December 6, 1997

MOZART: Don Giovanni
Fleming, Murray, Groop; Terfel, Pertusi, Lippert, Scaltriti, Luperi;
London Philharmonic, Solti. Libretto & translation.
London 455500 (3)

This recording, taken from two concert performances at the Royal Festival Hall in October 1996, was one of the last made by Georg Solti before his death. It is very much a Solti performance -- energetic, fast (the graveyard scene especially), but with proper dramatic weight and definitely big-band playing. The sound is clean, with good definition for the three orchestras in Act I. The London audience is extremely quiet, except for a few appropriate laughs.

The strengths of the performance lie in its forward pacing, in the male voices -- and oddly, in the recitatives, which are vividly characterized, their dramatic give and take exhilarating. Most people's curiosity about this album, apart from Solti's contribution, will center around Bryn Terfel's Giovanni. His is a commanding presence, not so much demonic as dangerous and at the point of explosion. This view of the role, sung with that glorious dark voice, bursting with youthful vigor, necessarily tilts the equation away from the suave, Latin Lothario side of the character. This is a consistent reading of the part, but it has its problematic moments: the first verse of the serenade, for example, is heavy and graceless, the second (sung partly pianissimo) mannered rather than insinuating.

Michele Pertusi, on the other hand, plays the traditional buffo Leporello -- vocally and histrionically, one of the very best in the role. Herbert Lippert's Ottavio, a typical "white" tenor, is effective, while Roberto Scaltriti's Masetto, more bass than light baritone, gives the bumpkin a solidity he does not often possess.

Of the women, Renée Fleming is the strongest by far. As Donna Anna, she provides both presence and lovely sound, plus the necessary coloratura ability. Her demeanor gets beyond Anna's usual implacable wall of rectitude, as her pliant and expressive "Non mi dir" demonstrates. I have never understood the merits -- on disc, anyway -- of Ann Murray, whose astringent voice and incipient tremolo have diminished more than one recording for me. She brings no joy to Elvira, and the quality of her singing negatively affects the ensembles. Monica Groop's Zerlina also tends to a certain shrillness but is at its sexually suggestive best in "Vedrai, carino." On the whole, I have a feeling this Don Giovanni may have fared better in the concert hall than it does on disc.

- P.J.S.