Often said to be one of Mozart’s finest works, Don Giovanni premiered in 1787, a year after his wildly successful Le Nozze di Figaro. Perhaps it is not a coincidence that the Canadian Opera Company decided to mount Don Giovanni this season, hot off the success of last year’s acclaimed production of Figaro.
What you missed
A serial womanizer and libertine, Don Giovanni has seduced over 2000 women, intriguingly projected as a long list of names onto the stage in the opening scene. The stage itself is an interesting Escher-like web of rooms on a revolving cube, complemented by the clever use of video projections and lighting, to create a spectacular backdrop.
A scene from the Canadian Opera Company’s production of Don Giovanni (Photo by Michael Cooper)
Canadian bass-baritone Gordon Bintner is also a serial villain of sort, having appeared in recent COC productions of Eugene Onegin in the titular role, and in Figaro as Count Almaviva. He is at his best yet as Don Giovanni. In a distant interview, Bintner once named Giovanni as his dream role, describing him as “one of the most profoundly complex and interesting characters in the repertoire.”
Bintner nails it—he is undeniably charismatic yet sneaky and sleazy at the same time, and his creamy voice has a magnetic quality. Giovanni’s servant Leporello is superbly acted and sung by Italian bass-baritone Paolo Bordogna, who is making his COC debut. Together with Bintner, the master-sidekick duo has great chemistry. Their animated and spirited exchanges are fun to watch and they make this production a true opera buffa.
Paolo Bordogna as Leporello (below) and Gordon Bintner as Don Giovanni (above) in the Canadian Opera Company’s production of Don Giovanni (Photo by Michael Cooper)
Also making COC debuts are sopranos Anita Hartig (Donna Elvira) from Romania, and Mané Goloyan (Donna Anna) from Armenia. Although Hartig’s voice sounds excessively bright to the point of being pitchy in Act I, she shows mellowed restraint in Act II, and brilliantly portrays a spurned lover tormented by both love and hate. The best voice of the evening belongs to Goloyan. One cannot get enough of her clear-toned, silky voice, especially mesmerizing in pianissimo. She brings Donna Anna’s anguish and despair of mourning her murdered father to life with ease.
COC Ensemble graduates Simone McIntosh and Joel Allison make a handsome pair of newly-weds, a playful Zerlina opposite a jealous Masetto. Both are solid singers and good actors. Don Ottavio is beautifully sung by tenor Ben Bliss. Although bass David Leigh (The Commendatore) only has a brief appearance, his steely voice makes his character particularly compelling.
Some of the best moments of the opera are the duets, trios, quartets and even a sextet. It is a pleasure to hear such resplendent and well balanced sounds from the different various combinations of characters.
Led by COC Music Director Johannes Debus, the orchestra is in fine form, breathing life into Mozart’s thrilling and elegant score.
Gripes
Debus inexplicably selects a faster than usual tempo for the famous duet “Là ci darem la mano”, in which Giovanni seduces the young bride, Zerlina. As a result, what should have been the ultimate showcase of Giovanni’s seductive charm disappointingly lacks sensuality.
Those expecting Giovanni to be consumed by flames at the end may be disappointed. Instead, Giovanni goes mad and sinks into a world of loneliness, only to be surrounded by ghosts of people whose lives he destroyed in his past.
Despite the minor shortcomings, Mozart’s intoxicating music and the faultless singing in this production will touch your heart and leave you yearning for more.
Canadian Opera Company presents Don Giovanni
Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, Toronto
February 2-24, 2024
www.coc.ca
