Don Giovanni [Wiener Philharmoniker]by Anonymous

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February 14, 2008: The good points: 1-The sound 2-The video quality 3-The costumes. To choose 18 century's ones is the most natural thing. Using 20 century's ones, well, you have to think a bit more. Peter Sellars dress the DON as a Harlem Drug dealer... mmmm ...gentelman as he is, he should have been a Wall Street youpee, see my point?' 4- With only 3 cameras you can do marvels 5-There is only one stage, but action takes place in a distinct part according to the plot, creating the ilussion of differetn places. A very, very clever solution 6-The acting is quite fantastic 7- A good cast. Anna sounds perhaps too powerfull but OK for a romantic approach. Zerline sounds like a real soubreette. Elvira is persuasive, Ottavio quite ordinary (I did not like Dermota), Massetto (is difficult to make it bad, isn't it?). The real outstanding pair is that of the DON and LEPORELLO. Simply the greatest in the catalogue. Period. So for the bad news??? 1-This is enough to discourage you to buy this one, at least as the only DON in your collection. The conducting. Furtwangler treats it as an almost wagnerian way. Mostly slow tempi, very "pathetic" )in a Tchaikovskyan sense), not enough comedy and the light textures we are accustomed to listen to today. Sometimes it works but the final impression is that of a heavy affair.