Mozart - Don Giovanni / Furtwangler
by Alfred Travers, Paul Czinner
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Cesare Siepi, Elisabeth Grümmer, Erna Berger, Lisa della Casa, Wilhelm FurtwänglerDirector: Alfred Travers, Paul Czinner
Cinematographer: S.D. Onions
Producer: Paul Czinner
Editor: Philip Hudsmith
Writer: Lorenzo da Ponte
DVD: Region Code 0
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); German (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); Mandarin Chinese (Subtitled); Italian (Original Language), PCM Stereo
Format: Classical, Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 177 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2001-11-20
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Deutsche Grammophon
Movie Reviews of Mozart - Don Giovanni / Furtwangler
Movie Review: Stunning print, peerless Siepi in the title role
Summary: 5 Stars
Those who owned the first muddied, dark and blurry VHS print of this on VAI will be shocked but pleased (as I certainly was) to discover that this pristine copy on Deutsche Grammophon DVD is almost a different film. The VHS release had one thinking that the concept was of the opera as being set perpetually at night; here on the DVD we see day and night scenes. Plus, colors are vivid, faces are clear, and all looks clean and fresh. The performance is a mixed bag though. Furtwängler is possibly the wrongest conductor of Mozart as can be, as evidenced by his dirge-like tempi, sludgy textures and Mahlerian heaviness. The value in this film comes in seeing the performers captured - rarely, as it turns out - as they were in their heyday, and pretty close to their prime. In some aspects there is only historical value, as in the case of the Donna Elvira, Lisa Della Casa, who is otherwise photogenic and voluptuous. Tonally though, she is white sounding and "tubular" in vocal production, which after a fashion creates a sense of monotony, despite her committed performance. Then there's Erna Berger, perennially touted in this role as being vocally well-preserved and fresh of voice. I hear a nasality and spinsterish tone, and as far as the performance goes, the results here are of a matronly, sexless Zerlina, where the attempt at girlishness is arch, coy and downright embarrassing. Otto Edelmann's very German, very broadly played Leporello doesn't match Siepi's very Italian, very subtle Giovanni.
Much better is the young Walter Berry as Masetto, masculine and firm in tone; and Anton Dermota as Ottavio, not ideally fluent but sweet in voice and certainly one of the best tenors in the role to be had at the time.
Elisabeth Grümmer is a spontaneous, emotionally appealing Donna Anna. Grümmer had the ability to project a very feminine sincerity, and her singing and acting always had a from-the-heart manner which made her an outstanding artist and personality. Her singing is admirably precise, the tone steady and which peals forth with shining clarity, with its unique timbral "tear".
That leaves Siepi, perhaps the most memorable and natural Don Giovanni of the last 50 years. He has everything for the role: elegant dash, rakish charm, dark, romantic matinee-idol looks, athletic physique, a careless savoir-faire, and not least, a golden, suavely beautiful tone. Siepi has a way of moulding a line which can depict an ardent kind of romanticism and elegance that befits the character; he sees Giovanni as a hedonistic charmer who has a fatal lack of concern for the feelings of others. Of course, when his irresponsible behavior finally catches up with him and Hell beckons, Siepi has no trouble whatsoever in conveying Giovanni's fright as he's being dragged down to the subterranean depths of Devil Land. Siepi is frighteningly intense here, and really does sound like a man scared out of his wits. It's a eerie, effective sequence.
How fortunate that Siepi was caught in a role which he practically owned during his career, and which was a hard act to follow - which this release certainly proves.
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