Glyndebourne: Don Giovanni

The first of two performances I saw at Glyndebourne this year was Mozart’s Don Giovanni. It seems the Don isn’t a stranger to Glyndebourne, given that it was first perfumed there in 1936. In fact, the production I saw was the 427th time it has been performed there. Seems they should have it down pat by now…

This particular production, a revival of Jonathan Kent’s production from last year, featured a strong cast in an interesting late-50’s inspired setting. The action was focussed in and around a huge rotating box on stage, which folded out and contorted to provide all sorts of different settings and scenes. Together with my opera buddy A, many minutes were spent discussing how the box could possibly fit together, whether it did indeed have 4 sides… and how it could rotate and move around the stage, seemingly unattached. I was quite impressed by how it added to the fluidity of the production and how many different backdrops and set designs were created from it.

The action, centred around the philandering Don Giovanni and his hapless servant Leporello, takes the audience on a journey from love and lust through to damnation in hell. It’s interesting to note, though, that the scheming stud does not go to hell for his inability to ‘keep it in his pants’… rather for having ruthlessly killed the Commendatore in the first act. However, no one seems to be that disappointed that the self-confessed ladies’ man meets a gruesome end. And gruesome end it was. Under the hands of the living-dead Commendatore, blood exploded from Giovanni’s chest and head, before he was sucked down into hell. Nice…

Lucas Meachem (the dying Don Giovanni) and In-Sung Sim (Commendatore) in Glyndebourne's 'Don Giovanni' - May 2011 © Robbie Jack

Recovering slightly from the end of the production, it seems unfair to dwell upon the power of the end of Lorenzo da Ponte’s storytelling. There is an awful lot that happens in the middle. Shakespeare’s famous quote “Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned, Nor hell a fury like a woman scorned” really doesn’t do Giovanni’s pursuer Donna Elvira justice. Having been loved and lumped by the infamous seducer, she sets off on a mission to bring him down. This also includes two of the Don’s latest conquests, Donna Anna and the newly married Zerlina.

Marita Solberg (Zerlina) and Lucas Meachem (Don Giovanni) in Glyndebourne's 'Don Giovanni' - May 2011 © Robbie Jack

I’m not sure why, but I always have a soft spot for the part of Zerlina. It’s generally not considered to be the shining soprano role in the production and she doesn’t get the vocal fireworks that Donna Anna has towards the end second act, but I think it’s a wonderful part and there’s so much that can be done with it. She’s a real flirt, and natural prey for Giovanni, but there’s a lot of innocence about her. I love the aria “Batti, batti, o bel Masetto”. I can’t find a clip from this production, but here’s a nice recording.

Glyndebourne managed to pull together a very good cast for this production. Matthew Rose was a fabulous Leporello and the raucous applause that he received definitely proclaimed him a hit with the other 1000-odd people in the audience as well. I thought that Marita Solberg as Zerlina was definitely the female star in the first act. She was wonderful – both playful and naïve and her voice was perfectly suited. I wasn’t initially bowled over by either Albina Shagimuratova as Donna Anna or Miah Persson as Donna Elvira, as I found their recitative/conversational singing style was a bit stunted. However, they both certainly got their chance to shine in the second act with fantastic solo arias.

Matthew Rose (Leporello) and Miah Persson (Donna Elvira) in Glyndebourne's 'Don Giovanni' - May 2011 © Robbie Jack

The rest of the cast, however, have to be congratulated on their completely fluid discourse. The recitative sections were completely natural and probably the best I’ve ever heard – especially the conversations between Giovanni and Leporello. I have to say though, that recitative aside, Lucas Meachem as the Don didn’t really hit the mark for me. I’m unsure whether or not this was intentional, but he came across a bit of a male-diva (and the only member of the cast that didn’t applaud the orchestra at the end). His voice was good, and maybe the rest of it was an act, but I didn’t feel it personally.

Setting the stage alight at the end of Act 1 of Glyndebourne's 'Don Giovanni' - May 2011 © Robbie Jack

A huge part of what made the production a hit was the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment under the baton of Robin Ticciati (announced today as the new musical director of Glyndebourne from 2014). With no preparation at the beginning of each act, the lights suddenly went down with the opening notes of the overture. This jolted the production into action with an energy that didn’t stop until the end of each act. The orchestra were fantastic and the recitative sections accompanied by Andrew Smith on fortepiano and Sebastian Comberti on cello were spot on.

Overall, this was a nicely staged production with a good cast and I enjoyed the day out a lot. Did any of you see the same production? Any of the same ideas – or did you think differently? Would love to hear your thoughts.

As ever,

*me*

P.S. Here’s an interesting interview with conductor Vladimir Jurowski, talking about the staging of the same production last year and why they chose to perform the 1788 Vienna version of the opera. It also shows some rehearsal footage.