How local should be the staging of an opera? This is the question director Roland Schwab must have posed himself when the Deutsche Oper asked him for a new production of Mozart’s Don Giovanni. This is an opera named after one of the characters and although this generally means that this is the main character, that does not mean either that all other characters unimportant. I write that for it seems that a great deal of new staging of this opera has been so absorbed by Don Juan that all other characters are left to imagination, even if they sing a great deal more than the burlador de Sevilla himself. I find it particularly bothersome when this involves messing with the score, as in this case: recitatives have been trimmed to fit the director’s concept and the loss of Il mio tesoro and the final scene has nothing to do with the Viennese edition (no razor duet, to start with), but simply with the fact that Mozart and da Ponte supposedly did not know better.
As staged here, this could be a two-role opera with pauses for concert arias from high-voiced singers. Don Giovanni is some sort of mobster who lives la vida loca in Berlin’s clubbing scene, with a little help of his sidekick Leporello. Although Mozart and da Ponte wrote an opera that reaches its climax in the second act, here this is transferred to the first act finale: Don Giovanni’s party is some sort of night-life inferno with two spiraled neon hell-machines, a boar’s head stuck on a spear, a naked girl with a fixator around one leg, other naked girl hanging from the ceiling, a quotation from Dante and good old Jesus on a stationary bike. Donna Anna, Donna Elvira, Don Ottavio, Zerlina and Masetto seem to be extras from Mike Nichols’s “The Graduate” who have taken a bus to Berlin in the end of the movie. What they are doing there, what they feel, what they think, who they are – these are irrelevant question.
So, the production concentrates on the issues of the addiction to freedom that clubbers experiment only to drive them always to live in their limits, until the never-ending quest for new limits becomes a prison. Point taken. How does the giocoso part fits in the story? In some sort of slapstick broad black comedy that Germans appreciate, basically all turning around Leporello, who licks arms, nipples, face, feet etc of half the cast and some extras, strips to his underwear while doing Beyoncé-like choreographies surrounded by dancing skulls with mickey-mouse ears in the graveyard scene while tossing evil laughs whenever there is time for it. When there is not, no problem – the conductor agreed to press the pause button in the middle of recitatives.
If the idea was to shock or wow anyone who knows Berlin’s underground scene, I guess that the effort was self-defeating. It all looked cutely quirky. Sometimes embarrassingly so. There was nothing truly disturbing going on stage – maybe an ill-humored member of the audience would find the unfunny jokes about Christ offensive, but they are so pointless that I doubt that – and I do not really believe that Da Ponte and Mozart truly give raw material for something blatant. Especially when the conductor is Roberto Abbado, who offered the best-behaved performance of this opera I have ever seen in my life. Vigor, strong accents, contrasts – one should look for that anywhere else. Emptily elegant phrasing, sprightly rhythms and graciousness is all you would find here. I have once read that one shopping-center somewhere in USA has always Mozart pouring from the speakers, because they have observed that this discourages young people from indulging in vandalism. The musical performance this evening seems to prove that. If those on stage seemed ready to let it rip, this must have been because they were paid to pretend.
The saving grace in this evening was Latvian soprano Marina Rebeka, who offered a Mozartian performance in the grand manner. I cannot think of anyone else who could tackle the role of Donna Anna these days as beautifully as she did. With the exception of some wrong entries in Non mi dir, she sang immaculately: unforced, round top notes, crystal-clear coloratura, pure intonation, instrumental phrasing, sense of style, an amazingly lovely tone, you name it, she has it. I have a message for mezzo-sopranos: Donna Elvira is not a role for you girls. Ruxandra Donose is only the next victim of this misconception – she sounded uncomfortable throughout and struggled perilously with a transposed Mi tradì. Her intervention in Don Giovanni’s feast had to do with the optional lower notes. On the other hand, Martina Welschenbach found the role of Zerlina too low, but her voice is so pleasant and her singing is so engaging that one can forgive her that. Yosep Kang was an unsubtle Don Ottavio who still needs to know the art of tonal coloring and dynamic shading. No-one missed Il mio tesoro tonight. Ildebrando d’Arcangelo’s big, firm bass lacks some variety too and he is not very strong in vocal seduction, but considering what an over-enthusiastic singer could do in this production, his austerity is quite welcome. At this point, I could write a master degree about Alex Esposito’s Leporello. Although his voice is not remarkable in any sense, it is nonetheless quite reliable and healthily produced. His interpretation is now plagued by the sort of mannerisms that appear when a singer sings for too long the same role. He has a Roberto Benigni-like restlessness and clownishness that, framed by a good director, can come through as vivaciousness and funniness. This evening, rambunctiousness and vexatiousness would describe it more faithfully. Finally, Ante Jerkunica did not find problems in the writing of the Commendatore, but having a lighter and clearer voice than Don Giovanni was a little confusing.
I HEAR VOICES 
Mezzo-soprano Susan Graham was a very successful Donna Elvira in Lyric Opera of Chicago’s 2004 production. Ildebrando was a seedy Leporello and Bryn Terfel a dangerous Don. Karita Mattila was disappointing as Donna Anna but no question Ms. Graham had one of the most glittering voices amongst a starry cast.
Graham was the less problematic mezzo Elvira I have seen (2008), but she was not _really_ good either. The tone was pale, legato was sketchy, intonation was so-so and, even transposed down, Mi tradì was uncomfortable. And – call me picky – I like the recitative as written.
I must to agree about the Elvira of Donose. This role is too difficult for her, even with transposed arias! I do not think it is impossible for a mezzo but not this mezzo. “Mi tradi quell’alma” was a katastrophe, I think if the director will cut “Il mio tesoro” because Kang cannot sing, he should also use this logic and not include “Mi tradi”! Esposito is a little better, but I must to disagree only a little bit. He does not have a unique voice or a very impressive voice, but his performance and the crazy things he had to do during the performance deserve credit.
I liked Graham’s Elvira (2008). Still, I don’t think you’re entirely incorrect in your evaluation of her difficulties even if I’d dial it back a touch or two (e.g. tone “could have had more colour, intonation good than ideal, etc). D’Arcangelo was a pretty good Leporello though, I think (heard him in Salzburg too). Don’t know about his Don although you seem to say he did at least OK. Terfel, too much better as Leporello than the Don. (Only Furlanetto managed both equally well – at least among singers I’ve heard do both roles live).
…er…make that … colour”, and “intonation less than ideal”. All right, these are rather nitpicky distinctions. I just think I like her a little bit better. Outstanding Dorabella, though, among other things.
Graham – You can count me as an admirer of Susan Graham. Her Sesto, Idamante and Dorabella are simply perfect, her Octavian and her Componist were sensitively sung with exquisite mezza voce and she is among the greatest in French mélodies. Because her standards are usually very high, I tend to expect always great things from her. Compared to really bad Donna Elviras, she was marvelous, but compared to the truly great ones, she was just acceptable. On placing her in the level of the very best, even when it means to show her under a negative light, I intend to show her the respect she deserves.
I might be mistaken, but I remember an interview with Frederica Von Stade – and if there was a mezzo who could really get away with soprano stuff, that was Von Stade – where she said that, after many offers to sing Donna Elvira, she decided to give it a try and said “never again”, for, although she could actually sing it, in the end of the evening she was dead tired. That was nature telling her “hands off”, and she was right to listen.
Donose. She is such a lovely singer and her Cenerentola at the Deutsche Oper was truly touching. Unless she really felt that she should sing Donna Elvira at least once in her lifetime, why bother? The voice is such a fragile thing, one invests years and lots of money and effort to reach professional level and then jeopardizes it all for what?
D’Arcangelo. He was more than ok, he was good. But he was not great. I may be old-fashioned, but I expect a Don Giovanni to be really mellifluous in his serenade or in Ah, taci, ingiusto core. In those moments, he was more formidable than seductive.
Esposito. Jurgen, you are right. Although I don’t like the directorial choices, Esposito embraced them and gave his all. One must have in mind that, even in the athletic movements assigned to him, he always kept a decent Mozartian line. And that deserves credit. So my apologies for not making this point clearer. In any case, if you ask me my favourite Leporello from Esposito, my answer is: earlier this year at La Fenice. Not only were his acting skills more finely focused by the director, but also he could sing more richly in that context.
Kang. I believe that the director cut Il mio tesoro because he had no space in his concept for it. And if Kang sang it as stolidly as he sang Dalla sua pace, he probably didn’t feel persuaded to include it. I don’t want to sound mean, but Il mio tesoro is for a tenor what Bach’s Klavierübungen are for a keyboard instrument player. One learns to sing that as part of one’s training. If you cannot make anything out of it, what were you doing in your voice lesson days?
I’d rather see Ildebrando as Leporello, as in Chicago in 2004. The role is a better fit for him than Don G. He’s not suave enough for the latter role.
Thanks for this well written review, the first I’ve read on your blog. In a time when newspaper reviews deal less and less intelligently about singers and singing, I am glad to discover you here.
Loki, I agree with you; “suave” is the word I was looking for.
Operarocks, thanks! [PS – Now I see you have a new blog]
Not so new, but now definitely giving it more of my time and energy, having been doing mostly new productions now.
On topic: Will be home this weekend and will try to see if this show is still playing and report back. Ya’ll ‘ve got me intrigued now…
I’m afraid that the last performance of this run is tomorrow. Now you’ll have to wait for next year, when we get a soprano Elvira (Nicole Cabell) and, most curiously in this production, Michael Volle as Don Giovanni (I wonder how he is going to deal with tight leather costumes…), while Erwin Schrott will can-can all the way as Leporello with the dancing skulls. There is going to be a new Zerlina too.
I went to see this Don Giovanni on the 21st of October – the performance after the oppening. It received lot’s of boos after the first act due to the inferno party scene that nobody appreciated.
Then, during the graveyard scene, exactly when the dancing skulls with mickey-mouse ears were dancing, one of the dancers slipped and fell into the orchestra pit taking down a neon light with him…
Apparently the dancer fell on top of a musician (I heard a violinist). The fact is that someone was baddly hurt. They called an ambulance and the opera was cancelled.
I didn’t see the ending.
MR,
It seems that at least your Don Giovanni had some _real_excitiment going on… This also explains why the orchestra was – understandably – not in high spirits in the rest of the run. As for the ending, I’m still waiting for “Ah, dove il perfido?”… Not only is it beautiful and expressive music, but it is the end of the story, musically, dramatically, logically…
You mention ” some sort of slapstick broad black comedy that Germans appreciate..”
I am grieving over the fact that you are right.
They laughed. I felt tortured, watching the antics of acrobatic Leporello, but my fellow countrymen actually laughed.
Why did they laugh? Any German would be educated enough to agree that the whole thing was tasteless, over the top and artistically not making sense.
But, the German apparently does apreciate this crude form of comedy and it will drag a laugh from the audience, no matter what.
When they play Shakespeare that way, spectators come in busloads.
Why?? Has there ever been done a thourough study of german humour? Someone might write their ph.d on this!
The setting, some of the costumes and choreography were clicheed, pseudo-modern atrocities. The lighting cold and tiresome to the eyes. There was no connection to the music, it didn’t work.
Donna Anna was great, unless in the piano-notes, which weren’t great, but allright. Kang, in his solo bits a little pointless. Elvira beautiful but out of her comfortable range, which somewhat added to the personal drama and pain of her character. Zerlina was lovely. Her husband – okay, but not very prominent.
Leporello remained my personal enemy, in spite of his good voice. Don G. himself – the whole setting made it impossible, I guess to develop a more giovanniesque, soave character. I liked the Commendatore.
Nobody managed to actually defile the music (Kang was close, though..) a good deal of it was enjoyable and noone fell into the pit.
About the orchestra’s well mannered performance – I noticed that style before and associate it with the Deutsche-Oper rendering of Mozart.
While at first it kept me worrying about the missing drama and verve,
I was at the same time intrigued with the subtlety and perfection and have fallen in love with this orchestra since.
The performances I listened to were contained in style, but never shallow or empty.
I have come to accept it as a personal, but valid
approach to Mozart, bringing out the strange, fragile and inutterably beautiful structure of his music.
This time, singers and orchestra did not match properly, which was a pity.
Perhaps, it would be better to stick to a complete ensemble, working together over a long period of time and following the same musical and artistic idea, if that were feasible.
That there is a difference between general music lovers and opera goers I noticed, when the audience insisted in coughing and snorting all through the evening, breaking the fragile beauty of anything, that had not written an “fff” before it.
In the Berlin-Philharmonie, people would rather die of suffocation, than disturb the performance.
Hermina’s Sekretärin,
1 – No offense to Germany – the dissertation you would like to read about this theme would probably explain that this is rather a generalization and that actually there is some historical and sociological reason for that. I have no intention to delve into the subject – I even concede that it might work in some repertoire, but I just don’t think it suits the music Mozart wrote in Don Giovanni.
2 – Marina Rebeka. I’ve noticed I’m more enthusiastic about her than others. Her voice does lack some roundness and softness – especially in soft dynamics – but I’ve accepted it as part of a Gundula Janowitz-like package (truth be said, Janowitz was far more adept in her pianissimi) and I felt so relieved to see a singer who did not had to brace for the next high note in this role (and who can manage divisions a tempo) that I could not help being enthusiastic.
3 – Roberto Abbado. You’re right in saying that the Deutsche Oper’s is a very good orchestra capable of exquisite sounds. I just believe it is an essential contradiction to produce an untheatrical performance of an opera. Especially in Mozart, whose symphonies were almost mini-operas without voices. A dramatic performance is not opposed to a balanced, stylish and clear one. Mr. Abbado would only need to buy his uncle’s recording on Deutsche Grammophon to learn this.
4 – Coughing. I would say that the audience in the Philharmonie still coughs too much for my taste (almost every pause and pppp in Mahler’s 2nd with Rattle last week was accompanied by hearty coughing from one or two members of the audience), but you are DEFINITELY right: the Deutsche Oper is a Hustenfest in comparison. I would add that the audiences in the Deutsche Oper are particularly ungracious. I’ve had to deal with people who speak, sing along, cough as if their lungs would burst without trying to muffle the noise, you name it. Curiously, I’ve never had such extreme experiences in the Staatsoper.
I wonder why opera houses don’t have etiquette rules written in a large display. I guess some people have no idea that even a small noise near someone’s ears is very disturbing when one is trying to listen to the music coming from a stage a fifty meters away in a hall the acoustics of which are meant to amplify sound.
5 – I still need to authorize a post from someone using your e-mail but a different name criticizing the writing style of the first post. I did not get it, so I have not published it. If I am being too considerate, please let me know.
I’m listening to the Vienna DG premiere and cannot agree with you more about Esposito. Good vocal production, effective phrasing but entirely unremarkable voice. Perhaps he is a genuinely terrific actor but he is now singing Leporello in his 3rd new production in a little over a year, in no lesser places than Munich, Berlin and Vienna. I don’t have a problem with him singing in any of these houses, but 3 new productions in a year?!?! Really?
I’m not going to lament the death of the “golden age of Mozart singing”. Indeed, the names of excellent Leporellos come to mind easily enough (Terfel, Pape, Pisaroni, D’Arcangelo himself, Schrott – perhaps best of all? – and maybe even the Vienna Masetto – who’s likely to graduate to the role soon).
Again, Esposito is certainly not embarrassing himself or the administration of these house but I would think he should give his agent a particularly nice Christmas present.
Hi, Cavalier! I guess that the fact that he is ready to do whatever a director tells him to do might have something to do with that. And his agent might be good too. Now for your Leporello list, I was not inclined to vote for Terfel, but he did a terrific job in this role back in 1999 in Vienna (his house debut). Unfortunately, I have never seen or heard even in recordings Pape’s Leporello. I know the other ones from recordings – D’Arcangelo comes through as overserious in my opinion. As for Schrott and Pisaroni, tough choice. I really like Pisaroni – he is really spontaneous, idiomatic and the voice is really pleasant.