subtitles in the same languages and Italian).

Technical Details:
Picture Format: 16:9
Sound Format: PCM Stereo, 5.1

Running time: 187 minutes plus 24-minute supplement a documentary, 'Behind the Scenes'.

Sung in Italian
 
There were many reasons to anticipate this release. The reality is disappointing in almost all respects.
 
The first culprit is the stage director, Jürgen Flimm. His concept appears to be that there must be activity on stage at all times, whether relevant or not. One is tempted to suggest that the purpose is to ensure that no one is disturbed by the trivial music - except that the music of Don Giovanni is sublime, not trivial, and that the audience is meant to be 'disturbed'. During one aria, furniture is being arranged; in another, a character who is explicitly off-stage is flirting with a passerby. In this way, it is proved that the antithesis of the bad old 'stand and deliver' production is at least equally bad.
 
Costuming is of all eras commingled, perhaps suggesting timelessness. Giovanni in ruffles and Elvira in a trench coat may have some underlying logic, but it is far from clear. Similarly, the staging almost represents something recognizable at times - for example, a train station - but rapidly resolves into a wall without purpose. All revelry is in the same setting, whether that for the peasants' wedding or that in Giovanni's palace. There is no sense of place or time, only of characters wandering through, each devoted to his or her own purpose and uninvolved in the activity around him.
 
Gilfry's Don is not so much good or bad as unfocussed. No character emerges - or, perhaps more precisely, the aspects of character he presents conflict with the music he sings. He seems not at all lecherous or dangerous, only flirtatious; not at all noble, only pretentious. He sings well enough, but without conviction and without connection to the action. Polgár portrays a 'lunk' of a manservant, within tradition but far from credible when cloaks are exchanged. On the other hand, his singing is excellent, he mimics Gilfry well despite a much darker instrument and seems resigned to the production. Our Anna is a shrew with too little voice and a willingness to replace dramatic singing with hectoring; the notes are present, but no more. Bartoli's Elvira works rather better than one might expect. Oddly, the moments of discomfort are in some of the lower passages. She is petulant, but that is a valid way to perceive the character and her fioriture conveys Elvira's hot temper beautifully. Where Bartoli's fidgeting is usually an intrusion on a production, here it integrates well into the pointless meandering of all the characters.
 
Ottavio is altogether superfluous in this production and Saccá does nothing to make one pay attention to him. Nikiteanu's Zerlina disappoints because it is unfocussed dramatically and vocally. For some reason, this Masetto is heard much of the time in declamation; when allowed to sing, Widmer provides a refreshing interlude of characterization in voice and action. Salminen is a vocal blessing but dramatically seems content to be put where Flimm would have him and to try to ignore the business in which he is immersed. Orchestra and chorus are a delight as expected. With only five pages of production information in the enclosed booklet, there was not room to credit the keyboard continuo; he or she deserves commendation. At least, the lutenist on stage for the Serenade is paid his fee; perhaps that was mandatory since he is an invention of the production team, correcting the evident dramatic weaknesses of Mozart and da Ponte.
 
It might not have been possible for any conductor to lift this performance against the weight of the production, but Harnoncourt does not appear to try. The conducting is oddly leaden, not incompetent in any respect except the essential which should capture the spirit. Overall, the effect is musically dull, uninflected except when a bright light is cast by Bartoli or less often Polgár or Widmer. That light is a rarity in another sense in this production which is generally under illuminated. The stage business, which distracts by its existence, is exacerbated when the lighting is sufficient to see that it is going on, but so low that concentration is required to perceive it. The effect is of a bug flying through the scene demanding attention to no purpose. Otherwise, the disc is technically superb with good stereo sound and crisp images. Large's video direction is of the more relaxed form common to his wide-screen work, omitting the extreme closeups which many find objectionable.
 
Usually, details of the format are incidental to the quality of the recording. For example, it should be of little significance that this release is on two DVDs where the La Scala and the Czinner film are on one. However, the publisher chose to break between the discs in the midst of Act II, immediately after 'Il mio tesoro', interrupting the flow of the Act to no advantage. They cannot even argue that the banal supplement required such a division; even with that extra twenty-four minutes, the break could have been between Acts. Of course, it is possible that the included 'trailers' for other Arthaus programs pushed them over the limit. If that is the case, we are made to pay too high a price for their advertising.
 
The score of Don Giovanni is marked 'Dramma giocoso'. This recording presents a melodrama lacking any 'giocoso' element. Devotees of particular singers, particularly of Cecilia Bartoli, will find much to enjoy. Those who love Mozart and da Ponte will not. [NTSC version reviewed]
 
Related website:
Arthaus Musik www.arthaus-musik.de
 
Michael Richter, 25 July 2002
mrichter@cpl.net
 
See also Michael Richter's Introduction to the DVD, for a list of other reviews see the DVD Project page.