Opera Australia – Mozart’s Don Giovanni. January 24, 2020.

Joan Sutherland Theatre at Sydney Opera House.  Stalls (Seat UXX, A$79.20).

Story.  See previous blog.

Conductor – Zhong Xu.  Don Giovanni – Luca Micheletti; Leporello – Shane Lowrencev; Donna Anna – Eleanor Lyons; Donna Elvira – Jane Ede; Don Ottavio – Juan de Dios Mateos; Zerlina – Anna Dowsley; Masetto – Richard Anderson; Commendatore – Gennadi Dubinsky.

Somewhere over the Pacific we decided to see this opera.  We saw this last May in Dresden during our European trip, and I wanted to see how the two companies compare.  The Sydney Guidebook one can pick up at the airport usually contains a discount coupon for opera tickets.  In our rush to get through immigration and customs we forgot to get a copy, good thing the Information booth at Arrivals level carries them.

Docked at the Circular Quay Cruise Terminal is this huge Ovation of the Seas.  It left this evening.

The director was David McVicar, who also did many of Met’s productions.  I saw the Met production many years ago, but what I saw was nothing like tonight’s, so most likely it was by another set designer.  The main stage didn’t change much from scene to scene, but there is an articulated set of stairs that drops down every now and then.  I am not sure what it signifies other than an interesting effect, but did worry if it would come down on someone’s head.  It didn’t, but managed to crush one of the silverware pieces used in the last dinner scene.  On the Opera Australia website the set is described as reminiscent of the catacombs of Vienna, and that the costumes are noticeable for their fine embroidery.  Okay then.

The women singers all sang very well.  The men were okay, but their voices a bit weak compared to their female counterparts.  I must have made the remark about some operas where it felt like everyone was trying to show off as a soloist; this was one of them.

The orchestra was excellent, doing Mozart in a most enjoyable way.  However, I thought they could use a few more musicians as the sound didn’t project that well.

We had seen this reference to The Marriage of Figaro in other commentaries on the opera before, this time we got it.  It was played during Giovanni’s last dinner.

This was our first encounter with Zhong Xu, who is also a pianist.  He was quite active in cuing in the singers, and the musicians responded well.

From left: Commendatore, Masetto, Zerlina, Leporello, Don Giovanni, Maestro Xu, Donna Anna, Donna Elvira, Don Ottavio.  The ghosts who carried away Don Giovanni were these grotesque looking women dressed in white.  The skeletons (to the right) are what make these the catacombs of Vienna, I guess.

We have observed that German opera productions are gratuitously violent, tonight’s opera was unnecessarily risqué.  Not overtly so, just a little more than necessary.  The early rape scene and the (simulated) sex scene in Act 2 are two examples.

Attendance was quite good, tonight being the first performance may have contributed to it.

We stayed at a hotel about 25 minutes away on foot, and the day wasn’t that hot, so walking to and back was quite pleasant.