Don Giovanni

I'm not usually a fan of cinematic adaptations of opera. They often resort to the lazy convenience of the photography and forget to include the heart and soul of the subject. Those elements are especially important with this dark and self-destructive tale of the womanising "Giovanni" (Ruggero Raimondi). Right from the start when he kills the father (John Macurdy) of one of his many lovers, though, Joseph Losey manages to interweave the sumptuous details of Venetian settings with intricate costumes and he manages to successfully ensure that the libretto is clearly and energetically heard as this ghostly tale of human frailty unfolds. To be honest, when you have Mozart at his most creative played out in the hands of Raimondi; Edda Moser as the daughter of the murdered man; Macurdy and the powerful soprano of Kiri Te Kanawa then it's hard to imagine how he could have gone wrong - and he doesn't. It's a lavish enterprise. You don't really need to know the story beforehand (though it does help) as I find it one of the more straightforward plots to follow. That said, it isn't a simple story and the characters offer plenty for us to get our teeth into and to wrap our ears around as we watch a real drama emerge from the torch-lit granite and marble, with powerful arias and duets delivered with emotion and oomph. If you can see it in one go on a big screen, then that does most justice to this stylishly crafted and orchestrated interpretation of a man's flirtation with love, lust and the fires of hell. Rousing stuff well worth your time, even if you're not an opera buff.

This is a wonderful film, the only non-stage performance I've ever seen of this incredible opera. I saw it a million years ago in college and have probably watched it a dozen times over the years. Raimondi is demonically compelling as the Don, wicked, handsome, sardonic, and Van Dam plays off him as Leporello just wonderfully, balancing humor and pathos. Riegel's Ottavio is just as he should be, a humorless square, and Te Kanawa soars as Elvira. My only casting complaint is with Moser as Anna; she sounds very shrill. I liked the hint that perhaps Anna was, despite appearances, actually quite attracted to the Don as well; her protestations to the lumpish Ottavio that she thought it was actually he who'd come to her bedroom didn't persuade (and frankly, I've always wondered why he was such a putz as to buy it). The settings are lush and lovely, including Palladio's Villa Rotonda. Of course some of the lip-syncing is off a bit, but that's to be expected. I also eagerly await a day when this film is available on DVD.

To make a movie based on an opera is a different thing from filming an opera on stage. Cinema and opera are 2 different forms of art each one with its specific techniques. Nevertheless one can be at the other's service and if the match is excellent the merits of them both will be enhanced. That's what happens with this excellent movie where we can enjoy Mozart's music and the singing talents of such extraordinary artists like Kiri Te Kanawa and others besides a lot of gorgeous and dynamic movie images, sceneries, shots and superb cut and editing. The plot everyone knows: the adventures and misadventures of D. Giovanni the king of philanderers of all times and a more or less disguised attack on aristocracy and its immoral behaviour. We are on the eve of the French Revolution and as everybody also knows Mozart was a freemason and a democrat.

I enjoyed it very much. I'm fairly new to the whole wide world of opera but this was very entertaining. But what do I really comment on? Mozart's work, or the movie adaptation of it? Mozart of course is incredible. I love the opening scene, the closing scene and pretty much everything in between. My biggest problem, and I assume that this is true with opera in general is that once I passed the point that I had reached in familiarity from listening to a recording of it, the music was lost to me. I paid more attention to the words and what was going on in the plot than the music.

As for the movie adaptation, aside from it being very strange to watch and listen to an opera written more than 200 years ago on my modern television, I found it enjoyable. Yes, the preceding comment is true that the expressions were exaggerated and more fit for a stage but I don't feel they were inappropriate either. As far as sets and costumes and quality, I have very little basis of comparison, as I have not seen it on stage, or any opera for that matter.

In short, I found it to be very good, though I'm probably one of the very few sixteen year olds who would agree with that.

Sublime music and the filming on location in Vicenza -- Very well made adaptation of Mozart's masterwork. The settings create a visual feast to rival any operatic stage set. Although I did find Leporello a little dissapointing with its full comic potential not realised.