COMPOSERS: Mozart
LABELS: Naxos
WORKS: Don Giovanni
PERFORMER: Bo Skovhus, Janusz Monarcha, Adrianne Pieczonka, Torsten Kerl, Regina Schörg, Renato Girolami; Hungarian Radio Choir, Nicolaus Esterházy Sinfonia/Michael Halász
CATALOGUE NO: 8.660080-82
We hardly need another Don Giovanni at present, and the Danish baritone Bo Skovhus, heading a largely Hungarian cast, is not the most impressive of Giovannis on disc. He sings well enough, with a very attractive timbre, but as far as characterisation is concerned, he sounds as though he might have been more happily cast as Masetto. Adrianne Pieczonka is a fiercely dramatic Donna Anna, and Regina Schörg brings Elvira very strongly to life, though occasionally at the expense of her intonation. Ildikó Raimondi is a delightful Zerlina, and she is well partnered by the virile Masetto of Daniel Boaz. Above all, it is the conductor, Michael Halász, who makes this a really enjoyable performance, securing brisk and alert playing from his orchestra, but for the most impressive portrayal of the title role on disc, one has to go back to Eberhard Waechter in the classic EMI set conducted by Carlo Maria Giulini, with an all-star cast of Joan Sutherland, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Luigi Alva, Gottlob Frick and Graziella Sciutti, all of whom sing and act their roles to near perfection. Charles Osborne
Mozart: Don Giovanni
We hardly need another Don Giovanni at present, and the Danish baritone Bo Skovhus, heading a largely Hungarian cast, is not the most impressive of Giovannis on disc. He sings well enough, with a very attractive timbre, but as far as characterisation is concerned, he sounds as though he might have been more happily cast as Masetto. Adrianne Pieczonka is a fiercely dramatic Donna Anna, and Regina Schörg brings Elvira very strongly to life, though occasionally at the expense of her intonation.
Our rating
3
Published: January 20, 2012 at 1:20 pm