Don Giovanni

In this 2010 staging at the Aix-en-Provence Festival of Mozart's 1787 opera about the lecherous Don Juan, director Dmitri Tcherniakov not only updates the piece to the present and extends the action over months, but also portrays the originally unrelated characters as the psychologically damaged members of a single family. In the process, Tcherniakov has removed every trace of humor from what the composer called a dramma giocoso, turning it into a dark domestic tragedy set entirely in a richly appointed private library and focusing on the decline of an aging lothario left with only a pitiful remnant of his seductive powers. The musical performance does not salvage this production: the playing by the original-instrument Freiburger Barockorchester under the baton of Louis Langrée is fiercely dramatic, missing much of the music's gracefulness, and the cast members—especially Bo Skovhus as the severely depressed Don Giovanni—are actually often more convincing in their acting than their singing. Why the festival—turning out sane and respectful Mozart performances since 1948—chose to take such an uncharacteristic approach to this masterpiece remains a mystery. Presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 and PCM stereo on DVD, and DTS-HD 5.1 and PCM stereo on Blu-ray, extras include a “making-of” featurette. A much better choice here would be the 2008 Covent Garden mounting (VL-9/09). Not a necessary purchase. (F. Swietek)