Mozart: Don Giovanni

Mozart: Don Giovanni

• RAMEY / BURCHULADZE / KARAJAN
• MUSICA CLASICA
• INTERNATIONAL
• MUSIC

With Herbert von Karajan leading the Berlin Philharmonic in any performance, there are some automatic expectations: the music will be delivered with exemplary polish, balance, and a clear, logically implemented overall concept. These values will be pursued, if necessary, even at the expense of dramatic impact--the kind of impact you expect and get from Muti and Giulini, but there will be a beauty and a coordination in the performance that compensates for any lessening of purely theatrical excitement. As a matter of fact, there is plenty of theatrical impact in this <I>Don Giovanni</I>, and there are moments when the singing lacks the ultimate polish, but von Karajan's touch is evident everywhere, and it makes a tremendous difference. <I>--Joe McLellan</I>