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| Annabelle Chaffey (Donna Anna) Samuel Dundas (Don Giovanni) Photo: Albert Comper. |
Presented by
Oz Opera
Canberra
Theatre 14.07.12
Reviewed by
Bill Stephens
Oz Opera is
the touring arm of the national opera company, Opera Australia. It tours widely
presenting scale-down productions of popular operas to audiences, many of whom
would be unlikely to ever see a production of these operas in a capital
city. These productions, usually sung by trainee singers, have not always served the operas well; often leaving the audiences they are intended to inspire scratching their heads and wondering why they should bother to see a full-scale production.
Fortunately
this production of “Don Giovanni” is not one of those, and if you are of the
persuasion that opera is at its most memorable when the sound, visual and
dramatic elements all fuse with equal impact, then this production is for you.
Because not only is it beautifully sung, (most of the company are already
soloists with the national company) it is also a dramatically convincing and
visually beautiful production in which the down-sizing cleverly tightens the
focus on both characters and storyline.
In adapting
this opera for touring Director Michael Gow has stripped away any arias and
choruses superfluous to the telling of the story. The opera is sung in English,
with just one aria, Don Giovanni’s lovely second act serenade, sung in Italian
to give the audience a sense of the original language. This works surprisingly
well, given that it is a serenade and its purpose is obvious, no matter in
which language.
Gow’s
adaption of the original libretto, together with Anthony Legge’s intelligent and accessible translation, clarifies
the storyline so effectively that the audience is quickly drawn into the drama,
which all takes place in the main square of a small ‘ 1950’s Italian
village, where the villagers still care about marriage, and wear flattering, colourful ‘ la dolce vita’
style costumes designed by Roger Kemp, who is also responsible for the attractive
town square which, with just a few props and clever lighting, moves from
cheerful and inviting, to menacing, even horrific, as the story progresses.
Particularly
impressive is the quality of the singing, with each member of the company
singing their roles flawlessly while offering confident, intelligent
characterisations to propel the opera along. A splendid orchestral reduction by
Andrew Green is beautifully played by the accomplished nine-piece orchestra
conducted by Brett Weymark which adds significantly to the pleasures of this
production.
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| Adrian Tamburini (Leporello) Samuel Dundas (Don Giovanni) Photo: Albert Comper |
His man-servant Leporello is played by Adrian Tamburini as more a friend than a servant. Because they are similar in age and physique this resemblance provides opportunities which are explored particularly effectively in the scene in which Don Giovanni forces Leporello to swap clothes with him to deceive Donna Elvira. This scene is laugh-out-loud funny, because their resemblance makes it much easier to believe that Donna Elvira could indeed be tricked by this ruse. It is also signals a subtle change in their relationship which makes the eventual climax to the opera even more powerful.
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| Samuel Sakker (Don Octavio) Annabelle Chaffey (Donna Anna) Photo: Albert Comper. |
Among Don
Giovanni’s many conquests Annabelle Chaffey is splendid as Donna Anna,
radiating a delicious combination of antagonism and attraction, while Jane Ede rages magnificently as the jilted Donna Elvira.
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| Samuel Dundas (Don Giovanni) Kiandra Howarth (Zerlina) Photo: Albert Comper. |
Kiandra
Howarth is a bewitching Zerlina, puzzled by the jealousy of her fiancé Don
Ottavio, (a nicely understated performance by Samuel Saker) even as she’s drawn
like a moth to the flame to Don Giovanni.
Given his
strong physical presence, the double casting of Eddie Muliaumaseali’I as both
the Commendatore and Masetto, worked particularly well, so that Don
Giovanni’s terror in mistaking Masetto for the Commendatore in the last hideous
denouement is absolutely convincing.
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| Eddie Muliaumaseali'i (Masetto) Kiandra Howarth (Zerlina) PhotoL Albert Comper. |
This
production ends with Don Giovanni being immolated by the townspeople. This
endiing, devised by Michael Gow, is dramatically compelling and even more stunning
because of the realisation that such an event could conceivably occur in such a
town.
Here is a production
of “Don Giovanni”, without any unnecessary bells and whistles but which
brilliantly conveys the intent, experience and satisfaction of a major
production and therefore a worthy example of what is being achieved by the national
company.
