Furtwängler conducts Mozart: Don Giovanni

This powerful account of Mozart’s Don Giovanni captured at the Salzburg Festival in 1954 represents the final filmed performance of conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler – one of the 20th-century’s greatest conductors and for a long time the chief conductor of the Berliner Philharmoniker, including, controversially, during the 1930s and ’40s. Paul Czinner is the film director, capturing Herbert Graf’s handsome stage production as well as such immortal portrayals as Cesari Siepi’s Don Don Giovanni, Lisa Della Casa’s Donna Elvira and Elisabeth Grümmer’s Donna Anna. It adds up to a fascinating and important document, as well as an imposing and impressive performance of Mozart’s ever-fascinating opera.

Soloists: 

Walter Berry (Bass-Baritone), Anton Dermota (Tenor), Lisa Della Casa (Soprano), Otto Edelmann (Bass), Cesare Siepi (Bass), Elisabeth Grümmer (Soprano), Deszö Ernster (Bass)

Ensemble: 

Wiener Philharmoniker

Conductor: 

Wilhelm Furtwängler