Search - Mozart, Wunderlich, Wachter :: Don Giovanni (Vienna 1963)

Only Marred By Bad Sound But A Great Performance

Rudy Avila | 03/06/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Don Giovanni is Mozart's most popular opera and one of the most mainstream. Every opera lover has seen Don Giovanni at one point or another, as such a wealth of recordings exist. In most "top recording lists" are found- Karajan/Samuel Ramey/Tomosawa Sintow/Kathleen Battle/Ferrucio Furlanetto....Cesare Siepi/Fernando Corena/Birgit Nilsson...Raimondi/Van Dam/Moser/Te Kanawa...and most recently..Bryn Terfel/Renee Fleming. However, this recording is overlooked and obscured by the other albums. One reason people stay away from this one is, as the first comment states, the sound/acoustics is terrible. Well, we can't ask for perfection. Naturally, an old LP of a live recording is not going to be great. The only salvation for this recording is if it's re-issued as a digitally remastered CD, omitting all the bad sounds and "bites". It is indeed one of the greatest Don Giovannis ever made, right up there with the other recordings I mentioned. Karajan conducting in his prime in the early 60's, with the talents of great singers such as Leontine Price, Walter Berry and Eberhard Wachter. The Vienna forces add a touch of charm as well as drama to this great and much loved opera.



Eberhard Wachter as Don Giovanni is easily the equal to Cesare Siepi, long considered the best. He has a rich bass/baritone voice with all the villainous bite and seductive passion. Leontyne Price has a wonderful Mozart voice. What a woman! She could sing Puccini and was the lead Verdi soprano of her time but could also knock them dead as Dona Ana. In addition, she also sang Dona Elvira with great success. A soprano who can master both "Donas" is indeed a gifted soprano artist. She makes a noble, intense and majestic Dona Ana, a steely victim. Elisabeth Schwartkopff as Elvira, a role she sung several times, is another great asset to this recording. I don't think there is more to say. Go and get this recording despite the bad sound."

Karajan, Price, Wunderlich, Schwartzkopff and Berry O My!

Rudy Avila | Lennox, Ca United States | 09/20/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Yes, this very old and rare recording has a serious sound problem, but even this should not be an obstacle to avid fans of the fine operatic artists that are in the cast for this 1960's Don Giovanni conducted by none other than Herbert Von Karajan himself and performed by the Vienna Philharmonic. Leontyne Price sings a supremely dramatic and noble Dona Ana, Eberhard Wachter leads the cast in the titular role of the corrupt Don, a very dramatic and charismatic Elisabeth Schwartkopff as Dona Elvira, Walter Berry makes a fine and funny Leporello, Rolando Panerai adds grave majesty to the role of the Commandatore and the late great Cesare Valetti is an elegant Don Ottavio and Fritz Wunderlich, the foremost German tenor of his time in the 50's and early 60's prior to his untimely death of cancer makes a fine Masetto. Graziella Sciutti lends her talents to the role of Zerlina.



As mentioned, the cast is really the star of the show, not to mention Karajan's fine musicianship. If only this recording were reissued and digitally remastered. In my humble opinion, I will go far as to say it would even surpasss what operatic scholars and critics dub the supreme version of Don Giovanni- the early 60's studio recording starring Cesare Siepi and Joan Sutherland. While Siepi was considered the finest Don Giovanni of his day, Eberhard Wachter holds his own as the nasty Don. He is seductive and wicked, and his voice is lyrical, more along the lines of Ruggero Raimondi's interpretation. A true Don Giovanni would never just sing a heroic villain. The Don has a dignity of his own, despite his evil. And Wachter does a great job in bringing this out in his performance.



Fans of the diva Leontyne Price, who is in young voice here, and enjoying her initial operatic success right after her debut as Leonora in Trovatore at the Met, not to mention her Tosca, Aida, Leonora from Forza Del Destino and Amelia in Un Balo- all huge lyric dramatic roles. Leontyne mastered not only Puccini and Verdi, but Mozart, and that's a sad aspect of her fame- she was not known for her Mozart at all!! She had more talent than critics ever gave her credit for. She was not only the foremost Verdi soprano, but she was able to beautifully decorate the melodic lines of Mozart heroines, so that when we listen to her Fiordiligi from Cosi Fan Tutte (on Victor Series recording) and her Countess from Nozze Di Figaro (from the Prima Donna Collection disc) we clearly see a singer who sang suprmely elegant and masterful Mozart roles. As Dona Ana, she is the epitome of the fiery victim and the revenge-minded lady who might just have a thing for the Don and not her fiancee Ottavio, sung to perfection by Cesare Valletti. Leontyne Price makes the best Dona Ana, hands down, and second to her would be Edda Moser who brought an equal dramatic passion to the part.



Elisabeth Schwartzkopff fans will also enjoy her as Elvira. She makes her sound very noble, but understands also that she is still quite the character, full of jealousy, vengeance and drama. Schwartzkopff also was a fine Mozartian singer and her Elvira is close to perfect. She has all the high notes and the chesty voice for the part. Fritz Wunderlich is on this recording as a very well-executed performance as Masetto, who shines in his own light and is not just Zerlina's "boyfriend" who is jealous all the time. Wunderlich has a great voice, and fans of this short-lived singer will enjoy his involvement in this recording. Walter Berry, who died only a few years ago, makes a comic Leporello, and is exemplary. More singers should imitate his technique. Wunderlich and Berry are also fine Mozart singers. To be truthful and to the point this recording is a winner becasue all the singers involved are TRUE MOZART SINGERS!! THEY KNOW THEIR MOZART! It's too bad this recording is so obscure and unpopular. I hope it gets remastered and reissued under EMI, Deutsche Grammophone or Victor Series.

"

A tempest in a teapot.

Corliss Phillabaum | Wisconsin | 06/12/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"A classic performance, in limited but listenable sound quality. The confusion in other postings may come from differing reissues, but the Gala edition is clearly and correctly labeled. The complete performance dates from 1963 in Vienna and the role of Don Ottavio is sung by Fritz Wunderlich, with baritone Rolando Panerai singing Masetto. (Masetto is sung by baritones or basses, never by tenors.) The set ALSO includes "bonus" selections from a 1960 Salzburg Festival performance in which Don Ottavio is sung by Cesare Valletti. Confusingly, the "track" listing on Amazon lists the COMPLETE PERFORMANCE of the opera as A SINGLE TRACK (#1) and the bonus tracks as individual tracks--hence the listing of both Wunderlich and Valletti. The two beautiful voices are very distinctive, so actually listening to the recording would leave no doubt."