Giovanni Ioro

If there is one thing that marks out René Jacobs’s approach to Mozart, it is the way he constantly asks himself questions – and the specifically musical brilliance of the answers he comes up with. The success of his recent version of La clemenza di Tito is proof of that! After Così fan tutte and Le nozze di Figaro, his recording of this centrepiece of the Mozart/Da Ponte trilogy offers us the latest fruits of his reflections on Classical opera. Premiered at the 2006 Innsbruck Festival and recorded shortly afterwards, this production is nourished by his thoughts on Don Giovanni as taboo-breaker and on a ‘physiology of roles’ that respects Mozart’s intentions as nearly as possible. NB This set contains the arias of both versions created by Mozart (Prague 1787, Vienna 1788)

For some reason, Daniel Barenboim's recordings of the Mozart-Da Ponte masterpieces have been overlooked. All three have splendid casts - and among them, this may be the least spectacular, but it is nonetheless a wonderful performance. Joan Rodgers has a gorgeous voice, and sings Zerlina with radiant and womanly warmth - no voce infantile here, thank the gods. It's a pity she hasn't recorded more. She is, fortunately, in Barenboim's two other Mozart-Da Ponte operas, singing her heart out as Susanna and Despina. Furlanetto has an interesting take on the role of the Don. He usually sings Leprello, but here he sings the part of Don Giovanni with a rather unique interpretation.

After calling it ‘a wonderful album in all respects’, the magazine Diapason concluded its review of Suite Case Violin Duos from Vivaldi to Sollima (A448) with the question, ‘When can we look forward to the second volume?’ In this new project, the violin of Stefano Barneschi gives way to the cello of Giovanni Sollima, the multi-talented musician from Palermo featured here not only as a composer. On this new journey, again beginning with Antonio Vivaldi, Giovanni Sollima and Chiara Zanisi travel between early and modern music, between classical and folk (the Old Scots Tunes of Francesco Barsanti), with two previously unrecorded gems by the Roman composer Giovanni Battista Costanzi. The entire recording is punctuated by tracks taken from Suite Case, a cycle composed especially by Sollima for this project.

This transcription of Don Giovanni for string quartet by an anonymous arranger perfectly conveys the symbiosis of voice and instrument – a hallmark of Mozart’s genius. Throughout the opera, the deft arranger recreates the balance between the purely musical aspects of the work, without detracting from its theatrical qualities. In short, drama and buffoonery are both preserved.

The late lamented Edita Gruberová, who passed away last October, was perhaps at the peak of her powers in Mozartian repertoire during the late 80s, particularly under the baton of Nikolaus Harnoncourt. This beautiful version of Don Giovanni with Thomas Hampson, available for the first time in digital format, allows us to enjoy her mesmerizing Donna Anna.