Drama

Music

Don Giovanni

Gaumont

Caméra One

Opera Film Produzione

France 2

Janus Film und Fernsehen

Opéra National de Paris

Germany

Italy

France

Italiano

Ruggero Raimondi

John Macurdy

Edda Moser

Kiri Te Kanawa

Kenneth Riegel

José van Dam

Teresa Berganza

Malcolm King

Eric Adjani

Gianfranco Quero

Roberto Del Lago

Sandro Dal Pra

Cristina Fondi

Patrizia Murari

Cristina Nizzero

Simonetta Noce

Fabio Reggio

Guglielmo Spoletini

Gianni Vizzotto

Joseph Losey

Lorenzo da Ponte

Frantz Salieri

Rolf Liebermann

Patricia Losey

Robert Nador

Michel Seydoux

Renzo Rossellini

Gerry Fisher

Emma Mennenti

Reginald Beck

Alexandre Trauner

Annalisa Nasalli-Rocca

Daniel Couteau

Jean-Paul Mugel

Franco Corridoni

Maria Teresa Corridoni

Gino Zamprioli

Piero Amati

Gianni Cecchin

Luigi Minopoli

Dominique Rigaux

Pierre Saint-Blancat

Nicola Venditti

Claudio Vinale

Carlo Carlotto

Barbara Ceschi

Jean-Michel Lacor

Inigo Lezzi

Francine Meunier

Paolo Morosi

Hubert de Varine

Pierre Duquesne

Carlo Maggi

Jean-Louis Ducarme

Jacques Maumont

Rodolfo Montagnani

Michèle Neny

Roberto Pace

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Frustrating rendition of Mozart's masterpiece.  The singers are all first-rate, and led by Lorin Maazel and the Orchestra of the Paris Opera.  But the direction by Losey and his team is unfocused, and seems to care more about making some confused socio-political commentary, and not so much about telling a clear story. (For just one example, what in the world has Losey done to the sextet in Act 2?  Does that scene make any sense?)  In short, here you will find magnificent Mozart, and lousy Losey.

CinemaSerf

I’m not usually a fan of cinematic adaptations of opera. They often resort to the lazy convenience of the photography and forget to include the heart and soul of the subject. Those elements are especially important with this dark and self-destructive tale of the womanising “Giovanni” (Ruggero Raimondi). Right from the start when he kills the father (John Macurdy) of one of his many lovers, though, Joseph Losey manages to interweave the sumptuous details of Venetian settings with intricate costumes and he manages to successfully ensure that the libretto is clearly and energetically heard as this ghostly tale of human frailty unfolds. To be honest, when you have Mozart at his most creative played out in the hands of Raimondi; Edda Moser as the daughter of the murdered man; Macurdy and the powerful soprano of Kiri Te Kanawa then it’s hard to imagine how he could have gone wrong - and he doesn’t. It’s a lavish enterprise. You don’t really need to know the story beforehand (though it does help) as I find it one of the more straightforward plots to follow. That said, it isn’t a simple story and the characters offer plenty for us to get our teeth into and to wrap our ears around as we watch a real drama emerge from the torch-lit granite and marble, with powerful arias and duets delivered with emotion and oomph. If you can see it in one go on a big screen, then that does most justice to this stylishly crafted and orchestrated interpretation of a man’s flirtation with love, lust and the fires of hell. Rousing stuff well worth your time, even if you’re not an opera buff.

Losey's Don Giovanni (1979)-- Trailer

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Don Giovanni

Cast & Crew

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Cast

Ruggero Raimondi

John Macurdy

Edda Moser

Kiri Te Kanawa

Kenneth Riegel

José van Dam

Teresa Berganza

Malcolm King

Eric Adjani

Gianfranco Quero

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