There are few surprises in this complete (it includes the little Leporello/Zerlina duet) Don Giovanni. Georg Solti’s reading is certainly far more “dramma” than “giocoso”–much of the opera seems driven and a touch brutal; but, along with those drawbacks comes a certain excitement that you rarely find with other conductors. (Actually, Harnoncourt, of all people, is just as exciting, and his eccentricities of tempo are at worst interesting and at best revelatory.)
Solti’s cast is uneven: Bernd Weikl is an interested, interesting Don, but his tone is not particularly Italianate and his snarl becomes tiresome after a while. He and Gabriel Bacquier as Leporello play well off one another and Bacquier is an old pro; but the voice as caught here is slightly dry. Margaret Price is a wonderful Anna. This under-recorded soprano brings elegance, beautiful tone, and intelligence to the role; indeed, she’s one of the best Annas on disc. Likewise, Lucia Popp’s Zerlina is just about ideal. Sylvia Sass’ Elvira is well characterized, but her voice is in bad shape. Stuart Burrows sings a perfect Ottavio–he brings a smooth legato, ingratiating tone, and seemingly endless breath to every phrase. Kurt Moll’s Commendatore is fine and Alfred Sramek is an okay Masetto.
The London forces play well. The drag-to-hell scene is thrilling in a visceral way, but since the rest of the opera tends to roar more often than not, some of the effect is lost. This performance is not really in the running for top-five-Dons-on-CD, but Price and Burrows really should be heard.
