Herbert von Karajan’s relationship with Mozart’s operas was quite ambivalent, especially in his early years. Later, however, he increasingly returned to the works, conducting Don Giovanni at the Salzburg Festival in three different productions; this recording from 1970 is of the 1968 production, with only two roles in the original top-flight cast of singers being recast. While the Festival audience was impressed, the critical response was mixed. From today’s perspective, the live recording from 1970 sets this Don Giovanni among the legendary performances of the Salzburg Festival. The title role is sung by the Bulgarian bass Nicolai Ghiaurov, whose performances at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, the Sofia Opera and La Scala in Milan established him as a great dramatic singer. The role of Leporello is performed by the noted Welsh baritone Geraint Evans, who had already proven his extraordinary abilities as a character actor at the Festival between 1962–67, as Mozart’s Figaro. In the role of Donna Anna, Gundula Janowitz is heard at the zenith of her career, which was largely promoted by Karajan. Polish-born Teresa Zylis-Gara, who had impressed as a Mozart singer at Glyndebourne and elsewhere, also fitted perfectly as Dona Elvira in Karajan’s concept of the role: sensitive, wavering between her pain and her feelings for Don Giovanni, which surface again and again.
