Mozart: Don Giovanni, K. 527
Ildebrando d'Arcangelo, Luca Pisaroni, Diana Damrau, Joyce DiDonato, Rolando Villazón, Mojca Erdmann, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Yannick Nézet-Séguin
Nézet-Séguin’s Don Giovanni has drama, tension, and some fabulous singing. Ildebrando D’Arcangelo makes a dangerous Giovanni, while Luca Pisaroni—a fine vocal actor—is a wily Leporello, and Rolando Villazón, the project’s driving force, sings with verve. But it’s the women who shine: Diana Damrau is a fire-spitting Anna, while Joyce DiDonato delivers a characterful, enormously stylish Elvira, and Mojca Erdmann is enchanting as Zerlina. The orchestra play with great theatricality and a terrific feeling for the opera’s light and shade, and Nézet-Séguin paces everything to perfection.