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Don Giovanni
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Composer |
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart |
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Librettist |
Lorenzo da Ponte |
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Venue and Dates |
Auditorium S. Cecilia, Rome 13-17 May 2006 Concert performance |
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Conductor |
Antonio Pappano |
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Performers |
Don Giovanni: Gerald Finley Donna Anna: Carmela Remigio Donna Elvira: Monica Bacelli Zerlina: Patrizia Biccirè Don Ottavio: Matthew Polenzani Leporello: Ildebrando D'Arcangelo Il Commendatore: Mario Luperi Masetto: Darren Jeffery Orchestra and Chorus of dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia |
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Notes |
What the critics say
Mauro Mariani (translation by Alexander Martin) for Giornale della Musica, 16 May 2006
http://www.giornaledellamusica.it/rol/scheda.php?id=1945&ra&l=1
Don Giovanni, theatrical as ever
It was meant to be in concert form, but the singers could not bare to remain immobile behind their music stands, so they began to add a little action, some simple props, and costumes appropriate for each part: an elegant black jacket with a brightly coloured cardinal-type lining for the seducer, a donkey jacket for the servant, and a long lace dress with red rose on the side for Elvira. All said, this was a very theatrical Don Giovanni, with characters let loose all over the front of the very long stage, in the gallery, along the corridors of the stalls, and even in the pit, where Leporello 'exhibits his protection' to the female violin players. Everyone plays their parts as they see fit, yet this multicentric production works beautifully for an opera in which tragedy and comedy are juxtaposed and in which characters meet but never really enter into a rapport with each other. The only rapport of complicity is between Don Giovanni and Leporello; and with two stage animals the likes of Gerald Finley and Ildebrando D'Arcangelo, they need only catch a scent of each other to understand exactly what they want respectively. Finley is not very metaphysical as far as Don Giovannis go. He is very theatrical and overwhelms you to such an extent that you almost fail to notice just how well he sings, until he nails you with a serenata a mezza voce that is not a display of belcanto but pure sensuality. D'Arcangelo is his perfect partner. Carmela Remigio, playing Anna, is tense, trembling, and closed inside her tragedy. Monica Bacelli, playing Elvira, is extrovert and passionate almost to the point of caricature. They all work very well as a team. Antonio Pappano accompanies them superbly. He breathes with them and holds them by the hand, spurring them on in an overwhelming and anguished vortex that makes even the buffoonery seem sinister.
