Much attracted by a DVD of Don Giovanni, coro e orchestra del Teatro Alla Scala,
Daniel Barenboim, DG, which I acquired from the river people at a bargain price
of £8 47 -a price hike to £13 51 when I sought a second copy a few days later!
The initial release passed me by but the 2011 production by Robert Carsen was much acclaimed and the blood red of the proscenium curtain was also strongly conveyed in the settings and costumes. A clever touch to briefly impose a full mirror image along the back of the stage, after the overture, a reflection of the audience looking at itself, taking in the dizzy height of the 5/6 seating levels in the auditorium, perhaps inducing a feeling of guilt during the action of the opera.
A sumptuous cast, Peter Mattei in the title role with Bryn Terfel relishing the role of Leporello-
a gutsy catalogue aria - Anna Netrebko, Donna Anna and Barbara Frittoli,Elvira, and Anna Prohaska, Zerlina, seizing opportunities to stop the show with aplomb.
The orchestra also glowed and Maestro Barenboim made an innovation, for me at least, of bringing his orchestra on-stage for the final curtain call.
I was almost convinced I was in-the-house. A joyful week for me as I also took delivery
of a 9CD set, also at a bargain price, of Mozart -Fritz Busch at Glyndebourne- meticulously remastered - the selection includes a complete Don Giovanni.
Daniel Barenboim, DG, which I acquired from the river people at a bargain price
of £8 47 -a price hike to £13 51 when I sought a second copy a few days later!
The initial release passed me by but the 2011 production by Robert Carsen was much acclaimed and the blood red of the proscenium curtain was also strongly conveyed in the settings and costumes. A clever touch to briefly impose a full mirror image along the back of the stage, after the overture, a reflection of the audience looking at itself, taking in the dizzy height of the 5/6 seating levels in the auditorium, perhaps inducing a feeling of guilt during the action of the opera.
A sumptuous cast, Peter Mattei in the title role with Bryn Terfel relishing the role of Leporello-
a gutsy catalogue aria - Anna Netrebko, Donna Anna and Barbara Frittoli,Elvira, and Anna Prohaska, Zerlina, seizing opportunities to stop the show with aplomb.
The orchestra also glowed and Maestro Barenboim made an innovation, for me at least, of bringing his orchestra on-stage for the final curtain call.
I was almost convinced I was in-the-house. A joyful week for me as I also took delivery
of a 9CD set, also at a bargain price, of Mozart -Fritz Busch at Glyndebourne- meticulously remastered - the selection includes a complete Don Giovanni.