Peerless classic up for grabs on YouTube. (Review by William
Charlton-Perkins)
During the late 1960’s, as a student at Natal University in
Pietermaritzburg, I’d haunt the university library, taking
out back-copy bundles of Gramophone magazine, avidly seeking out reviews
of opera recordings acquired since hitting the capital city from my home town
in the Midlands.
Having recently had the life-changing experience of hearing Elisabeth
Schwarzkopf performing a programme of Lieder in the Durban City Hall, I pounced
on a 1960 review by the veteran critic, Philip Hope-Wallace of EMI’s recording
of Mozart’s Don Giovanni, with Carlo
Maria Giulini conducting an all-star cast.
Notwithstanding the virile title role assumption of the young Viennese baritone, Eberhard Wächter as Mozart’s defiant
philanderer, and supremely accomplished contributions from Joan Sutherland
(Donna Anna), Luigi Alva (Don Ottavio), Giuseppe Taddei (Leporello) and the
deeply sonorous bass, Gottlob Frick as The Commentadore, Hope-Wallace
proclaimed “the entire venture is dominated by Madame Schwarzkopf’s
full-breasted Donna Elvira.” Indeed so, and the German superstar soprano’s
peerless realisation of what is possibly Mozart’s most compassionate and
beloved portrayal of human vulnerability, has remained the yardstick against
which successive generations of Elvira’s have been measured.
(Right: Elisabeth
Schwarzkopf)
From her impassioned entrance aria, “Ah, chi
mi dice mai’, to her heart-rending singing in the glorious Act 2 trio, ‘A taci,
ingiusto core!’ – in which Elvira is cruelly mocked by the Don and his henchman
– Schwarzkopf is unforgettable, as she is in her tempestuous grand scena, ‘In
quali eccessi, o Numi… Mì tradi quell’alma ingrata’, and in all other key
moments of her role.
Since the seismic take-over of EMI by Warner Classics a decade or
more back, the latter industry giant has been re-releasing EMI’s back catalogue
in digitally remastered editions. The entire Maria Callas recorded oeuvre has
been the beneficiary of this huge venture, as have those of many other great
names in EMI’s hallowed hall of fame, not least Schwarzkopf herself.
While die-hard collectors may wish to explore Giulini’s sonically
enhanced Don Giovanni via the portals
of Amazon and other online retail outlets,
YouTube Music is an ever-present public resource for the world at large to
experience this classic treasure, absolutely complete, and free of charge!
Don’t hesitate. Log onto https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVPkfHD6b7E - William
Charlton-Perkins
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