Richard Todd asked:

>Speaking of Don Giovannis that haven't been mentioned, and seldom are these
>days, I used to love the Sieppi recording conducted by Leinsdorf.  I guess
>it was pre-stereo by a year or two.  I haven't heard it for thirty years.
>I wonder if it was as good as I remember.

I have this performance on RCA LPs, and it's very much a "Living Stereo"
package, although it dates from June, 1959.  Siepi and Corena repeat the
roles they recorded for Decca/London, joined by Leontyne Price, Birgit
Nilsson, and Cesare Valetti in an Eric Smith production for Decca licensed
to RCA.  The all-too-precious liner notes have Mozart raving about the
stereo staging and the recording sessions in letters to an imaginary
pen-pal.  I haven't seen a CD version, but since the Nilsson/Vickers
Walkure from RCA has turned up as a midprice Decca reissue, a re-release
may be possible.

That said, the big names and voices don't quite mesh, to my ears.  As much
as I admire Nilsson in Wagner and Strauss, she is a larger than life Donna
Anna, while Price turns Donna Elvira into a Verdian victim.  The Vienna
Philharmonic sounds dry, scrappy, and out of sorts under Leinsdorf.  In
my opinion, the Mackerras and Sir Colin Davis versions remain superior.

Dick Claeys
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