DON GIOVANNI (Liceu Opera Barcelona/Gran Teatre del Liceu/OperaVision)*****

 

By Megan

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1MNN-d87CE&t=2s 

Available until: 4^th June 2021

Don Giovanni is a sad opera but it has lots of really beautiful music, some really interesting characters and a great story. There are lots of really good productions which are available to watch online or on DVD but the Liceu Opera Barcelona’s production is extra special because it was filmed in the pandemic.

It is a good opera for a pandemic because it has a cast of 8 which is a good size for a bubble. There are some swordfighters who are like extras but they wear masks and stay away from the main cast. I think they might represent the fighting that goes on in the characters’ heads.

There was one big problem though. The laws in Barcelona said the opera had to finish by 10pm and Don Giovanni is quite a long opera. The finale is cut which sounds like quite an odd choice but for over a century, it was left out of performances before they brought it back again in the 20th century. So leaving out the finale is actually interesting for a lot of Don Giovanni fans because it used to be a tradition. It’s sad in a way but Don Giovanni’s confrontation with the Commendatore does make a really dramatic finale.

A couple of arias were also cut. There are two arias which are performed in most productions now but which weren’t in the original production in Prague because Mozart hadn’t written them yet. They were added when the opera opened in Vienna. The arias are are ‘Dalla sua pace’ which is sung by Don Ottavio and ‘Mi tradi quell’alma ingrata’ which is sung by Donna Elvira (there’s also a duet for Leporello and Zerlina but that is very rarely performed). Mozart’s idea was that ‘Dalla sua pace’ would be sung instead of ‘Il mio tesoro’ which is Don Ottavio’s other aria but most productions include both Don Ottavio’s arias. The Liceu Opera decided that Don Ottavio would sing ‘Dalla sua pace’ but the second aria would be cut so in this production we get to see Don Ottavio as Mozart intended him to be in Vienna.

‘Mi tradi quell’alma ingrata’ would have been the obvious second aria to cut but instead they cut Leporello’s ‘Ah pietà signore miei’. It is sad for Leporello but just before that aria, Leporello, Donna Elvira, Donna Anna, Don Ottavio, Zerlina and Masetto sing a really brilliant sextet. That makes a really good end to the scene and Leporello can easily run away at the end of the sextet instead of at the end of his aria.

I don’t know if Christoph Loy’s production is new or if it’s an old one that has been adapted for the pandemic but it does work very well. Johannes Leiacker’s set is mostly just walls and they look really good. There’s also space for the characters to stand apart from each other when they don’t need to be close together. They might be bubbled but there is no harm in being sensible if you can do it without confusing the audience. There is also limited prop-passing (Leporello gives Don Giovanni a glass of wine) and very little furniture (Don Giovanni has a chair but no dining table) but I think it is probably still clear what is going on if you don’t know the opera.

Josep Pons conducts and it sounds lovely and the orchestra seem very happy and comfortable with all the cuts. There are a few pauses but they sound natural and there is always something interesting going on onstage. It also must be nice for them to be able to put everything into the final scene between Don Giovanni and the Commendatore without worrying about having to have the energy left for the finale.

The characters are very interesting. I hope this doesn’t sound really rude but Don Giovanni has white hair like the Commendatore which makes me feel like maybe they’re a similar age. This means Don Giovanni isn’t a young man killing an older man, it is probably a fair fight and it is definitely self defence. It’s still really sad but it feels a bit different. Christopher Maltman has a lovely rich voice as Don Giovanni and his ‘Deh, vieni alla finestra’ is especially beautiful. I also really like the humour he puts into the role.

Luca Pisaroni is a brilliant comedian and he shows it in parts of this opera but at times his Leporello seems really fed up which makes me think he’s probably been Don Giovanni’s servant for years and years and he’s getting to the point where he’s had enough but it’s probably really good money. I think the money might also be why Zerlina likes Don Giovanni. Josep Ramon-Olivé is a tall muscular young Masetto (even if he maybe hasn’t had very much practice at fighting) with a great voice (he’s a future Leporello if he isn’t singing the role already). Leonor Bonilla is vocally perfect as Zerlina and she’s very sweet even though she makes some bad decisions.

Miah Persson sings Donna Anna’s arias beautifully and shows how much she is suffering all the way through. I think I might be too young to think about why Ben Bliss’ Don Ottavio seems to wear red kneehigh boots to bed but he has a lovely lyrical voice. Véronique Gens is a passionate and determined Donna Elvira and the way she doesn’t give up actually seems quite admirable. Adam Palka makes the Commendatore creepy just with movement, stage presence and his incredible voice and that’s just as scary as a ghostly Commendatore.

This is a great production of Don Giovanni which would make a great introduction to the opera but I think it’s also interesting for people who know it.