New Zealand blogger Sarah Noble of the opera blog, Prima la musica, poi le parole, has up a passionate and thoughtful post on Don Giovanni, her enthusiasm for, and appreciation of which opera I wholeheartedly share:
I've been listening to the 1961 Giulini recording [of Don Giovanni] a lot and loving it to pieces. Can't believe I ever had the nerve to say a word against Joan's Donna Anna. My low opinion of Graziella Sciutti (and her Amazing Disappearing Voice) hasn't changed, but she's bearable given the fabulousness around her. Not just the fabulousness of the other singers or Maestro Giulini (may he rest in peace) but of the music itself which transcends individual performances. It's not just incredible for the time in which it was written, it's an incredible creation, full stop. There is nothing like this. And it doesn't matter how many times I listen to it, I still can't believe that it exists, that somebody actually managed to produce this miracle, that we're lucky enough to be able to hear it. In fact I feel a similar way about opera in general, but with Don Giovanni it all intensifies.
[...]
I'm sure one could very easily write a tongue in cheek feminist or Marxist or whateverist analysis of this opera and pass it off as the real deal. It's all so unnecessary. You don't need to dig impossibly deep and over-over-analyse because everything is there already. I listen to Don Giovanni and somehow I feel the whole world is in there.
RTWT here.
Acting In Opera
Hillary
