Music: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Libretto: Lorenzo da Ponte
Director: Marcio da Silva
Tirso de Molina’s 1630 play Don Juan tells of a womanising libertine who, after a lifetime of seducing women, is eventually dragged down to hell by the stone statue of a man he had previously killed as he had attempted to keep his daughter from Don Juan’s clutches. Lorenza da Ponte’s 1787 libretto, written in Italian and thus necessitating a name change, is now one of the more famous versions of the story.
The moral standing of the opera’s titular antihero is, at best, morally questionable. Ensemble OrQuesta’s quasi-minimalist take on the story leans into Don Giovanni’s darker side. From the outset, it is clear that the Don (Marcio da Silva) is more concerned with satiating his own passion than with trifling little things like consent. And as he struggles to maintain a hold on Rosemary Carlton-Willis’s Donna Anna, culminating in a struggle that leads to the death of Anna’s father Don Pedro (Vedat Dalgiran), it seems as if it is upon the darkest elements of da Ponte’s score that this production is keenest to focus.
Indeed, even with the introduction of Don Giovanni’s erstwhile comic servant Leporello, there is little levity. Flavio Lauria brings a sense of dour resignation to the role, which, while probably more accurate to how a man in his position might feel, also denies the production the breadth of emotional range that this opera needs to sustain itself. Matters do improve as Helen May’s Donna Elvira – another of Don Giovanni’s former conquests – arrives on the scene, intent on revenge on the man who destroyed her, but also still vulnerable to his charms.
If only we could see what those charms are. Throughout Act I, da Silva delivers a vocally strong performance as the Don, but absent is the sense of a personality as seductively dangerous as the character requires, even when played as an out-and-out villain.
Still, the opera is paced nicely, the seven-piece Hasting Philharmonic Orchestra successfully bringing out the best in Mozart’s baroque score. Less successful is the staging. An attempt to portray Donna Elvira as a silhouette in an upstairs window results in us being asked to watch a shapeless shadow, while a number of ballroom guests and/or Don Giovanni’s conquests are represented by sequinned blouses draped over shop mannequin women’s torsos on coat hangers. There may be an undercurrent of how Don Giovanni himself sees women – faceless clothes horses with no personality or agency – but their inclusion detracts from, rather than enhances, the otherwise fine ensemble.
A sea change in the lascivious don’s personality occurs in Act II, partly helped by da Silva interacting with the audience as himself as he tries to engage even one theatregoer to engage in a spot of audience interaction. From that brief, if unsuccessful, exchange, we catch a glimpse of the roguish charm that his character needs. And as we return to the libretto proper and the master and servant change clothes, there is more of a sense that Giovanni is, indeed, capable of being the charismatic man the opera’s women sing about.
As the work heads towards the fantastical with the statue of Don Pedro acting as a moral judge on Don Giovanni’s life, Orlando Bishop’s puppet suffers from its lack of resemblance to Dalgiran’s deceased father. Having the actor sing from a different corner of the stage isn’t a great help, either. But while Ensemble OrQuesta’s emphasis on Giovanni’s negative traits creates a portrayal that is less nuanced and subtle than one might hope for, it does also make that final descent into hell feel like the perfect end.
Continues until 30 August 2025
