[Met Performance] CID:168220



Don Giovanni
Metropolitan Opera House, Thu, March 10, 1955




Don Giovanni (183)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Lorenzo Da Ponte
Don Giovanni
Jerome Hines

Donna Anna
Eleanor Steber

Don Ottavio
Eugene Conley

Donna Elvira
Lucine Amara

Leporello
Lorenzo Alvary

Zerlina
Hilde Güden

Masetto
Lawrence Davidson

Commendatore
Luben Vichey


Conductor
Max Rudolf







Review 1:

Review signed R. A. E. in Musical America

In this performance, Jerome Hines tackled the title role for the first time in New York. He had previously sung it with the Cincinnati Summer Opera and in Europe. A mishap occurred at the beginning of the opera, during a duel between Giovanni and the Commendatore (Luben Vichey), in which the latter's sword was broken and a piece struck Mr. Hines on the head. Since he was offstage immediately afterwards for a number of minutes, Mr. Hines had his gash bandaged and sufficiently camouflaged to prevent most of the audience from guessing what had happened.

On the surface, the incident failed to upset the singer's aplomb, and he carried through his part with admirable verve. Only some of his faulty timing in the recitatives suggested that he might have been disturbed. On the whole, Mr. Hines's Don was visually handsome in its height of figure; gay and amused, without any trace of cynicism; vocally satisfactory, although his beautiful voice is heard to better advantage in musically more broadly conceived rôles, such as Philip in "Don Carlo" or Gurnemanz in "Parsifal." Since Mr. Hines has shown his ability to develop in a rôle from year to year, it is safe to say that his version of the Don, already showing commendable insight, will mature and improve with further performances.

Eleanor Steber's excitingly dramatic Donna Anna was a whole act in steadying down vocally, but the "Non mi dir" aria was masterfully sung. Hilde Gueden's coolly charming Zerlina offered lovely, toned, stylish phrasing. Lucine Amara once again provided the most consistently superior vocalism of the evening. Making his first appearance as Leporello at the opera house, Lorenzo Alvary presented a restrained, rather undefined characterization, ably sung. Lawrence Davidson's Masetto, his first of the season, avoided caricature and enlisted sympathy with its rueful manner. Eugene Conley was the Don Ottavio. Max Rudolf conducted.



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