Mozart: Don Giovanni (1992)

This may not be the greatest Don Giovanni ever recorded, but it is very, very close. It's got the inestimable Carlo Maria Giulini on the podium, and the Italian conductor turns in a performance that's beautifully, lovingly, wonderfully lyrical, yet at the same time always highly dramatic, and often very exciting. The cast features some of the best female singers ever, with Joan Sutherland as an imperious yet wholly womanly Donna Anna, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf as a vulnerable yet strong-voiced Donna Elvira, and Graziella ... Read More

This may not be the greatest Don Giovanni ever recorded, but it is very, very close. It's got the inestimable Carlo Maria Giulini on the podium, and the Italian conductor turns in a performance that's beautifully, lovingly, wonderfully lyrical, yet at the same time always highly dramatic, and often very exciting. The cast features some of the best female singers ever, with Joan Sutherland as an imperious yet wholly womanly Donna Anna, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf as a vulnerable yet strong-voiced Donna Elvira, and Graziella Sciutti as a comely yet seductive Zerlina. The men are just as strong, with Giuseppe Taddei as a hilarious yet sympathetic Leporello and Gottlob Frick as the absolutely terrifying Commendatore. What keeps this 1959 recording from being at the absolute top is Eberhard Wächter in the title role. That is not to say that Wächter isn't terrific; his Don is dashing, sensuous, tough, funny, ironic, and, in the final scene, almost heroic. The only thing that keeps Wächter from being the great Don... Read Less