Don Giovanni At The Proms History was made at the Proms last night when the Glyndebourne Opera. its season having just finished in Sussex. came to the Albert Hall to give a concert performance of Don Giovanni. Many an argument has been advanced against opera treated as oratorio, and quite recently in the Festival Hall we have had experience of dazzlingly starry casts achieving everything except the imme- diacy and warmth of a true stage performance. But at last night's Prom the experiment was an unqualified success. Having lived in their roles throughout a complete season, each of the singers had a living character to bring to London- modifications of behaviour were both inevitable and essential on a concert platform. yet enough of the true spirit of the theatre remained to delight even. the most seasoned opera-goer. It was a brilliant idea to build a small. elevated platform (behind the Royal Phil- harmonic Orchestra) on to which the cast could come and go freely instead of sitting in a rigid row like soloists in a requiem Mass. The voices -carried superbly well, too. from this vantage point. so that balance of tone between vocal and orches- tral forces left nothing to be desired. Mr. John Pritchard's dramatically taut yet wholly unruffled, eighteenth-century hand- ling of the score contributed that essential element of style. Outstandingly fine interpretations came from Mr. Gyorgy Melis in the title role and Mr. Geraint Evans as Leporello. Mr. Richard Lewis delighted everyone with the pure musical beauty of the mellifluous yet ringing lyrical tone and smooth line he brought to Ottavio's two famous arias. There were two youthfully radiant perform- andes from Miss Mirella Freni and Mr. Leonardo Monreale. DON GIOVANM AT THE PROMS