Opera in NYC: Mozart’s Don Giovanni at the Met Opera

The most Romantic Mozart masterpiece fills the Met Opera house with delightful music and incredible singing; performances run thru April 18, 2019

Delicious music, dynamic staging, and incredible singing are all on view in the Metropolitan Opera production of Mozart’s Don Giovanni. Bringing much-needed theatricality and energy to the centuries-old genre of dark comedy, the vibrant arias of the sopranos that vie for and suffer from the frivolity and ferocity of the Don are contrasted with the lower register voices of the male cast, who are well-meaning but helpless. The built-up tensions can only be resolved by a divine intervention, stressing the intransigent nature of philanderers and seducers. And Mozart’s music rescues the improbable plot!

This year Don Giovanni cast features bass-baritone Luca Pisaroni and baritone Peter Mattei alternating in the title role, bass Ildar Abdrazakov and bass-baritone Adam Plachetka as Don’s servants, and an exciting line-up of sopranos Rachel Willis-Sorensen, Federica Lombardi, Aida Garifullina, Guanqun Yu, and Susanna Philips in the roles of Donna Anna, Donna Elvira, and Zerlina.

On the first 3 nights of the performances the tender and soaring lines by grieving Donna Anna (Rachel Willis-Sorensen) and the wordy and artistically rich roles of Leporello (Ildar Abdrazakov) and the Don (Luca Pisaroni) were rightfully rewarded by the audience. Thanks to the tactful casting the old tale looks fresh and engaging. But the strongest round of applause still belongs to Mozart for his unbeatable musical fete.

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After a successful visit and a warm reception in Bohemian Prague, Mozart had secured a commission to write a new opera to be premiered in Prague. Mozart had approached Lorenzo Da Ponte, an Italian librettist with whom he already collaborated on Le Nozze di Figaro. Da Ponte’s libretto, which was based on the well-known story about Don Juan, left some gaps creating an opportunity for the music to rescue the plot and to become a dominant part.

Premiered at the National Theater of Bohemia in Prague in 1787, Don Giovanni was labeled by Mozart himself as “opera buffs.” However, the clever score, which was written for the interchangeable voices to carry out the theatrical plot of masked characters, disguises, and intrigues, makes a room for a varied rendition of the story. As such, it empowers the actors to put their own accents and colors on the roles effectively turning the opera from comedy to melodrama to tragedy.

This season on the Met stage the male singers all have a  similarly low voice range for easy role swap. In fact, many of them had performed in the roles of their counterparts in prior productions. Ildar Abdrazakov, who this year sings Leporello had started with the role of Don Giovanni at the Met. The same is true for Luca Pisaroni, Don Giovanni in the current run who sung Leporello in the prior years and Masetto in Salzburg earlier.

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This year’s production by Michael Grandage premiered at the Met in 2011. Set in Seville which was known in Mozart’s time as an exotic place with hot-tempered men and sensible ladies, it offers a lesson in status and sex relations long predating our current struggles. It is telling that the only power that can break up the endless cycle of seduction and class dominance is reserved for a divine spirit.

The legend says that Mozart completed his masterpiece in about one month. Originally the opening in Prague was scheduled for the visit by the Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria in the mid-October of 1787 but the plan didn’t fall through. It opened later that month with Mozart writing his famous overture a day or two before the première. Since then the opera became a must have in the repertoire of every opera theater.

Delight yourself with the magical music, amazing singing, and a top-notch opera night all around!

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Dates: January 30; February 2,6, 9, 13, 16, 20; April 4,9,12,15,18

Venue: 30 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, NY 10023