As Mozart\u2019s most famous anti-hero Don Giovanni goes on his trail of murder, seduction and inevitable self-destruction, George Hall embarks on a hunt of the finest recordings <\/p>
T<\/span>h<\/span>e Opera of Operas\u2019, as the writer and composer ETA Hoffmann described it 24 years after <\/span><\/strong>Mozart<\/a><\/span>\u2019s death, Don Giovanni<\/i> has fascinated audiences ever since, generating a vast literature of commentary from writers, critics and philosophers as perceptions of its characters and their relationships have shifted over time.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n So, too, have musical approaches to the piece during the recording era, with period instruments and historical information impacting on almost every facet of its interpretation. <\/span><\/p>\n Mozart composed Don Giovanni<\/i> in 1787 for Prague, where he and his\u00a0 music (especially The Marriage of Figaro<\/i><\/a><\/strong>) had won immense success. Adapting it for Vienna a year later, he made some big changes, including adding Donna Elvira\u2019s aria \u2018Mi tradi\u0300\u2019 and substituting Don Ottavio\u2019s \u2018Dalla sua pace\u2019 for the more technically challenging \u2018Il mio tesoro\u2019. The tendency over the decades has been to conflate the two versions, but more recently some conductors have opted for either Prague or Vienna.<\/span><\/p>\n We named Don Giovanni one of\u00a0 the best operas of all time<\/a><\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Eberhard W\u00e4chter<\/span> (Don Giovanni), Taddei, Schwarzkopf, Sutherland etc; Philharmonia Chorus and Orchestra\/Carlo Maria Giulini (1959)<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n EMI 966 7992<\/i><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nThe best recordings of Don Giovanni<\/span><\/em><\/h2>\n