MOZART: “Don Giovanni.” Sona Ghazarian, Gertrud Ottenthal,...

MOZART: “Don Giovanni.” Sona Ghazarian, Gertrud Ottenthal, Patrizia Pace, Renato Bruson, Nicola Ghiuselev, Giuseppe Sabbatini; Kolner Rundfunkchor and Sinfonie-Orchester, conducted by Neeme Jarvi. Chandos CHAN-8910/1/2 (three CDs). Mozart’s dramma giocoso is indifferently treated in this mystifying release, which leaves much to be desired in stylistic terms. Jarvi, who has not previously shown on record any inclination to 18th-Century opera, adopts ponderous, even oppressifve tempos that rarely plumb tragic depths. Pace pipes prettily as Zerlina. Ghazarian’s lyric soprano reveals heroic conviction as Anna. But Ottenthal’s shrill, provincial Elvira strays often from pitch. Bruson’s boisterous Giovanni misses sheer baritonal allure and rhythmic definition; the Serenade exhibits all his current limitations. Ghiuselev bellows his way through Leporello in a gravelly bass, while Sabbatini’s Ottavio seems to have wandered in from a performance of “Andrea Chenier . “ It’s scarcely competitive, and definitely not giocoso .