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I saw this on an email newsletter from Elusive Disc and it looks interesting. Bryn Terfel does the part of Leporello. I believe this is a late 90's CD recording so I suspect it may in fact be a PCM transfer, meaning the sound quality may not be as good as most SACDs (sort of like the SACD version of La Traviata with Angela Georghiou which sounds quite mediocre)...
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I posted on this highway when the SACD came out months ago. I was far from being captured by the redbook (IMO lacking drama, which was unexpected in view of Abbado's great stature as an operatic conductor).The SACD has a totally different sonic balance that (believe it or not - in fact, I would have NOT believed it before this direct experience) makes the overall appreciation much different. The SACD version of this Don thus ranks (IMO) with e.g. the Krips or the Giulini EMI studio recording. I am aware that other good Dons exist (and many bad exist as well); I must admit being biased by the somewhat poor Italian of certain singers, and the Da Ponte libretto is a rather unforgiving masterpiece by itself.
I bought this simply because I wanted Don Giovanni on SACD. I didn’t have high expectations because it’s from a 44.1/24 PCM master and the performance itself hasn’t gotten great reviews. I, too, found it to be much better than I hoped for. The SACD layer is clearly more nuanced and dynamic than the CD layer. Evidently 24-bit does count for something. Yes, there are sections that aren’t as transparent as recordings with a higher PCM sampling rate or from DSD or analog sources. And yes, there are other performances that are better. But I found this performance quite enjoyable, especially the first act.
I'm a big fan of Terfel and Keenlyside, but IMO this recording doesn't show them off to their best advantage. I found it pretty dull, in fact, largely due to Abbado's uninspired conducting.
I've heard the redbook, not the SACD. Terfel is about the only high point of the recording -- overall it's a pretty undistinguished performance; only worth owning if you're a die-hard fan of the individual performers. Definitely own Gardiner (DG), Mackerras (Telarc) and Giulini (EMI) before buying this. They are all wonderful redbooks. Also beware of Terfel cast as Giovanni in the Solti recording. As tempting as it looks, Terfel is totally wrong for the part.
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