Opera Atelier: Fall 2011

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Sunday October 30, 2011

Don Giovanni: Opera Atelier Fall 2011
Creating a New Shape or Restoring the Original One — A New Question to Befuddle Scholars

by Brian Hay

This was a 'Don Giovanni' with a different shape to it.

Meghan Lindsay built a portrayal of 'Donna Anna' as a woman who expresses righteous indignation in public while seeking martyrdom as penance for her her own guilt. Lawrence Wiliford made the perfect comic foil for her strait-laced performance by showing a Don Ottavio who pontificated a lot but did nothing without an okay from the head skirt. His mastery of comic gestures and ability to vary the shadings of his voice made him an absolute howl to watch and listen to.

Curtis Sullivan's 'portrayal of 'Masetto' depicted a man fully aware of the 'Don's' intentions and the knowledge that he had little power against them. Carla Huhtanen's portrayal of Zerlina' injected a degree of duplicity toward 'Masetto' that's probably only seen rarely. The brisk tempo used for 'Batti, batti, oh bel Masetto', sounded as if it stemmed as much from a need for self preservation as a desire to make up. Her final seduction of the beaten 'Masetto' was partly sympathetic but also the act of a woman aware that she has her man at his weakest.

Vasil Garvanliev's 'Leporello's underlying admiration for 'Don Giovanni' was at the core everything he did. Phillip Addis made the 'Don' almost entirely likeable, despite his lack of consideration for everyone around him. The two played off of each other brilliantly. Peggy Kriha Dye gave a definitive performance as 'Donna Elvira'. She captured all the anger and scorn suffered by the woman and made it clear the character's actions also stemmed from jealousy. The element of 'cloying' she added made it easy to understand both her side and why Don Giovanni might want to run for the hills — he must have felt like he was being followed around by a strip of loud flypaper.

The moments those three shared the stage generated pure magic. Her anger was balanced beautifully by 'Don Giovanni's' disregard and 'Leporello's' wry overview. Their first meeting established their relationship beautifully. Her moment of intervention on 'Zerlina's' behalf (even though Zerlina didn't want it) was hilarious. Her unabashed swooning over the 'Don' while Leporello and 'Don Giovanni' were ready to fall over laughing was hilarious. The three way lip-synch seduction at the beginning of the second act was too funny to describe. Even her final plea for repentance was underscored by a very subtle comic note.

Gerard Gauci's set used only a few few props and a minimal amount of panel changes. It was attractive to the eye, wholly functional and was complimented well by Bonnie Beecher's lighting. For the most the production employed broad hues with highlighted areas the performers gravitated to. It created atmosphere and allowed the abundant amounts of action to flow without a feeling of their being cluttered. Martha Mann's wardrobe designs were colourful and sensuous without being loud. Finely honed choreography by Jeanette Lajeunesse-Zing and Fight Director Jennifer Parr allowed the action on stage to flow smoothly. Stage Manager Kat Chin had the scene changes moving so seamlessly they were almost unnoticeable.

Director Marshall Pynkoski's Directing emphasized the duality inherent in the characters and kept the story moving at a brisk pace. Conductor Stefano Montanari's reading of the score, which he directed from the fortepiano, accentuated their nuances. Several scenes in 'Don Giovanni' are difficult to stage effectively but Pynkoski cleared those hurdles well. The action at the beginning is frantic and the music places heavy demands on the singers. The struggle between 'Don Giovanni' and 'Donna Anna' was half-hearted and showed her as ready to be taken as he was to do the deed. Phillip Addis was noticeably taller than Vasil Garvanliev but their builds are very similar. With their body language and the similarity in their costumes there were moments when the two were so much alike the only way to easily distinguish them was by their voices. Curtis Sullivan brought a measure of physical stiffness to the 'Commentatore's' resurrection while Addis and Garvanliev played off of Montanari's sharp punctuation beautifully. Ingenious use of shears and lighting accentuated the effect. When Masetto' lost his final confrontation with 'Don Giovanni' and accepted Zerlina's seductive pleas it was as a man realizing peace could only be found by making the best of things. Their genuine affection for one another flowed as easily as water. Those are examples of the genius of Mozart functioning in one of his finest moments and these people gave it full rein.

Musically, visually and psychologically this was exceptionally satisfying. For any who appreciate the multitude of complex subtlety in Mozart's music seeing it should be a feast. This production may raise questions about who intended what, but honestly, the best thing to do is sit back and let this production come to you.

Note: It wasn't credited in the program but the Mandolin used was played by Oboist Marco Cera.

This performance of 'Don Giovanni' took place at the Elgin Theatre in Toronto Ontario on Saturday October 29, 2011. This review was written to convey what it was like to be there watching.

The Matinee performance scheduled for Sunday October 30, 2011 begins at 3:00 p.m. The remainder of the performances run from Tuesday November 1, 2011 through to Saturday November 5, 2011. All performances begin at 7:30 p.m. and there is no performance scheduled for Monday October 31, 2011.

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