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The metropolitan opera don giovanni2/21/2023 ![]() ![]() ![]() The voice has lost some warmth, due to a well-documented illness and perhaps age, and his voice sounds a little small in the house meaning some of the lower register sounding under-powered. Simon Keenlyside makes a welcome return to the house. Fabio Luisi gives a suitably swift account and gives the music complexity, wit and nuance (the opening chords do provide chills too), though there was a tendency to rush in faster sections and the Act 1 finale which clearly took the cast by surprise. The orchestral playing is lively and sensitive, while also with a depth that suited the darker parts of the score (especially the climactic Commendatore scene) very well. While it is not entirely smooth-sailing musically, there is still a good deal to like. ![]() At the same time it could have been much better. This 'Don Giovanni' is not bad and is an improvement over the musically marvellous but visually near-disastrous 'Tristan and Isolde' that started the 11th season of the interesting 'Metropolitan Opera HD Live' series. However, there are also far better ones, it doesn't get much better than the 1979 Joseph Losey film that had a dream cast if there ever was one. Have definitely seen worse productions around, the 2002 Liceu one is especially wretched. Its story is dark, complex, suspenseful with a nice humorous touch at times, the characters are interesting (especially the titular character) and the music is wonderful, a case of not a bad aria, ensemble or note in the entire score. 'Don Giovanni' is not just one of Mozart's best but also one of my favourite operas of all time. ![]()
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