Towards the end of Karajan's long and distinguished career, there was a tendency for his music-making to become to stiff and cramped, without the balance between precision and control on the one hand and joy of music and  sheer wonderful sound on the other that made Karajan's recordings during  the sixties and seventies such a joy to listen to. Maybe this had something  to do with Karajan getting older and, eventually, ill - those are idle  speculations. This recording may be the exception that proves the rule!  This is a breath-taking recording, with stands second to none, neither to  other recordings of the similar work or to other recordings by Karajan  (although he didn't record "Don Giovanni" earlier, as was his  won't with so many other works, being recorded two, three or even four times  during his career, always to keep up with the latest advances in recording  technology). The conducting is testament to all that is good about Karajan:  the exquisite sound, the precise orchestral playing and the clarity of the  rendering of the score, combined with a joy and an intensity of the playing  and acting of both orchestra and soloists. The soloists are generally  excellent. Ramey (Don Giovanni) portrays the rake as a rather gentlemanly  villain - the Professor Moriarty of the operatic world, so to speak!  Tomowa-Sintow is excellently cast as Donna Anna, the most Primadonna-like  of all Mozart's heroines, her voice rich in vibrato and timbre. Furlanetto  as Leporello is convincing both as a singer and as an actor, important even  on record. Agnes Baltsa (Donna Elvira) has for me been something of an  acquired taste: her voice is not exactly beautiful like for instance  Christa Ludwig, but she has a wonderful dramatic presence that, when she is  at her best, reminds me of Callas. Last but not least, Battle is almost too  kitten-like as the peasant-girl Zerlina - a bit more of a personality for  this character is possible. Just think of Bartoli's version of Zerlina!.  Battle's voice, however, is very beautiful, without a flaw. The greatest  moment of this recording is the finale of act one, where all the qualities  of the orchestra, the soloists and the chorus are united under Karajan's  masterly baton in a, truly, breathtaking tour-de-force. Just listen to it!
Towards the end of Karajan's long and distinguished career, there was a tendency for his music-making to become to stiff and cramped, without the balance between precision and control on the one hand and joy of music and  sheer wonderful sound on the other that made Karajan's recordings during  the sixties and seventies such a joy to listen to. Maybe this had something  to do with Karajan getting older and, eventually, ill - those are idle  speculations. This recording may be the exception that proves the rule! This is a breath-taking recording, with stands second to none, neither to  other recordings of the similar work or to other recordings by Karajan  (although he didn't record "Don Giovanni" earlier, as was his  won't with so many other works, being recorded two, three or even four times  during his career, always to keep up with the latest advances in recording  technology). The conducting is testament to all that is good about Karajan:  the exquisite sound, the precise orchestral playing and the clarity of the  rendering of the score, combined with a joy and an intensity of the playing  and acting of both orchestra and soloists. The soloists are generally  excellent. Ramey (Don Giovanni) portrays the rake as a rather gentlemanly  villain - the Professor Moriarty of the operatic world, so to speak! Tomowa-Sintow is excellently cast as Donna Anna, the most Primadonna-like  of all Mozart's heroines, her voice rich in vibrato and timbre. Furlanetto  as Leporello is convincing both as a singer and as an actor, important even  on record. Agnes Baltsa (Donna Elvira) has for me been something of an  acquired taste: her voice is not exactly beautiful like for instance  Christa Ludwig, but she has a wonderful dramatic presence that, when she is  at her best, reminds me of Callas. Last but not least, Battle is almost too  kitten-like as the peasant-girl Zerlina - a bit more of a personality for  this character is possible. Just think of Bartoli's version of Zerlina!. Battle's voice, however, is very beautiful, without a flaw. The greatest  moment of this recording is the finale of act one, where all the qualities  of the orchestra, the soloists and the chorus are united under Karajan's  masterly baton in a, truly, breathtaking tour-de-force. Just listen to it!