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15/03/2004 A Night at the Opera: Saturday
The shortcomings of Friday's Royal Opera House Samson and Dalila (see below) were cruelly underlined by Saturday's live broadcast of Don Giovanni from New York's Metropolitan Opera. You knew from the opening bar of the overture that you were about to hear one of the finest operas in the repertoire, written by the world's finest musician. Where Samson lacked melodies - arias and duets - Mozart's masterpiece is stuffed with them. Where Samson has a weak, unengaging narrative, Mozart's exposition of the Don's Olympian performance in the humping department, and his eventual come-uppance, keeps your interest for hours. And where Samson is peopled by cardboard cut-outs, Don Giovanni has a stageful of living, breathing people, whose personalities absorb you and whose fate becomes important to you. The Don's (enviable) lack of Catholic guilt and his reckless bravado in the face of danger, the resigned but tolerant cynicism of his servant, Leporello, and the two-faced perfidy of some of the lead female characters have long secured Don Giovanni's place at the high table of European art. Thomas Hampson, as the Don, led a finely nuanced cast in this strong production - a suitable antidote to the wasteland of Samson and Dalila the previous night. The generous series of live Met broadcasts turns next to the four parts of Wagner's Ring Cycle, starting with Das Rheingold next Saturday, 20 March, at 1900 GMT on BBC Radio 3. Mamma Mia!
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