Don Giovanni
State Theatre, Melbourne; Opera Australia
Wednesday, November 14, 2007.
Opening Night Performance.
Review by JOSEPHINE GILES.
If Don Giovanni were written today it might look a lot like Californication, but the Don would make David Duchovny’s character look like a wimp. In Spain alone Don Giovanni has racked up 1003 conquests and is still counting...
Don Giovanni is not an opera for the faint hearted, coming in at just over 3 hours, but it contains lots of fabulous music, and has a surprisingly contemporary story. Though this production is flawed in places, it is well worth seeing for the stellar performances of the two major principal males.
As Don Giovanni baritone Teddy Tahu Rhodes is outstanding as he makes the role his own. He is opera’s version of the triple threat: he can sing, act and has a great bod – which is just as well, as this particular production has his character appearing in various stages of undress. Tahu Rhodes’s voice is at turns richly menacing or sweetly seductive, and he brings a commanding physicality to his portrayal of the testosterone ruled, morally bankrupt Don.
“As everyone knows, the opera is really about Leporello”, said OA Chief Executive Adrian Collette as he introduced John Pringle at the after party. In this case, he wasn’t joking. John Pringle’s performance of the most put upon servant of the Don is one of the last appearances he will make in opera, as he is soon to retire from the stage. He makes the most of every moment on stage, exploiting the comic potential of the role to the full, and his enjoyment and rapport with Tahu Rhodes lifts the whole show. It is definitely the best Leporello I have ever seen.
The casting of the female principals is less successful, with the exception of Tiffany Speight as Zerlina, who can be relied upon to please in the Mozart subrette roles. As Donna Anna, Kate Ladner was dramatically convincing but, on the night, lacked the vocal stamina that this fiendishly difficult role demands.
The role of Donna Elvira happens to be one of my favourites, and while she is often played as a comical love sick fool, she is in my opinion a good portrait of the sort of madness that can possess a woman when she is obsessed by a charismatic, abusive man. Alternately angry then forgiving, her conflicted feelings are expressed in outbursts with a spiky vocal line that requires a soprano with an exciting top. In this production Fiona Janes’s fine mezzo quality was pleasing, but ultimately incongruous in the opera.
The one tenor role, Don Ottavio, was filled more than ably by Jaewoo Kim. It is a thankless role, as the character fruitlessly tries to capture the attention of the hysterical Anna, but Kim has a beautiful lyric tenor and was almost heroic in the aria Il mio tesoro. And bass Jud Arthurs cuts a fine figure as the Commendatore.
This production of Don Giovanni has been in the OA repertoire for some time, and its age is beginning to show. It contains a number of, to my taste, gratuitous gestures to “sexiness”, but in general maintains a good pace throughout, culminating in a powerful denouement. Opening night was hampered by too many tempo disagreements between the stage and pit, which may well account for some of the uneasiness from the girls, but I trust these problems will be resolved during the run of the season.
