Cesare Siepi was a superb actor in a wholly operatic mode - standing still or measuring the stage, but always in the service of the character. He has got Don Giovanni exactly right - the way he is continuously nerving himself up, forcing himself to do something he knows is insane, just because "a torto di viltate tacciato mai saro'" - he does not want to be called a coward. And that is how the Statue ensnares him. This is the best Don, as a piece of acting, I have seen so far.
The first Don Giovanni I ever saw in March 1966 at the old Metropolitan Opera House was with Cesare Siepi. Alfredo Kraus was Don Ottavio. Pilar Lorengar, Justino Diaz, Fernando Corena, and Theodor Uppman were also in the cast. I was too young to realize how outstanding a performance this was. Sometimes youth is wasted on the young.
Poetic comment; sometimes I think "growing up/getting older" is about fully grasping the things I discovered (but didn't fully understand/appreciate) during my youth, classical music/opera included
I'd have to take a guess that Corena sang Leporello, Uppman played Masetto, and Diaz portrayed the Commendatore. "Don Giovanni" is one of those operas that beg to be performed by an all-star cast.
In my opinion, the slow tempo is absolutely perfect for the scene. The one moment when it could be a bit faster is when the Commendatore is urging Don Giovanni to repent. Siepi is an incredible singer, a good actor and likely the best Don Giovanni I've ever heard.
There's nothing wrong with Siepi's singing, but whoever is responsible for that bit of stage business where he tries to stab the statue (at 4:26) should be shot at dawn.
Terrifying scene and acting. Furtwaengler draws superhuman power from the music and the scene. Dated visually, but very well sung, and the effect cannot be argued. Superb.
The slow tempo makes it more powerfull and this enhances the magnificient voices of Siepi and Deszo. Despite the two same tone of voice (bass), this is a great performance led by Furthwangler.
Siepi did a great job as Giovanni. It was slowed a bit from how I normally hear it but it works. I think his acting was great because it wasn't too subtle or static and wasn't super over the top. Glad I found this.
god giovanni's siepi's voice is ridiculously good. he's like a fog horn across the water, just warning you not to come near. it's as clear as a bell and as strong as the sun on the sahara dessert.
A gem of a performance. All three characters are performed with great authority, Furtwangler's sublime conducting adds to the tension of the scenes. Thanks for loading.
“Sublime conducting,” with a tempo twice as slow as was conducted then or now?? I don’t know if it’s the conductor’s tempo or if the film has been slowed down, but it’s horrible, whichever way is the truth.
I just love this version of the Don Giovanni's Commendatore scene. Both singers are awesome, and the timing followed by the director is just perfect to create the feeling of... "fear/affraid/suspense" to the public. Just perfect. Bravo!
This is really slow by today's standards ... but as a composer I like how I can distinguish every note in every instrument, and thus HOW Mozart created this rich tapestry of drama... an expected treat on top of the splendid acting and singing!
It frustrates me that I cannot find such shows of operas in Germany to-day. The performances can be terrific, but this business of putting the performers in modern clothes in 21st century set-surroundings and adding a little gretuitous nudity now and again detract from the majesty of the material.
I agree with the modern clothes in the 21st century, but as to the nudity, I think it depends on the opera. For instance, I saw a version of Tannhauser where the woman playing Venus undressed completely in the scene where she tries to appease him, before banishing him. In that instance I think it fit for the scene.
So what, the music is great still. and not most are fat. i've seen many thin sopranos and some of the the world's best sopranos are thin. Anna Netrebko, Renee Flemming waltraud meier, Natalie Dessay, and Angela Gheorghiu
Hmm.... Your comments have had me thinking: The problem is that it is difficult to detach the music from time. I'm not here talking about fashion which is sort of cyclic thing allowing pottery to be dated with a precision of 30-40 years. Fashion makes Lauritz Melchiors stage dress up with winged helmets and the works seem downright ludicrus. No - I'm talking about detaching Händels music from its time. You can play it on the periods instruments, but most of them were terrible by todays standard. Crumhorns f.i. cannot be kept tuned, say little and are generally a lot of trouble for meagre results - so much in fact, that by todays standard it is not possible to earn a living as a musician. A lot of the music is composed to get around the limitations of the instruments - the harpsicord and chembalo make trills because that was the only way to keep a tone ringing. It is problematic to substitute an electric guitar for a lute. Few want to reintroduce castration to provide the cast for a Händel opera - quite apart from the wastage: 1000 castrated to produce one acceptable performer. We are all products of our time and nostalgia isn't what it used to be: Any historian knowing anything of a period would want to go back in time to the renaissance and its disease and poverty ridden hell-hole.
lizardking02793 Were thin: That is the operative word. The fact is that most women get a bit on the heavy side with age. As to the quality of sopranos then we could point to Maria Callas that bantered and lost voice. The fashion with thin women and models is more marketing related. Models are thin, because that makes the costoumer recongnise the dress on the rack. But my real issue is that I consider nudety on singers an insult to the singers: Just look how Cecilia Bartoli suffers because she hasn't a great dress to show off in stage productions.
Questa versione dell'Opera è FANTASTICA e io ho la fortuna di averlo in dvd! Cesare Siepi è il migliore Don Giovanni di tutti i tempi, seguito solo da T. Allen
Per me la più emozionante tra le scene finali del Commendatore: Don Giovanni che cerca di colpire uno spirito con il suo pugnale! Due grandi e stupefacenti bassi profondi a confronto.🔥👍
una statua di bronzo o pietra che sia NON PUO' avere una voce umana , trovo il vibrato della statua del Commendatore una soluzione geniale , A DIR POCO !!!!!!!!!!! ... un CESARE SIEPI degno figlio di APOLLO ... passeranno i secoli prima di avere un DON GIOVANNI DI QUESTA LEVATURA ,,,,, GRANDISSIMO FURTWANGLER ..... GRAZIE !!!!!!! ...
Despite "slow" tempi, not always consistently "perfect" singing there is no better document of this opera in its entirety than this performance. Dare you to find one.
I never got a chance to see this Opera in a theater, but now I can check out many versions and singers. I really love seeing the different ways it's interpreted. I've seen only a few Operas in my life but Mozart's are the best.
Ernsters' voice was never the same after he was released from Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. Truly a pity....the vibrato was very limited prior to his imprisonment there.
@Goethefemme It's not that basses were not popular; they were were quite common in leading roles, actually. It was the baritone part that was not often significant role and was not written as "baritone", but actually as just another bass. Baritones did not come into popularity until the late Classical/ Early Romantic periods.
This strikes me! The musical interpretation is good and the singers act exceptionally well. The tempo is indeed slow, but it creates a very doomsday-like atmosphere. I wish I could only find it on VHS or DVD. Selkaen, do you know if this is acquistable somewhere? Where did you get it from?
This was almost a gold stdandard for its day. I heard this, I think, when I was about eleven and never recovered from the impact. Seeing the film changed my life. The Kliber production is almost like this but not quite. I do not recall the tempo. It was slower than today. Your point is well taken. I hear what you hear when you point it out to me. You are on target about the scales. Thank you for the tutorial I appreciate it.
Good version. Also , the first one I see , dressings and scenario are historically correct. But I dont remember that Lorenzo da Ponte did put the murder trial ,on libretto ( 04:26).
Este Don Giovanni a cenar teco más lento, más trágico, con un comendador pétreo y con una tremenda actuación no sé si será superado alguna vez... pa q hablar de la calidad del reparto de la versión!
Hai ragionissimo. Ora sentiamo tanto la mancanza di Siepi nelle produzioni più recenti! I Don Giovanni di oggi poi sono troppo chiari per il mio gusto, preferivo bassi in questo ruolo piuttosto che baritoni.
This is how every Commendatore scene should sound. Slowly building up to the big climax.
Cesare Siepi was a superb actor in a wholly operatic mode - standing still or measuring the stage, but always in the service of the character. He has got Don Giovanni exactly right - the way he is continuously nerving himself up, forcing himself to do something he knows is insane, just because "a torto di viltate tacciato mai saro'" - he does not want to be called a coward. And that is how the Statue ensnares him. This is the best Don, as a piece of acting, I have seen so far.
My favorite Bass of all times, Cesare Siepi passed away on July 5, 2010.
Rest in Peace, Maestro Siepi. You were the greatest.
It IS slow, but that's because Furtwangler wrings every note out of it. It's magnificent.
Wagnerian. I think Mozart was trying to lead to this. Definitely in his swan song Requiem.
The first Don Giovanni I ever saw in March 1966 at the old Metropolitan Opera House was with Cesare Siepi. Alfredo Kraus was Don Ottavio. Pilar Lorengar, Justino Diaz, Fernando Corena, and Theodor Uppman were also in the cast. I was too young to realize how outstanding a performance this was. Sometimes youth is wasted on the young.
Poetic comment; sometimes I think "growing up/getting older" is about fully grasping the things I discovered (but didn't fully understand/appreciate) during my youth, classical music/opera included
I'd have to take a guess that Corena sang Leporello, Uppman played Masetto, and Diaz portrayed the Commendatore. "Don Giovanni" is one of those operas that beg to be performed by an all-star cast.
His voice is great, and he acts out the arrogance of the character perfect.
ruclips.net/video/_lf-lu0yfBU/видео.html
In my opinion, the slow tempo is absolutely perfect for the scene. The one moment when it could be a bit faster is when the Commendatore is urging Don Giovanni to repent.
Siepi is an incredible singer, a good actor and likely the best Don Giovanni I've ever heard.
Totally agree! Siepi is the best don Giovanni ever
There's nothing wrong with Siepi's singing, but whoever is responsible for that bit of stage business where he tries to stab the statue (at 4:26) should be shot at dawn.
Terrifying scene and acting. Furtwaengler draws superhuman power from the music and the scene. Dated visually, but very well sung, and the effect cannot be argued. Superb.
Furtwangler of course is phenomenal🤩. But the singers though🤯. Thank you for posting!
The slow tempo makes it more powerfull and this enhances the magnificient voices of Siepi and Deszo. Despite the two same tone of voice (bass), this is a great performance led by Furthwangler.
Siepi did a great job as Giovanni. It was slowed a bit from how I normally hear it but it works. I think his acting was great because it wasn't too subtle or static and wasn't super over the top. Glad I found this.
Cesare Siepi (1923-2010)
Il mondo ha perso uno dei piu grandi cantanti di sempre. Grazie Cesare
Siepi and Furtwängler!!! This is absolutely a perfect match, never to be equaled.
Registrazione storica di enorme valore. Siepi è immenso!
god giovanni's siepi's voice is ridiculously good. he's like a fog horn across the water, just warning you not to come near. it's as clear as a bell and as strong as the sun on the sahara dessert.
ruclips.net/video/_lf-lu0yfBU/видео.html
Perfect ! Furtwangler s tempo...the orchestra.........simply the best
outstanding sound, incredible orchestra, how lucky we are to hear this
Incredible!! What good conduction of the orchestra!! And the singers are sublime!! 5 stars!!
Très impressionnant! Sublimes voix, mise en scène effrayante, musique extraordinaire! Un grand moment, à la hauteur du mythe!
Wow! Most perfect interpretation I've ever heard. Sublime, perfect, creepy! Slow and deep, perfect driving!
A gem of a performance.
All three characters are performed with great authority,
Furtwangler's sublime conducting adds to the tension of the scenes.
Thanks for loading.
“Sublime conducting,” with a tempo twice as slow as was conducted then or now?? I don’t know if it’s the conductor’s tempo or if the film has been slowed down, but it’s horrible, whichever way is the truth.
greatest music ever written....
What a DonGiovanni!!! Great voice, so deep...!!!
No other version I have seen so far is so dramatic as this one. Thank you for uploading it was refreshing.
I'm almost in tears, this is so beautiful....
And notice how often his hands go up to his neck - it is as if he is feeling the noose tightening there.
Furtwängler in colour, impressive. The great man unfortunately died short after this performance.
Hopefully not by statue
I just love this version of the Don Giovanni's Commendatore scene. Both singers are awesome, and the timing followed by the director is just perfect to create the feeling of... "fear/affraid/suspense" to the public. Just perfect. Bravo!
voilà comment deux artistes extraordinaires chantaient il y a soixante trois ans
j'ai monté le son pour apprécier ce duo de rêve
chapeau !
The most powerful scene from Don Giovanni!!!
The demands of this opera on singers and orchestra are just so great. Technically and emotionally. It is really terrifying.
The best Don Giovanni
What a wonderful version! It's epic!!!
the best commendatore scene ever!
Vladimir Gligoric ikr!!
ყველაზე მაგარი ოპერაა ოპერათა შორის!
Best opera of all time!
Лучшая опера всех времён!
Georgian
Cesare Siepi In don giovanni davvero insuperabile una voce che fa tremare i muri
This is really slow by today's standards ... but as a composer I like how I can distinguish every note in every instrument, and thus HOW Mozart created this rich tapestry of drama... an expected treat on top of the splendid acting and singing!
There is no splendid vocal acting here.
@@EmilyGloeggler7984what Are you talking about idiot.
This is legendary. One of the best don Giovannis EVER
@@EmilyGloeggler7984as if you sing better😂😂😂
absolutely timeless!
It frustrates me that I cannot find such shows of operas in Germany to-day. The performances can be terrific, but this business of putting the performers in modern clothes in 21st century set-surroundings and adding a little gretuitous nudity now and again detract from the majesty of the material.
I agree with the modern clothes in the 21st century, but as to the nudity, I think it depends on the opera. For instance, I saw a version of Tannhauser where the woman playing Venus undressed completely in the scene where she tries to appease him, before banishing him. In that instance I think it fit for the scene.
lizardking02793 The problem with nudity in opera is that most sopranos are a bit to the plumb side - if not downright fat!
So what, the music is great still. and not most are fat. i've seen many thin sopranos and some of the the world's best sopranos are thin. Anna Netrebko, Renee Flemming waltraud meier, Natalie Dessay, and Angela Gheorghiu
Hmm.... Your comments have had me thinking: The problem is that it is difficult to detach the music from time. I'm not here talking about fashion which is sort of cyclic thing allowing pottery to be dated with a precision of 30-40 years. Fashion makes Lauritz Melchiors stage dress up with winged helmets and the works seem downright ludicrus. No - I'm talking about detaching Händels music from its time. You can play it on the periods instruments, but most of them were terrible by todays standard. Crumhorns f.i. cannot be kept tuned, say little and are generally a lot of trouble for meagre results - so much in fact, that by todays standard it is not possible to earn a living as a musician. A lot of the music is composed to get around the limitations of the instruments - the harpsicord and chembalo make trills because that was the only way to keep a tone ringing. It is problematic to substitute an electric guitar for a lute. Few want to reintroduce castration to provide the cast for a Händel opera - quite apart from the wastage: 1000 castrated to produce one acceptable performer. We are all products of our time and nostalgia isn't what it used to be: Any historian knowing anything of a period would want to go back in time to the renaissance and its disease and poverty ridden hell-hole.
lizardking02793 Were thin: That is the operative word. The fact is that most women get a bit on the heavy side with age. As to the quality of sopranos then we could point to Maria Callas that bantered and lost voice. The fashion with thin women and models is more marketing related. Models are thin, because that makes the costoumer recongnise the dress on the rack. But my real issue is that I consider nudety on singers an insult to the singers: Just look how Cecilia Bartoli suffers because she hasn't a great dress to show off in stage productions.
The BEST from the 20th Century! Can't wait to see what follows!!!
Questa versione dell'Opera è FANTASTICA e io ho la fortuna di averlo in dvd! Cesare Siepi è il migliore Don Giovanni di tutti i tempi, seguito solo da T. Allen
Pls upload with better quality :3
Per me la più emozionante tra le scene finali del Commendatore: Don Giovanni che cerca di colpire uno spirito con il suo pugnale! Due grandi e stupefacenti bassi profondi a confronto.🔥👍
Wonderful music, only my dog goes crazy listening to this xD She barks whenever the statue sings xD
ElisabettaVS lol
Anyone who complains that this is too slow really doesn't deserve to listen to it.
Tears coming from my eyes for this great performance. Gives me chills.
una statua di bronzo o pietra che sia NON PUO' avere una voce umana , trovo il vibrato della statua del Commendatore una soluzione geniale , A DIR POCO !!!!!!!!!!! ... un CESARE SIEPI degno figlio di APOLLO ... passeranno i secoli prima di avere un DON GIOVANNI DI QUESTA LEVATURA ,,,,, GRANDISSIMO FURTWANGLER ..... GRAZIE !!!!!!! ...
Merci pour cette version.
the best don giovanni
ruclips.net/video/_lf-lu0yfBU/видео.html
è la migliore opera mai concepita e scritta
Simplemente impresionante.
Semplicemente geniale!! Se adesso cantassero cosi!!
Three basses onstage at once! Heaven!
Excellent.
Furtwangler always did the best stuff
@woncho99 -R.I.P.Cesare Siepi.One of the all time greats. We shall always remember you.
What a pity this old recording didn't benefit from today's technology. Such a powerful rendition
06:03 Siepi's scream is real super fucking sexy and his "oime" sounds really cold.
Fantastic and very different from the today version.s
The best quality of this version : it is disturbing !
yann
Despite "slow" tempi, not always consistently "perfect" singing there is no better document of this opera in its entirety than this performance. Dare you to find one.
What a gem.
Phänomenal Danke
At 1:55, when they painfully extend the grave
"Altre cure più gravi di queste",
Don Giovannis bodily movement appears to freeze with the music.
I never got a chance to see this Opera in a theater, but now I can check out many versions and singers. I really love seeing the different ways it's interpreted. I've seen only a few Operas in my life but Mozart's are the best.
Ernsters' voice was never the same after he was released from Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. Truly a pity....the vibrato was very limited prior to his imprisonment there.
Me pone la piel de gallina... Realmente es genial!!!
Mi sconvolge ogni volta!!!
by far the best
I like it this way, something almost like a Wagnerian drama. Reminds me the Flying Dutchman in its dark, sweeping emotions.
Quite magnificent. Life can be lived, but death cannot be denied
Thank you.
Splendido!
comece com trios,quartetos, sinfonias.depois a opera. opera e o topo. o topo da evoluçao musical.
Brividi
Superbo
This version captures the feeling of hell pretty well.
Stunning performance.TY. selkaen
Sorry, I wrote it as I saw it written. Thank you for correcting.
@Goethefemme It's not that basses were not popular; they were were quite common in leading roles, actually. It was the baritone part that was not often significant role and was not written as "baritone", but actually as just another bass. Baritones did not come into popularity until the late Classical/ Early Romantic periods.
Nice tempo!👍
I was thinking the same thing! The closest embodiment of this version is the Kurt Moll version.
Moll also sings the low D at the end.
Respond to this video... Thank you for posting this, from the bottom of my heart. Grazie mille!!!!!!
Ruth Bader Ginsberg and I, think this is the greatest opera and the commentadore scene the greatest scene in opera.
Sublime même si c'est ancien !!!
absolutely correct!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
non riesco a respirare!!!! la perfezione riesce a farti diventar di marmo!!
This strikes me! The musical interpretation is good and the singers act exceptionally well. The tempo is indeed slow, but it creates a very doomsday-like atmosphere. I wish I could only find it on VHS or DVD. Selkaen, do you know if this is acquistable somewhere? Where did you get it from?
I very much agree. The slow temp helps us to realize how terrifying this scene is.
Agghiacciante, bellissimo.
The greatest conductor that ever lived.
This was almost a gold stdandard for its day. I heard this, I think, when I was about eleven and never recovered from the impact. Seeing the film changed my life.
The Kliber production is almost like this but not quite. I do not recall the tempo. It was slower than today.
Your point is well taken. I hear what you hear when you point it out to me. You are on target about the scales. Thank you for the tutorial I appreciate it.
Furtwängler IS GOD
I kinda agree after all, I like a faster tempo.
da brivido
I still wish there were a video of the 1956 performance, I like Gottlob Frick as the Commendatore. Ah, well...
Fortunately we do have the 1956 performance on cd, with Frick dropping down to the low D at the end of his last phrase.
Yes, Don Giuanni is for baritone, but Cesare Siepi was bass.
@woncho99
Maestro Siepi was a baritone. You are correct about the greatest part:)
1954... AND WHAT A DIFFERENCE. Where the strendth of civilization has gone......
yes. from Deutsche Grammophon
Don’t think we didn’t see this 👀 1:03
Good version. Also , the first one I see , dressings and scenario are historically correct. But I dont remember that Lorenzo da Ponte did put the murder trial ,on libretto ( 04:26).
Este Don Giovanni a cenar teco más lento, más trágico, con un comendador pétreo y con una tremenda actuación no sé si será superado alguna vez... pa q hablar de la calidad del reparto de la versión!
Hai ragionissimo. Ora sentiamo tanto la mancanza di Siepi nelle produzioni più recenti!
I Don Giovanni di oggi poi sono troppo chiari per il mio gusto, preferivo bassi in questo ruolo piuttosto che baritoni.
Der steinerne Gast..