Elisabeth Grümmer

DON GIOVANNI, a young, arrogant, sexually promiscuous nobleman, abuses and outrages everyone else in the cast, until he encounters something he cannot kill, beat up, dodge, or outwit. This legendary production starring Cesare Siepi in the title role with Wilhelm Furtwängler conducting was filmed in Salzburg’s open-air Felsenreitschule theatre during the 1954 Salzburg Festival. Although the production is clearly dated, it remains a must-see for lovers of the opera, both as a historical document of a vintage, all-star production and simply as an excellent way to experience Mozart’s masterpiece.

Of the five premieres produced during a four-month period, Mozart's "Don Giovanni" on the first night attracted an illustrious audience. In addition to the President of the Federal Republic of Germany and a selection of diplomats and politicians, high-ranking guests included theatrical directors from West Germany and other Western European countries, composers, conductors, actors, writers, painters and sculptors, not to mention rectors and lecturers from Berlin's universities and the world's leading music critics. [...] The success was commensurate with the significance of the occasion. All involved in the performance received countless ovations in front of the magnificent yellow curtain. The new building - and the new stage with its state-of-the-art technology - had shown itself to be more than capable of handling Mozart's most demanding work.