This 1955 production of Don Giovanni was done shortly before the death of Wilhelm Furtwängler who is considered to be one of the two greatest conductors of the 20th century, the other being Arturo Toscanini. Despite Toscanini's objections to Furtwängler's politics (F. had a famously ambivalent relationship to the Nazis.) he did consider him to be the greatest conductor of all, not considering himself.
Furtwängler's approach to Mozart here is rather Romantic in a pre-musicological style so we can not expect the faster tempos, at least from most German conductors, that have since become mandatory. Cesare Siepi was the premier Don Giovanni of his generation (he was still living at this writing but died July 2011.) not only for his singing but his acting as well.
Paul Czinner produced and directed this film and various other films often starring his wife Elizabeth Bergner. He also did another notable operatic film of Rosenkavalier starring a chilly Elizabeth Schwartzkopf and various ballet films including Romeo and Juliet with Nureyev and Fonteyn.
The cast is generally exemplary and Elizabeth Grümmer is a fine Donna Anna. Dezsõ Ernster, a good singer as the Commendatore was also quite frightening later on as the stone guest, Erna Berger who was 54 at the time is a rather aged Zerlina but the camera has the sense to keep well back in order to disguise the fact. And her voice seems smallish and rather ordinary.
Lisa della Casa (Donna Elvira) seemed a bit weak in her two Handel-style arias but was better later on. Otto Edelmann was rather out-of-tune at the opening but he too improved as the opera went on. Anton Dermota and Walter Berry as Ottavio and Masetto were excellent.
The impact of the various scenes seemed variable (when it was good, it was unbeatable such as the quartet for the four maskers, Anna, Elvira and company, which was about as clear as any version.). I'm not sure I liked the single stage set that was used but it didn't detract from the goings-on.
When I first saw the film years ago in a movie theater, I was appalled at the absence of the final ensemble but I am pleased to see that it is included here.
A word about Lorenzo da Ponte the librettist: he not only wrote this one (The Don is partly based on his friend Casanova.) but also Figaro and Cosi fan Tutte and so has to be considered a major librettist in anyone's book. But he later came to New York where he was first professor of Italian at Columbia College (now University) and is buried on Long Island.
It is interesting to me that the endings of all his operas are rather ambiguous in that, though they all have "happy" endings of sorts, none are totally really "happy". Anna has requested that Ottavio give her a year to get over her sorrow and some say she may not have survived that year (Thomas Mann, I think, wrote a short story to that effect.). Elvira goes into a convent, Leporello hopes to find a better master. Only Masetto and Zerlina are quite happy. Count Almaviva in Figaro asks the Countess' forgiveness but will his eye stop roving? Unlikely! And will the two couples' relationships survive the Albanian masquerade in Cosi?
Furtwängler's approach to Mozart here is rather Romantic in a pre-musicological style so we can not expect the faster tempos, at least from most German conductors, that have since become mandatory. Cesare Siepi was the premier Don Giovanni of his generation (he was still living at this writing but died July 2011.) not only for his singing but his acting as well.
Paul Czinner produced and directed this film and various other films often starring his wife Elizabeth Bergner. He also did another notable operatic film of Rosenkavalier starring a chilly Elizabeth Schwartzkopf and various ballet films including Romeo and Juliet with Nureyev and Fonteyn.
The cast is generally exemplary and Elizabeth Grümmer is a fine Donna Anna. Dezsõ Ernster, a good singer as the Commendatore was also quite frightening later on as the stone guest, Erna Berger who was 54 at the time is a rather aged Zerlina but the camera has the sense to keep well back in order to disguise the fact. And her voice seems smallish and rather ordinary.
Lisa della Casa (Donna Elvira) seemed a bit weak in her two Handel-style arias but was better later on. Otto Edelmann was rather out-of-tune at the opening but he too improved as the opera went on. Anton Dermota and Walter Berry as Ottavio and Masetto were excellent.
The impact of the various scenes seemed variable (when it was good, it was unbeatable such as the quartet for the four maskers, Anna, Elvira and company, which was about as clear as any version.). I'm not sure I liked the single stage set that was used but it didn't detract from the goings-on.
When I first saw the film years ago in a movie theater, I was appalled at the absence of the final ensemble but I am pleased to see that it is included here.
A word about Lorenzo da Ponte the librettist: he not only wrote this one (The Don is partly based on his friend Casanova.) but also Figaro and Cosi fan Tutte and so has to be considered a major librettist in anyone's book. But he later came to New York where he was first professor of Italian at Columbia College (now University) and is buried on Long Island.
It is interesting to me that the endings of all his operas are rather ambiguous in that, though they all have "happy" endings of sorts, none are totally really "happy". Anna has requested that Ottavio give her a year to get over her sorrow and some say she may not have survived that year (Thomas Mann, I think, wrote a short story to that effect.). Elvira goes into a convent, Leporello hopes to find a better master. Only Masetto and Zerlina are quite happy. Count Almaviva in Figaro asks the Countess' forgiveness but will his eye stop roving? Unlikely! And will the two couples' relationships survive the Albanian masquerade in Cosi?