Mozart: Don Giovanni

With Herbert von Karajan leading the Berlin Philharmonic in any performance, there are some automatic expectations: the music will be delivered with exemplary polish, balance, and a clear, logically implemented overall concept. These values will be pursued, if necessary, even at the expense of dramatic impact--the kind of impact you expect and get from Muti and Giulini, but there will be a beauty and a coordination in the performance that compensates for any lessening of purely theatrical excitement. As a matter of fact, there is plenty of theatrical impact in this Don Giovanni, and there are moments when the singing lacks the ultimate polish, but von Karajan's touch is evident everywhere, and it makes a tremendous difference. --Joe McLellan