BBC2 Don Giovanni documentary 8:30pm

[mercia]

while Cosi fan Tutte is live on R3, BBC2 has a documentary about Don Giovanni presented by Rolando Villazon

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b042m80v

oh, and tomorrow BBC4 7pm Royal Opera's Don Giovanni

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0425y3c

[aeolium]

Thanks for this alert, mercia. I'll record the documentary but not the ROH production which is the dreadful Kaspar Holten one (see discussions on Night at the Opera sub-forum).

[Honoured Guest]

Showing at 23:00 on BBC2 in Wales.

[David-G]

Thanks for this alert, mercia. I'll record the documentary but not the ROH production which is the dreadful Kaspar Holten one (see discussions on Night at the Opera sub-forum).

I was unfortunate enough to see the Holten production of Don Giovanni, and like you I am inclined not to record it in consequence. I can't help wondering, however, if this is logical, when we are only recording the music and not the visual aspect. Is the problem that we will not be able to listen it without thinking of what is happening on stage? I did not record the Royal Opera's Rusalka for the same reason, even though musically it was a fine performance. I do admit that this does not seem logical.

[Honoured Guest]

You do realise this DG is on tv, in sound and vision?

[David-G]

I do now! I had got the wrong end of the stick. I certainly will not record a televised Don Giovanni! But even though my comment is not relevant to Don Giovanni, I do find myself being put off radio broadcasts where I know that the production is ghastly.

[Ariosto]

I've accidently been watching a bit of this and the tenor is driving me nuts so I've turned it off. Especially when they got to the period instrument orchestra ...

But that's just my so called taste.

I don't agree that DG is Mozarts greatest opera either. For me personally I think magic Flute is by far the best. Feel free to disagree.

[David-G]

Perhaps we could agree that Don G is one of Mozart's greatest operas. (There are quite a number of them - the Flute is another.) I found this programme much less interesting than it should have been. It was far too pleased with itself. The "reconstruction" of the "finale" was very interesting and informative, but was appallingly filmed, with continual close-ups, not allowing one to see the overall staging for which they had worked so hard and which was supposedly the whole point of the exercise. The idea was to "recreate, as closely as possible, the very first performance". So it was very disappointing that this "reconstruction" took place in a film studio rather than on the stage of the Estates Theatre (which we had seen earlier in the programme). And it was very disappointing that the orchestra did not seem to feature in this reconstruction. They were playing period instruments; but I would have been interested to see how they were arranged in the theatre in relation to the stage, how and where Mozart stood in relation to them, etc.

[aeolium]

I don't agree that DG is Mozarts greatest opera either. For me personally I think magic Flute is by far the best. Feel free to disagree.

Don't you think there's a lot of tedious spoken dialogue in the Flute though, Ariosto? The music is wonderful, but all that dialogue, the incoherent plot and the unendearing Masonic symbolism puts the opera below DG and Cosi for me. In DG everything including the recitatives moves the action forward and there is a perfect blend of drama, menace and comedy. The Introduzione to Act 1 and the Finale to Act 2 are among the most memorable things in all opera imv (not forgetting the Act 2 finale in Figaro).

It's a pity the documentary did not actually use the Estates Theatre as I've seen a DVD of a performance there, recorded in the Mozart bicentenary year 1991 (Vaclav Havel in the audience). The production was not that great but it was interesting to see the theatre.

[Lordgeous]

Figaro gets my vote, but I love them all! Caught the end of Don G - very disappointing and rather glad I missed the rest.