louns@uw-june (Michael Lounsbery) (03/23/85)
Does anyone have recommendations on good recordings of the two Mozart operas "Don Giovanni" and "The Marriage of Figaro"? I would appreciate any. Thanks, Michael (louns@uw-june)
greg@olivee.UUCP (Greg Paley) (03/27/85)
I can recommend several recordings of both "Don Giovanni" and "The Marriage of Figaro". If you're interested in digital recording and/or CD format, there are very good performances available of both. The Solti "Figaro" (with Te Kanawa, Ramey, Allen, Von Stade, London Philharmonic) is a digital recording and available on CD. This is, on balance, as well sung a performance as I've ever heard. Solti's direction is taught, clean, and precise as is the orchestral execution. The recorded sound is very clean and spacious. My only complaint is an excess of empty hall reverberation which goes against the basic intimacy of the work. The Haitink "Don Giovanni" (with Allen, Van Ness, Ewing, Lewis, also London Philharmonic) is derived from a series of Glyndebourne performances and has a tremendous feeling of cooperation and ensemble. It is well paced and, for the most part, well sung. The sound on CD is not as brilliant as the Solti "Figaro" but is by no means bad. If digital sound (and CD format) are not considerations, there are a number of possiblities, as well as some that I'd warn against. Specifically, I'd recommend avoiding the Klemperer "Don Giovanni", the Boehm recordings of both operas on DGG (although his 1955 mono recording, recently reissued on Philips, is exceptionally well sung and his unusually slow tempi allow a beauty of detail missing from other performances), the Barenboim "Figaro", and, despite generally good singing, the Krips "Don Giovanni" because of his wet-noodle conducting. For my tastes, the best conducting to be heard for either opera is from Colin Davis. He has recorded both and, of the two, his "Don Giovanni" is the more consistently well sung. If you like historic recordings, the ones conducted by Fritz Busch from the late 30's demonstrate the high ensemble quality that built the Glyndebourne Festival's reputation. Other recordings of particular merit are the still good sounding 1954 Erich Kleiber "Figaro" (Siepi, Gueden, Della Casa, Vienna Philharmonic - shows the extraordinary skill of English Decca's engineers in pioneering stereo recording), 1959 Giulini "Don Giovanni" (an unexcelled female trio - Schwarzkopf, Sutherland, Sciutti, superbly dramatic conducting and good singing from the male leads), and a surprisingly brilliant performance, much better in sound than it looks on paper, conducted by Erich Leinsdorf with Tozzi, Peters, Della Casa, London, Vienna Philharmonic. - Greg Paley