Brilliant’s Opera Collection has done a good
job of resurrecting some decent recordings that might otherwise have
fallen prey to the deleter’s axe. I came to this one with high
hopes as I really enjoyed
Kuijken’s
period Cosí.
As with that set, the finest thing about this recording is the playing
of La Petite Bande, who really bring the score to life. They bring all
the best virtues of a period performance in their clarity and textural
detail, illuminating the score and shining a spotlight on things that
could otherwise be missed, but they don’t have any rawness to
their tone. The first chords of the overture really make you pin your
ears back and might just help you to rediscover the sense of excitement
you first had about
Don Giovanni. They are at their finest in
these big dramatic moments, and their accompaniment of the damnation
scene is superb. They are also fine in the gentler moments, though,
such as the lovely cello in
Batti, batti and a fabulously characterful
wind band for the Don’s final banquet. Kuijken’s tempi are
really striking, too, in the sense of how “conventional”
they sound, and I don’t mean that in a bad way. The tendency for
period performances of this work (such as Gardiner) and even some recent
performances on modern instruments (such as Mackerras) is to take the
Commendatore’s music at a fair lick, but Kuijken’s tempi
for this music, as throughout the work, are more measured. In fact,
they wouldn’t be out of place next to those of, say, Davis or
Giulini. This means that this
Don Giovanni is more likely than
any recent set to appeal to those who fancy the idea of period instruments
but don’t like the sometimes over-hurried pacing of some “authentic”
conductors.
The singing is more mixed, though, and pales in comparison with those
on the sets mentioned above. Werner van Mechelen sings respectably,
but he is, at heart, an uninteresting Don, with little of the sexual
chemistry or sense of mystery that really enlivens this character. Huub
Claessens’ Leporello is solid but, again, lacks the touch of humour
that really enlivens the master/servant relationship. The two serious
females are sound, though Christina Hogman’s Elvira is on the
histrionic side, while Elena Vink sounds compromised and squally in
some of the high tessitura. Markus Schäfer appears seriously out
of form as Ottavio, making quite a meal of
Il mio tesoro, and
Nancy de Vries is a fairly workmanlike Masetto. Harry van der Kamp is
imposing enough as the Commendatore, but his voice would have needed
some special effects in the final scene if it were to make more of an
impact. In fact, only Nancy Argenta’s Zerlina really sparkles,
her beautiful voice offset by a coquettish streak and the sense of a
sly wink.
This set can’t really compete with other, more famous recordings,
and there is some irritating audience coughing as the second act progresses.
However, it might be a good “entry level”
Don Giovanni
for someone who doesn’t want to spend too much on the other sets.
Its other undoubted virtue, beside the playing, is the super-bargain
price. This means, of course, that there is no libretto. You can access
this online, but the one Brilliant provides on their
website
is in Italian only, with no translation. By the way, the version Kuijken
adopts omits
Dalla sua pace and Elvira’s
Mi tradi.
Simon Thompson 
