Don Giovanni, Furtwängler, Salzburg 1954 (English subtitles)

This opera was already posted on KZbin, but with Spanish subtitles. Here is now with English subtitles.
Don Giovanni - Cesare Siepi
Leporello - Otto Edelmann
Donna Anna - Elisabeth Grümmer
Don Ottavio - Anton Dermota
Donna Elvira - Lisa della Casa
Zerlina - Erna Berger
Masetto - Walter Berry
Il commendatore - Dezső Ernster
Conductor - Wilhelm Furtwängler

[@Glasguensis]

I have just discovered this priceless treasure - certainly the best Don Giovanni I have seen (and that's quite a few). Unlike some modern productions, the staging brings out the drama and the humour, rather than obscuring it, while the singing is magnificent all round. Simply wonderful!

[@use-c7o]

Хочу добавить похвалу оркестру, который поддерживает певцов и вместе с тем позволяет насладиться чудесной, неповторимой музыкой этой выдающейся оперы Моцарта

[@1celibidache224]

Don giovanni is in my opinion the greatest dramatic opera ever. It takes furtwangler and this absolutly incredible cast to bring the music to life

[@TingSernWong]

I am amazed this was 1954 - but I have yet to see any production to date that rivals this one in terms of the singers on stage. They are the best.

[@esterbruno8604]

Versione meravigliosa di un'opera *leggendaria* 😍 Siepi è il Don Giovanni ideale, recita sublimamente nei pezzi buffi e nei pezzi tragici, e poi che presenza, che voce! ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥💖💕

[@vassilissanakszynsky7439]

Può darsi che Cesare Siepi sia il Don Giovanni ideale, ma tutto il resto è inascoltabile: direzione pesantissima come un macigno, pronuncia pessima degli artisti stranieri (a parte Lisa Della Casa), allestimento irrimediabilmente datato. Esasperante.

[@diezauberflote4423]

This is the greatest performance of the greatest opera in music history. So sad that Mozart died too early.

[@ianng9915]

Furtwangler as well... He could live a little longer to finish his ring cycle, or a few more years to get to the stereo era

[@a360pilot]

No one surpasses Ramey and Moll bro on this opera bro. No one.

[@BaroneVitellioScarpia1]

Siepi is the greatest. His legato is perfect.

[@divox9pqr]

Wonderful production...Siepi had the most beautiful and supple Bass Baritone voice of any singer in this role.

[@BrainiacFingers]

This is wonderfully staged and performed. One could say such staging and acting is a lost art.

[@summertc1]

Brilliant. A great cast and conductor

[@aetion]

Cesare Siepi in his signature role under the baton of one of the greatest conductors of all times. Excellent job! Many thanks, dear Janja.

[@mk5244]

....it is unbelievable having had Siepi, London or a Ghiaurov to interchange from! They shine as stars from upstairs and entertain the chief. RDS

[@EmilyGloeggler7984]

Pinza did a far better job in the role than Siepi ever did.

[@0live0wire0]

This is the best Don Giovanni out there to this day. Very theatrical, beautiful and authentic set and costumes, and the most emblematic Don you could wish for. Leporelo also shines here as a comic relief. Impecable and inspired performance musicwise.

[@Herur22]

I agree completely. I don't like modern productions al all.

[@mirandac8712]

He thous and thees her with grave husbandwords. Dost love, Miriam? Dost love thy man? -That may be too, Stephen said. There's a saying of Goethe's which Mr Magee likes to quote. Beware of what you wish for in youth because you will get it in middle life. Why does he send to one who is a buonaroba, a bay where all men ride, a maid of honour with a scandalous girlhood, a lordling to woo for him? He was himself a lord of language and had made himself a coistrel gentleman and he had written Romeo and Juliet. Why? Belief in himself has been untimely killed. He was overborne in a cornfield first (ryefield, I should say) and he will never be a victor in his own eyes after nor play victoriously the game of laugh and lie down. Assumed dongiovannism will not save him. :)

[@0live0wire0]

Thanks for the quote. Ulysses should be subtitled "The book of references" :)

[@FannyVanderbildt]

I find his 'r' really disturbing, though...

[@apushkin508]

Yes, really great Don Giovanni - everything comes together here. Siepi is great (bar his 'r' ;) ), don't know who of today's singers can even remotely approach him. The only Giovanni I heard who was as skillful, agile and artistic was Ghiuselev (they made a good opera film in Prague in 1974, though it has many cuts). Today's Giovannis sound sloppy to me...

[@KASH10043]

I love the opera Don Giovanni and have listened and watched to so many that I've lost count. But this one still ranks as one of my favorites as far as the quality of the singing. Cesare Siepi's voice is so deep, rich and glorious. And Elisabeth Grummer (Donna Anna) is just breath taking in it's beauty and clarity. The entire cast is still a joy to listen to after 61 years.

[@mckavitt13]

KASH10043 “... breathtaking in her (voice, its) beauty and clarity”. I agree w you! 🤓🎓✍️

[@therealrealludwigvanbeethoven]

@@mckavitt13 The period should be placed inside the quotation, not outside.

[@robbystafford8273]

@@therealrealludwigvanbeethoven not anymore, old man. only puctuation which is actually being quoted should be inside the marks. as is logical.

[@maryjokittle6534]

Don Giovanni is the best opera that ever was written.

[@yossipeles7864]

Mary Jo Kittle there isn't such thing as "the best opera". There are many wonderful opera (many of them little known) and everyone chooses "the best" for himself/herself. In my personal list Gluck and Wagner rank higher than Mozart.

[@jasonhurd4379]

@@yossipeles7864 You are incorrect. Don Giovanni, for many reasons, is the greatest opera of all time. Perhaps the overriding one is its astonishing psychological acuity in the development of the characters. Donna Anna realises, early on, that Giovanni is her attempted seducer and the murderer of her father. Why then do she and Ottavio wait until the end of the opera to bring in a judge and ministers of justice? Ottavio has a pistol in the Act I finale; why does he not use it? Why does Giovanni court damnation by blasphemously mocking the Commendatore's statue in the cemetery? Why does Elvira try repeatedly to save Giovanni, despite having declared her intention of carving out his heart? Why does Zerlina, who is no naïve innocent, allow Giovanni such liberties if she does not intend to sleep with him? Why does Giovanni greet the maskers at the ball with the cryptic message 'Viva la libertà'? Why does Giovanni, upon recognising the unmasked Anna, say 'Ah credete' rather than her name, as he did with Elvira and Ottavio, and why does Anna respond with 'Traditore'? These and many other conundrums raise the characters from the status of cardboard cutouts and grant them true human dimensions. This alone would make this the greatest opera ever written; the otherworldly music merely cements the judgment.

[@jimmychoo1857]

False propaganda

[@wvw1281]

Die weitaus beste Aufführung des Don Giovanni mit so vielen überragenden Sängern !

[@ВераГоловко-я3е]

Прекрасная постановка. Удивительные голоса. Чистое искусство. Благодарю.

[@MizukaMichelle]

Thank you for sharing this whole stage with English subtitles. This helped me to understand. I’m ready to see this opera tomorrow first time in my life!

[@JonahSB]

Wow! Gorgeous! Beautiful production. So refreshing to see a production which does not try to reinvent the story. Great singing too. Such a brilliant opera!

[@scottmichael5081]

Just seeing maestro Furtwängler makes this amazing...one of the greatest conductors in recording history. I adore Furtwängler and am thrilled to get to see him at the podium. Glorious Overture

[@renatechapel]

His tempo is giving honour to the meaning in a highly ethical manner.

[@BarlowPalminteri]

Truly the best project and the best experience of Don Giovanni. Words cannot do it justice. And notice how beautifully framed it s by this crew and how well edited. You see every scene and action, just amazing.

[@vladimirrasputin7380]

Eine Traumbesetzung mit dem besten Don Giovanni aller Zeiten

[@mirandac8712]

I'm sure everybody here knows Flaubert said the three greatest things ever made were this, Hamlet, and the sea. But it's so worth repeating.

[@mckavitt13]

miranda c It certainly is worth repeating! I’d forgot he said that. Wonderful!

[@karlakor]

These people knew how to sing! Unlike so many singers of today, they didn't need amplification in order to be heard past the second row. This is opera.

[@grimfrost8742]

We have ton of great voices alive nowadays

[@Mickday2023]

@@grimfrost8742I don’t agree, they are just average singers everything born after 1960, but again it’s my opinion.

[@carmelarochamartinez1927]

Qué dice? Si los cantantes de ópera de ahora cantan a un ritmo más rápido. Hacen un esfuerzo titánico, como si fueran atletas olímpicos.

[@elemernebarta9154]

Köszönet ezért a csodálatos előadás feltöltéséért!

[@gyulaugron3379]

A mai napig ez a legjobb Don Giovanni. Pedig 1954 - ben mutatták be kiváló hangú énekesekkel, akik egyúttal remek színészek is voltak. A legnagyobb érdem a karmester Furtwangleré! Ha lenné zenei fődíj, ez az előadás megérdemelné! Miként a szobrászatban Michelangelo Pietája. Minden művészeti ágban szükség lenne rá. Ezeket védetté kellene nyilvánítani! Értékesebb lenne, mint egy Nobel - díj.

[@pianistadanielseixas]

Pra mim essa é a melhor performance dessa ópera! Que época de ouro!

[@mentariorudy]

De ésta versión, no se puede poner ni quitar nada. Dirección, foso orquestal y cantantes, a una, puesta en escena y tramoya, perfectas. ¿Que hacemos ahora? Solo disfrutar. Es sin duda el mejor D.Giovanni de todos los vistos. Siepi... Siepi...you are the best.

[@Herur22]

+Rodolfo MARTIN PARRA Muchas gracias, Rudolfo.

[@mentariorudy]

Siempre estaré agradecido por haberme podido dedicar profesionalmente a la música; la pasión de toda mi vida.

[@leopoldleopold6251]

The addition of English subtitles is wonderful! Thank you Herur22 for your good work. Anton Demota and Elisabeth Grummer are sublime as Anna and Ottavio and very tender and believable couple. Beautiful performances.

[@beverlywilcox4349]

1:36 overture 7:08 act I, sc. 1 - palace of the Commendatore 21:26 sc 2 - street in Seville 36:00 sc 3 - the countryside 1:03:17 - "Finch'han dal vino" (Don G's only aria) 1:04:52 sc 4 - garden outside Don Giovanni's castle 1:06:03 - Zerlina, "Batti, batti" 1:16:45 - the minuet 1:20:37 sc 5 - Don Giovanni's ballroom 1:30:31 act 2, sc 1 - the square near Donna Elvira's house 1:52:45 sc 2 - garden outside Donna Anna's house 2:15:27 sc 3 - a graveyard at night 2:23:14 sc 4 - a room in Donna Anna's house 2:31:56 finale - Don Giovanni's ballroom

[@nejibmewkoo__1011]

29:55 aria leporello "madamina"

[@beverlywilcox4349]

@@nejibmewkoo__1011 Thank you!

[@selini52]

Da vieni alla finestra? 1:40:40

[@cripplehawk]

2:41:00 "Commondore"

[@philipr1567]

How wonderful! Apart from the glorious sound Furtwangler draws out of the orchestra it is so good to see the simple camerawork without all the irritating camera angles of himself HvK demanded.

[@ancamg]

I am so happy they recorded this Don Giovanni in 1954, but sad nobody considered recording Maria Callas in a full opera . This recording is unbelievable good. wooow! Singing is amazing too. The only names I knew are Siepi and Furtwängler, but all singers are very good. I was born too late. Thank you so much for uploading!

[@Herur22]

You're very welcome. All the singers were a well-known stars at that time.

[@ancamg]

I am sure they are well known. the fact that I didn't know them doesn't mean anything. I love opera and I have many recordings with Don Giovanni, but I had no idea such an old recording is available. Although it was recorded 60 years ago it looks better than some 90's recordings. It is true this was recorded as a movie, and it is not a live performance with public. Even so it still looks amazing. I have an old recording (DVD) with Franco Corelli in Turandot (RAI) but the video is black and white and with a low resolution looking almost awful.

[@Daniil_St.Petersburg]

This theatrical performance is the best I have seen. Marvelous and deep thrilling music of Mozart. This opera is trully the best yet written in this life.

[@srothbardt]

I saw this when I was 12. It was shown in B & W. No color TV. I watched the whole thing without getting up. I couldn't move or look away though it was December and it was cold in the room. I was in a sort of spell.

[@beickus]

Great performance - the best online for Mozart's Don Giovanni Furtwangler is the emperor of conductors

[@coraberger4947]

Erna Berger. born 1900, can sing with 54, when she never left her Fach without lose any quality. She sang still Queen of Night in age of 68.

[@alixvhessen]

She was without comparison - and still is! Adore her!

[@roobookaroo]

Thanks a million for helping us getting rid of the Spanish subtitles, which most of us, non-Spaniards, find most annoying. Italian lyrics as subtitles would also be a valuable addition, and a most instructive one. The Met offers Italian and English. The Italian words are so much more amusing and exciting, hotter and more full of passion than the somewhat cold and neutral English. Da Ponte nailed that drama just perfectly. Mozart never got a better libretto. As a theatrical performance, this is simply tops. Siepi is the Don Giovanni for all times. Nobody comes close. And to have both Grümmer and Lisa Della Casa together is pure enchantment. And nobody does Leporello more convincingly than Edelmann. The whole cast is the best of all times too. The staging is superb and convincing, with no visible weakness. And Furtwängler delivers the nervous energy of the fabulous score. This is by far the Don Giovanni to have and enjoy for ever. As a theatrical piece, Don Giovanni is considered one of the superlative operas of the repertory. And rightly so. Some, carried away by their enthusiasm, call it the best opera of them all. Though that could be said of many other operas, depending on your taste and experience. But let's not be misled into falling for the idolatry of believing that this Don Giovanni represents the absolute, unmatchable peak of Mozart's music. The opera owes a great deal to the story concocted by Da Ponte, and his taut, exciting, forward -moving libretto. But Mozart never wanted to write another Don Giovanni. As is clear in the next three operas he wrote, which have no relation to the music in Don Giovanni. Each of Mozart's operas is different and sui generis, one of a kind, each one beautiful thanks to the unlimited musical creativity of the composer. I love Don Giovanni, but I love as well the graceful, energizing and scintillating music of Mozart's youthful operas, such as "La Betulia Liberata" or "Ascanio in Alba", "Mitridate", "Il Re Pastore", or "La Finta Giardiniera". Or even the stunning "Apollo et Hyacinthus", sung in Latin, and composed by a boy of 11, if you can imagine that! And I've been able to listen to Cosi every day for a full summer, something which I could not do with the "heavy" Don Giovanni. But no other of Mozart's operas has been so masterfully performed as this exceptional Don Giovanni. We are so unbelievably lucky to have this great film! Thank God that we live in this extraordinarily blessed period when we have KZbin to deliver this in full color and full sound. If you get the magnificent DVD by Deutsche Grammophon, you get the subtitles in Italian, English, French, German, Spanish, and CHINESE! So the publisher is 100% certain of the worldwide appeal of this supreme masterpiece, even though it is in old-fashioned MONO sound (Salzburg Festival 1954). This was not a filmed performance, the theater with its stage settings was turned into a studio where the filming and recording were done over many days. Amazingly, when you watch Furtwängler's dynamic conducting and majestic figure, you couldn't guess that he was to die only a few months later in Nov. 1954.

[@AnonYmous-ry2jn]

Couldn’t they just dub the voices with English singers?

[@AnonYmous-ry2jn]

… just kidding. (On KZbin, you never know!)

[@logica10]

Impresionante versión. Pasaron 60 años de esto, y es difícil encontrar una versión que pueda igualar la calidad artística y técnica de esta puesta en escena. / Impressive version. Sixty years later, is hard to find a rendition that can match the artistic and technical quality of this screenplay.

[@BazzasBest]

A cornucopia of operatic treasures has become available to us in recent weeks. No excuse for us now not to have enjoyed several famous Mozart productions - not least this great Furtwängler Don Giovanni with, Siepi and the rest of this brilliant cast. Nor, given the welcome subtitles, any excuse not to have understood what's going on. Many thanks Janja!

[@clivepapayanis3121]

My word della Casa is beautiful as are the voices of Grummer and Edelmann. The whole darn thing is beautiful. Truly amazing. Thanks for the post. Better even than the '53 Furtwangler version. Wow and wow.

[@Herur22]

Thank you, Clive.

[@qno7563]

Clive Papayanis

[@Belcantamore]

Cesare Siepi = großartig! Für mich der beste Don Giovanni den ich je gehört habe und seine Gesangstechnik ist unvergleichlich und vorbildlich, ein "Singen aus der Mitte"! Spielerische Höhen, Farbenreichtum und ein Spiel mit der Dynamik.-

[@jamesstevens5022]

Das kann ich nur bestätigen. Ich empfehle aber unbedingt die legendäre Live-Aufnahme von der New Yorker Met aus dem Jahre 1942, Dirigent Bruno Walter. Titelrolle: Ezio Pinza. Für meine Begriffe sogar noch einen Tick besser als der große Siepi.

[@KaterMurr22]

Siepi galt in Fachkreisen als der "legitime" Nachfolger von Ezio Pinza @@jamesstevens5022

[@bear6562]

Superb! So much better than today! The voices are clear and perfect

[@clivepapayanis3121]

Seeing as I listen to this once a month in its entirety-thank you - and often watch most of it... Jes sayin' This is perfection! I just can't stay away and post my appreciation! Again and again!

[@Urdatorn]

A good habit! This is soulfood :)

[@MarieKrantz]

Un bel opéra dirigé par un grand maestro !! Merci chère Janja pour votre excellent choix !! Un opéra à voir et écouter, chanté par de grands interprètes... Je le garde pour moi ... Amitiés, Marie

[@MsF1Annie]

This is wonderful, thank you so much! Lovely to see plenty of acting too, not just park & bark like so many operas from this era. Bravi tutti!

[@Herur22]

I am glad that you enjoyed it.

[@menatoorus5696]

Thank you very much for sharing this masterpiece. For 20 years I wish I could skip Mozart but I feel as if I'm totally captured in his wonderful world forever.

[@Herur22]

Menatoorus Menatoor But why should you wish to skip Mozart?

[@menatoorus5696]

Herur22 skip his talent for a better one, but obviously he is the best.

[@Herur22]

Menatoorus Menatoor Aha! I see.

[@ElSmusso]

Same with me, captured by Mozart and can't escape... but this prison is wonderful :)

[@elfboy29]

+Menatoorus Menatoor Just skip along to the music and enjoy

[@margohevesi5479]

Csodálatos zene, remek előadás - maradandó élmény!

[@petergraham8681]

Those who love this opera & do not already own a DVD (restored a bit from the inferior original video in quality) of this classic performance owe it to themselves to add it to their collection. Although modern technology in filming opera has, understandably, made this 1954 production seem a bit archaic. But it still stands as perhaps the best quality filmed opera realization for its time & faithfully gives a nearly flawless cast to shine in some of their greatest roles. Siepi, in particular, IMO remains unsurpassed vocally & dramatically, in this signature role. GIOVANNI & Mozart‘s FIGARO remain perhaps his finest achievements as a singing actor. He sang his other roles with a memorable timbre, unmatched today, but seldom with the notable characterizations of his 2 Mozart roles. He did, I believe, sing Sarastro as well but not with the imaginative commitment of his GIOVANNI & FIGARO. I can hardly imagine a better cast for this opera at the time, except for the adequate but rather uninspired Ottavio of Dermota. Having Leopold Simoneau or Cesare Valletti would have made a big difference, vocally especially & either would have presented a better image, on film, anyway, for Ottavio. At 55 Erna Berger would seem way past her prime but, although not especially glamorous, she still has a charmingly petite appearance & her instrument is still in fine shape, which, despite being a few years from retirement is testimony to how sensibly she has taken care of it throughout her long career. Grummer & Della Casa especially contribute remarkable work as well & how wonderful to see Della Casa (although I understand Elvira was not one of her favorite roles) a great beauty in one of her few filmed performances. Edelmann is a fine Leporello which suits his voice beautifully & gives a interesting characterization as well. The same can be said of young Walter Berry (only 25 here) as Masetto who became a notable Leporello later on. Deszo Ernster is a fine choice for the COMMENDATORE & has the dark vocal timbre appropriate for this character. The DVD restoration, as I mentioned, is a big improvement over the original video & still holds up pretty well today. Fortunately the singing, alone, makes this a memorable performance that I hope will be available for years to come.

[@nancysikes]

Man alive! This is superb.

[@constanze0222]

Wonderful production! Nice costumes , great singers and a perfect orchestra! I really enjoyed watching. Thanks :)

[@ruthrattan905]

Most enjoyable performance I can't believe it is 60. Years old courtesy of modern life and technology and of course the poster many thanks

[@lionelthiebaud7081]

Quel immense chef d'opéra, quel sens du théâtre, des tempos parfois lents mais jamais pesants et tellement habités à l'image du Furtwangler de la dernière période, merci Mozart pour l'opéra des opéras, formule de Wagner, et merci Furtwangler pour cette interprétation d'une tension inoubliable avec une distribution magistrale comme toujours avec sans doute le plus grand chef d'orchestre de tous les temps

[@NoirOrchestre]

I love the way they interpreted mozart back then. It was a bit too heavy sometimes, but much deeper than nowadays in my opinion.

[@anaisqtbabarroso9188]

M Cww

[@BaroneVitellioScarpia1]

Singing too light is bad. Even Baroque operas are not for small voices.

[@oliverdelica2289]

@@BaroneVitellioScarpia1 on behalf of the Baroque composers, we are sorry for the abundance of undeveloped and too light voices

[@oliverdelica2289]

@@BaroneVitellioScarpia1 speaking of which didn't you say Dermota here is nasal?

[@BaroneVitellioScarpia1]

@@oliverdelica2289 Dermota is horrible. Siepi is the real star here.

[@jjfs11676]

Thank you for posting this historically important video!!

[@Herur22]

It was my pleasure. I am glad that you like it, Josiah.

[@fran_41001]

L'elegantissimo Siepi incanta sempre tutti

[@peterluth]

GRAZIE. SEMPLICENTE ECCEZIONALE.

[@Herur22]

+peterluth Grazie a le. Sono contenta che le piaccia.

[@scriabiniste]

Magnificent! Perfection in the best sense of the word, the driving power of word and music complemented by a fitting grace and fluidity of acting.

[@mlrmlr4919]

So well acted and sung, magnificent, and still in the catalogue!

[@romearomeo]

Sublime! Una produzione del Don Giovanni eccezionale...una tra le migliori

[@mirjamdevries9376]

Siepi, Ramey, Petri i miei preferiti Don Giovanni. Bellissima interpretazione: nonostante la dizione dei cantanti stranieri non risulti perfetta, la parte canora è ineccepibile, da veri mozartiani. ❤🌹👏👏👏

[@MellifluousPrism]

When I first heard in music class a few months ago we'd be going to see this I wasn't convinced, having had absolutely no experience of anything to do with opera. However, having been spending today looking into it and now watching this, I'm actually really excited and. I can't wait to see this on Monday at the Royal Opera House! Thank you so much for uploading this :D The only thing is...I wish Don Giovanni wasn't so infuriating! But that's the entire point, of course :P

[@esejsnake1503]

How was that performance? You do really cool covers :-)

[@carolkristian1146]

Greatest Don Giovanni in the world-Cesare Siepi! Only thing missing is the scene wherein Zerlina ties Leporello to a chair and threatens to kill him with a knife. Beautiful and spunky duet, missing from many recordings. Finally, it was put back in more recent recordings. Once you hear it, you'll wonder why it was ever taken out. If you can get a copy of the recording with Suzanne Danco and Walter Berry, you will be delighted!

[@operalover2512]

This duetto is not part of the original score but composed for Vienna. So normally it is not performed - although it is a nice piece of music

[@vicentesmaia]

I have this DVD, one of the best Don Giovanni ever.

[@345moreb]

the opera of operas.!

[@redwoodcitizen]

Thanks for posting! One comment I have. As much as I love Kiri Te Kanawa's Donna Elvira, I think Lisa Della Casa's version here blows Te Kanawa's out of the water- no small feat.

[@johnfalstaff2270]

Sadly, shortly after this performance Wilhelm Furtwängler passed away at the age of 68 in 1954.

[@extrasalt4595]

Bravo all around! Wonderfully0paced conducting, every singer in top form, great ensemble work. Yes, they may have to sing louder than in Mozart's day, but I believe it is owing principally to the larger size of today's opera houses. Hoomeyow!!

[@georgeionita7307]

IS great work this video remastered .I appreciate .

[@dejanstevanic5408]

Thank you so much for this gem.

[@Herur22]

You're welcome.

[@oscarkersey5027]

Such a historic performance of one of the most iconic operas out there. Salzburg Festival performances tend to have some of the most unquestionably good renditions of everything, and I don't get why! Maybe 'cause it just is, or perhaps I have a bias for it all. But still, the Vienna Philharmonic, Furtwängler in one of his last performances (this was done just three months before his death), and a cast that includes Siepi, Della Casa, Dermota, Berger and other big names of the time - hard to make comparisons. This is my grandfather's favourite rendition of Don Giovanni. It's always had this special place in his heart ever since he first saw it on TV (in black and white). He does have a lot of favourites; he doesn't always make full-on decisions about which whatever is his most favourite, but he says Don Giovanni might be it. He does like the performance of Martti Talvela as the Commendatore better, but everything else about this version for him, especially the account of the Don being taken to hell - no question. Prefers this over any other version.

[@Вечнаявесна-э7м]

It is such a pleasure to listen to Mr. Siepi that tears of delight come to my eyes.

[@ianramsay138]

This opera changed forever how operas were to be composed and structured. It also changed how characters were to be developed and what kind of sexual material could be used. Mozart was not only an incredible composer of music., he was also an important innovator. Beautiful opera.

[@mikesnips1926]

Real fast do you have sympathy for Leporello? After he was being sarcastic with Donnas dad after losing?

[@SALIMPUL]

Des interprètes de très haut vol avec entre autres Lisa della Casa et Cesare Siepi, un orchestre impeccable, "chanteur invisible", un maître comme Furtwängler au pupitre et de plus le tout joué sans public : voilà bien la "version de référence" du Don Giovanni de Mozart !!!

[@giovannapantaleo4434]

Sublime e terrificante nello stesso tempo...

[@shreyaschawathey7245]

Lovely acting by Zerlina!!!! Batti Batti esp. where she tauntingly in a jubilant manner asks Masetto to hit her when actually she's trying to show how much she loves him and trying to flirt with him. It stole my heart away!!!!!!

[@shreyaschawathey181]

+silverbud Wow awesome tip! Really enjoyed learning a new Italian word. Thanks!!

[@alixvhessen]

She is amazing here... aged 54 (!!!) Who else could have sung that role so beautifully at that age?! Erna Berger truly was the genius of her generation

[@shreyaschawathey7245]

Alixvhessen Wow ! That must've been a lot of patience that she had maintained her form through the WWII period

[@alixvhessen]

On occasion of her 80ieth birthday she gave a tv interview and they convinced her to sing. And sing she did... a Schubert song. It just blows you away - such beautiful and steady tone at that age

[@shelleyisom2639]

The greatest opera ever! I know it has a lot of competition ...

[@alainpraud6465]

Stupéfiant de maîtrise et de précision. Absolument stupéfiant.

[@jules6794]

I'm here because I'm currently reading Murakami's "Killing Commendatore". The plot involves a heavy reference to Don Giovanni so yeah, I need to watch this.

[@Timmy21Spurs]

Appreciate for uploading this treasure!!

[@julioalcorcon]

la mejor versión de la historia. rozando la perfección

[@sandorkonya8005]

Their will be no better Donna Anna than Elisabet Gruemmer..Period!

[@anasager]

Para mi esta es la mejor versión de Don Giovanni de todos los tiempos, gracias por subirla con subtitulos!

[@Herur22]

Gracias por escucharla, Ana.

[@OregonDreams]

Thank you so much for posting.

[@emperorhundredhead7007]

A very minor observation. If only the film quality could match the sublime music and voices. Excellent. thank you. I was just 15 years old when this was made. Much better that most of todays stuff.

[@dubbelhenke854]

Wonderful. Thanks ever so much.

[@therealmusicohandus]

Astonishing recording from the archives... surely this must be one of the first colour films of a complete opera??

[@alixvhessen]

It created a sensation in the 1950ies!

[@calou505]

Sublime! Merci!

[@Herur22]

Thank YOU, dear Roberta.

[@gidimeir]

Thank you very much for this lovely gem! Best wishes

[@sophiaseshasoprano]

Furtwängler takes some things much too slowly for my liking...but, the cast includes some of the most amazing singers of all-time. So...How can I not love it?

[@russ8001]

I must be your anti-particle...I love it slower as say compared with Karajan who is sublime when speed is the intention but murderous when it is not.

[@kangoos2000]

I cannot imagine a music more beautiful

[@dianoites]

unbelievable masterpiece!

[@BarlowPalminteri]

Pure delight. Get into this and don't look back. To the exhibitor, thanks for this.

[@TheDoublebassist]

Thank you for posting it, I'm grateful 🙏

[@clivegoodman16]

I prefer this version to the others I have seen.

[@federricoilgrande]

Formidabili Siepi, Dermota e Lisa Della Casa

[@marinacaracciolo3161]

Sono assolutamente d'accordo. Ma trovo bravissima anche Elisabeth Gruemmer nel ruolo di Donna Anna (bellissimo il suo: "Fuggi, crudele, fuggi!"...).

[@BluntStop]

Its the second time I am watching this. I love every song from this opera. I think everyone should make time to see this. I was telling the guys at work about what Don Giovanni was about and were interested on the spot. They just cant believe a guy could be such an womanizer.

[@Herur22]

I am very glad that you like it. Thank you.

[@ainhoaaparicio3729]

He is more of a serial rapist and cold blood murderer (depending on how look at it). This Leporello is flabbergasting

[@jasonhurd4379]

@@ainhoaaparicio3729 He is also a blasphemer, the worst of his crimes.

[@Scrungge]

Wow amazing that 70 year old recording is available!

[@martinnestele1351]

Auch schön, Musik sagt mir mehr als Theater!

[@MrGratefulheart]

My very first Don Giovanni was at the San Francisco Opera in 1980. Cesare Siepi and Giuseppi Taddei...unforgettable.

[@mckavitt13]

What I love, in addition to what the other commenters have said, is that no one, & I mean not one single character, comes off as ridiculous. There is (dark) humour, to be sure, but no one is ridiculed. Every one sings magnificently. And w great dignity.

[@goldensilver2914]

Una delizia per l'anima. Interpreti eccellenti, direzione magnifica. Trasposizione unica.