Mozart: Don Giovanni - Petri, Sills, Amara, Bruscantini, Alva; Rescigno. Mexico City, 1966
$12.95
Listen to a Sample:
This performance of Don Giovanni is an interesting contradiction. On one hand, the orchestra is sloppy and the singers routinely flub their lines in a way that suggests there was probably little to no rehearsal. What redeems the evening are the stellar singers that manage to transcend the provincial surroundings. Beverly Sills brings poise and gravitas the the role of Donna Anna singing with a command that I didn’t know she possessed. It came as no surprise to me that her coloratura is perfection, what really blew me away was her ”Or sai chi l’onore” which she acquits with fiery dramatic temperament. Mario Petri brings an attractive voice to the title role, but his characterization is rather two dimensional (this may have been mitigated with a longer rehearsal period.) Lucine Amara is sensational as Donna Elvira demonstrating, once again, that she was a jack of all styles and a master of many. Sesto Bruscantini delivers comic timing and elegance to Leporello and the stoic heartbreak that Luis Alva brings to his arias will change the way you think of Don Ottavio. The sound is a little scrappy but the voices come through.
OD 11233-3
