Opera Review: He Sleeps With the Fishes (and Everyone Else)

The Juilliard Opera mounts Don Giovanni.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Take my wife, please. Masetto (Gregory Feldman, right) looks on as the Don (Hubert Zapiór)
woos Zerlina (Jessica Niles) in a scene from Act I of Don Giovanni.
Photo by Richard Termine.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's music is timeless. But are the ribald, sexist opera libretti of Lorenzo da Ponte still workable on the stage in this era of #metoo? That is the question asked by the Juilliard Opera and director Emma Griffin. Her new staging of Don Giovanni bowed Wednesday night at the Peter Jay Sharp Theater. In its two acts, Ms. Griffin sought to turn this opera, the story of a rabid sexual predator at play in the streets of Seville, Spain on its head and deliver a message about today's sexual ethics.

She partly succeeded.

Opera Review: The Redemption of the Dissolute

The Met finally gets Don Giovanni right.
by Paul J. Pelkonen


In the classic Bill Murray comedy Groundhog Day, a caddish weatherman is trapped in a small Pennsylvania town in midwinter. He is forced to relive the same events over and over until (as the trailer says) "he finally gets it right." A similar redemption came last night for the Metropolitan Opera's first Don Giovanni this season, presented in a 2012 staging by  Michael Grandage. This was the fifty-first performance of this well-worn show. Last night, it finally roared to comic life. The spark: four strong debuts, three on stage and one in the orchestra pit.

The Superconductor Interview: Cornelius Meister

The German conductor gets ready for his Met debut with Don Giovanni.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

The formation of damnation: Cornelius Meister gets ready for his Met debut with Don Giovanni.

The conductor Cornelius Meister is a fast-rising star in Europe. Having just finished a lengthy run at the helm of the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, he is now the music director o the State Opera and the State Orchestra in the German city of Stuttgart.  On January 30, Mr. Meister will make his debut at the Met. His task: conducting one of Mozart's finest and darkest operas: the deliciously twisted Don Giovanni. This week, Superconductor found time to sit down with the maestro to talk all things dramma giocoso.

Metropolitan Opera Preview: Don Giovanni

Mozart's libertine nobleman returns to add to his catalogue.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Peter Mattei returns to the role of Don Giovanni at the Met this year.
Photo by Marty Sohl © 2019 The Metropolitan Opera.

Some evils never die, and some productions keep getting revived. Such is the case with the Metropolitan Opera's Michael Grandage staging of Don Giovanni. It's back, and it's going down in flames. Good thing then that it's one of the best operas ever written.

The Mozart Project: Don Giovanni

Comedy and terror walk side by side in Mozart's dramma giocoso.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

The statue of the Commendatore (voice of John Tomlinson) makes his entrance in Don Giovanni as staged
by Twyla Tharp in the film Amadeus. Image © 1984 The Saul Zaentz Company.

For many writers, musicians and composers of the 19th century, Mozart's opera Don Giovanni stood at the very top of the operatic pyramid. It is amusing, terrifying, sexy, and deeply human. And it is unique among operas for its approach: rollicking comedy that is interrupted by the interference of a higher power, set to the scariest music that Mozart ever wrote.

Opera Review: Fireproof

Simon Keenlyside makes a comeback as Don Giovanni.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

The statue of the dead Commendatore (Kwangchal Youn, left) takes Don Giovanni 
(Simon Keenlyside) down to Hell as Leporello (Adam Plachetka) cowers on the right.
Photo by Marty Sohl © 2016 The Metropolitan Opera.

The Metropolitan Opera's current production of Don Giovanni, introduced at the opera house by director Michael Grandage in 2011 is an uninspired, ugly hash with a some impressive, yet noisy fire effects at the end. And yet, Mozart's opera remains immortal. Its music, when properly delivered, would work if the singers were in burlap sacks with paper bags over their heads, an image one must be cautious with lest it inspire some young theater director looking to mount Don Giovanni in the future.

The Mozart Project

Seven great works from the genius who changed the world.

by Paul J. Pelkonen

Somewhere around three-quarters of the way through the ten articles lay month chronicling the life and major stage works of Richard Wagner I started thinking about who I was going to write about next, I thought for maybe ten seconds and decided that the next composer in our spotlight will be Mozart.

The Five Scariest Scenes in Opera

We look at harrowing moments in honor of Halloween.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

The man who came to dinner: John Tomlinson as the Commendatore in Don Giovanni.
Image from the 1984 film Amadeus © The Saul Zaentz Company/Orion Pictures.

Opera is more than just pretty voices against an orchestra: it is an art form that has fascinated listeners for five centuries. And ever since Monteverdi's >i>L'Incoronazione di Poppea

, composers have gleefully shown bloodshed, murder, rape and (in the case of Hansel und Gretel) cannibalism.
In honor of the month of October and the approach of Halloween Superconductor offers a list of five operatic moments that make us clutch our arm-rests: the most nail-biting, terrifying, out-right harrowing scenes from five famous operas.

(Note to our readers: If you haven't seen Elektra, Rigoletto or Tosca yet (and they're all on the Metropolitan Opera's schedule this season) beware: there be spoilers after the jump.)

Opera Review: Pride. Prejudice and a Zombie

Gerald Finley is Don Giovanni from Glyndebourne.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Gerald Finley and Luca Pisaroni in Don Giovanni.
Photo by Bill Cooper © 2011 EMI Classics/Glyndebourne Festival.

Mozart's Don Giovanni has long been burdened with the title of the "greatest" of all operas. And yet, it remains an elusive subject for directors who seek to bring something new to the tale of a rakish nobleman and a dinner date gone horribly wrong. This performance from the Glyndebourne Festival (originally released by EMI, broadcast by Medici.TV and viewed on Amazon Prime Video on Demand) preserves the production by the team of director Jonathan Kent and Paul Brown that graced the Glyndebourne Festival in 2010.

Metropolitan Opera Preview: Don Giovanni

Peter Mattei returns as Mozart's lust-driven nobleman.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Peter Mattei (with knife) and Luca Pisaroni are partners in crime in Don Giovanni.
Photo by Marty Sohl © 2011 The Metropolitan Opera.

Don Giovanni may be Mozart's crowning achievement. The opera is a deft blend of comedy and tragedy, with the Don's everything-and-the-kitchen-sink approach to the fair sex leading him to an inevitable, terrifying and fiery end. Mozart had written both comedies and tragedies at this point, and fearlessly blended light and dark in this brilliant score. The work combines grand musical ambition with hummable, unforgettable tunes.

Opera Review: The Beast of Broad Street

Don Giovanni at Opera Philadelphia.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Don Giovanni (Elliot Madore) and Donna Anna (Michelle Johnson)
in Opera Philadelphia's new production of Don Giovanni.
Photo by Kelly and Massa © 2014 Opera Philadelphia.

There a lot of ways for directors to interpret Don Giovanni, the Mozart dramma giocoso that walks the line between comedy and tragedy. In telling the story of the libertine Spanish nobleman determined to bed every woman in Europe, director Nicholas Muni has reversed the usual method. Instead of showing the Don (Elliot Madore) as a frustrated, always-thwarted Lothario, Mr. Muni made him insatiable. In doing so, he attempted to show the Don as ultimately tragic, an ugly, insecure character who is ultimately a victim of his own "success" and his own at-large libido. This production, originally seen at the Cincinnati Opera, bowed at the Academy of Music on Friday night.

Recordings Review: All The Young Dudes

Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts a Don Giovanni for our times.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Ildebrando D'Arcangelo in DG promotional art for Don Giovanni.
Image © 2012 Deutsche Grammophon/UMG

When a major label like Deutsche Grammophon puts out yet another recording of Mozart's Don Giovanni, it is a significant event. This 2012 set, (recorded live at a 2011 concert performance in Baden-Baden) is the Yellow Label's seventh, and the first in a new complete cycle of the major Mozart operas under the baton of conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

Opera Review: Statue, With Limitations

Don Giovanni returns to the Met.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

"Want to switch?" Don Giovanni (Ildar Abdrazakov, l.)  negotiates with Leporello (Erwin Schrott, r.) 
in Act I of Don Giovanni. Photo by Marty Sohl © 2012 The Metropolitan Opera.

On Wednesday night, the Metropolitan Opera revived Michael Grandage's 2011 production of Don Giovanni, which sets the action against a curved, sliding wall of louvered doors that (to this writer) recalls the façade of certain seedy motels in Wildwood, New Jersey. The show's biggest success:  Ildar Abdrazakov, whose bellowing, hyper-testosteroned take on the title character made him an energetic and charismatic leading man.

This reviewer saw Mr. Abdrazakov's Don a few months ago. He still purrs and fawns during "La ci darem la mano" and achieves a manic glee in the Champagne Aria. He still prowls with a catlike presence and charisma. And he remains compelling in the Damnation Scene, going (quite literally) down in flames as he bellows his last notes at the statue. (Note on that effect: although it was a major talking point of this new production last year, it (along with the rest of this staging) has outworn its welcome.) If anything, the Russian bass seemed more restrained in this show, toning down the excesses and working within the context of the ensemble.

In this cast, Erwin Schrott moves from singing the Don to Leporello. As the put-upon servant, the  bass-baritone seemed to yearn for his old role: macking on the ladies instead of carrying the catalogue. He undermined his performance repeatedly, with comic mugging and repeated attempts to one-up Mr. Abdrazakov. However, his Catalogue Song sparked the first act, bringing a sluggish opera to life The Act Two "seduction" scenes with Donna Elvira (Emma Bell) were a comic highlight.

Opera Review: A Catalogue of Crime

Ildar Abdrazakov dodges bullets in WNO's Don Giovanni.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Super stud: Ildar Abdrazakov grapples with unearthly forces at the climax of Don Giovanni.
Photo © 2012 Washington National Opera/The Kennedy Center.

The Washington National Opera's current revival of John Pascoe's production of Mozart's Don Giovanni features the return of bass Ildar Abdrazakov in the title role. It is a towering portrayal, and not just because of the big Russian's sturdy frame.

DVD Review: The Plunder Down Under

Teddy Tahu Rhodes in an Australian Don Giovanni.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

"Does this mask make me look fat?"
Teddy Tahu Rhodes as Don Giovanni.
Photo by Branco Gaica © 2011 Opera Australia.

This DVD of Mozart's Don Giovanni, shot at the Sydney Opera House in October of 2011, preserves a 20-year old production by Opera Australia that is most noteworthy for the leading character's fashion sense--or lack thereof.

That's baritone Teddy Tahu Rhodes camping it up in a black domino mask, hot leather boots, Chelsea boy-shorts, and little else in the opening scene, as the Don goes prowling the rooftops of Seville dressed like Zorro on his way to a fetish night. All this beefcake hides the fact that Göran Järvefelt's well-worn production is, at its heart a thoroughly conventional re-telling of the Mozart-DaPonte collaboration, which captures the brilliance of Mozart's writing without breaking any major new ground.

Watching this performance, I noticed a "tunnel" effect on all the voices, most clearly heard in "Dalla su pace," Don Ottavio's aria in the first act. This is probably caused by Carl Friedrich Oberle's dull set, a series of wood-and-faux-plaster chambers that look left over from an old Jean-Pierre Ponelle seem to swallow up the voices instead of allowing them to project out into the house. Some of the singers (notably Rachelle Durkin, the Donna Anna) have the vocal fortitude to get their voices out into the house, but many suffer from this effect.

Opera Review: The Fast Track to Hell

Juilliard Opera ends its season with Don Giovanni.
by Paul Pelkonen

Donna Elvira (Devon Guthrie) the Don (JeongChal Cha) and Leporello (Alexander Hajek)
party on in Stephen Wadsworth's new Don Giovanni. Photo by Nan Merriman © 2012 The Juilliard School.

In the past two years, the Juilliard Opera has produced performances at the Peter Jay Sharp Theater that have regularly outshined their bigger, flossier neighbors at the opera house with (hocked) Marc Chagall paintings in its windows. This week, they did it again with a new Don Giovanni, a sleek, uproarious production that captures the anarchist spirit of Mozart's darkest comedy.

This new production by Steven Wadsworth is also a treat for Mozart nerds (like this writer.) Mr. Wadsworth chose to present the 1788 Vienna edition of the dramma giocoso, which has a new scene for Leporello and Zerlina, and a number of important stage cuts (one tenor aria and the Epilogue.) The opera now ends with Don Giovanni's damnation and Mozart's bleak D minor chords.

Confessions of a Mozart Addict

The great composer as drug of choice.
by Paul Pelkonen

Trust him. He's got what you need: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

OK. I admit it. I'm a Mozart addict.

The works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart take up one and a half shelves of my CD collection. Stacked, they'd make a collection about six feet high. Taller if you add the Complete Mozart Edition from Brilliant Classics, which goes nicely next to the older Complete Edition put out by Philips. (That one is incomplete--I'm missing a few sets. All in good time.)

I have (at last count) multiple complete recordings of Le Nozze di Figaro, (seven) Don Giovanni (six)  and Die Zauberflöte (seven). Those three operas never diminish for me upon repeated listenings. Many more have passed through my shelves in the 20 years I've been collecting CDs.


I have several Entführung aus dem Serails (three), Così fan tuttes (five) and Clemenza di Titos (two). I even own four: (counted 'em) four recordings of Idomoneo. Though it's not my favorite Mozart opera it's still one of the best examples of serious 18th century opera, and should be performed more.

I have piano concertos, symphonies and piano sonatas. Serenades, divertissements, and A Musical Joke.

I even own two recordings of his vulgar little Canon in B Flat Major: "Leck mich im arsch."

My first live Mozart opera was probably The Magic Flute although I seem to remember a City Opera attempt at the fragment L'Oca del Cairo.

My first date with a girl in high school: I took her to four hours of Le nozze di Figaro.

And I've been to Salzburg and Vienna, weeping at a performance in the Hohensalzburg of that old party favorite Eine Kleine Nachtmusik.

I know the details of his life. The real ones, not the dramatized falsehoods in Amadeus. I know that he was a genius, and no saint. His unusual gifts led to an unusual childhood, and 37 bright-burning years immersed in the creation of music that has lived in the consciousness of Western thoughts for over two centuries.

I'm hooked on Mozart....and I'm proud of it.

With the exception of the month of August and the occasional opera review, I don't get to write much about Mozart on this blog. But his music, with its rich humanity, endless inventiveness and capacity to surprise the ear even when you've heard it an uncountable number of times never ceases to amaze.

Even a turgid performance of one of the symphonies (like the one the other week) offers opportunities to analyze and marvel the perfect, crystalline structures of notes: houses of cards that glow in rich colors and never collapse.

Yep. I'm addicted. Thank God.

City Opera Preview: Cosí fan tutte

The City Opera moves back to Manhattan with a new take on Mozart's classic.
by Paul Pelkonen

"Who did it at the end? They all did?"
--Corporal Walter "Radar" O'Reilly on M*A*S*H.

A kiss before they leave Brooklyn.
Promotional image for Cosí fan tutte © 2012 New York City Opera.

With this new production of Mozart's Cosí fan tutte directed by wunderkind Christopher Alden the New York City Opera hopes to duplicate the success of their 2009 Don Giovanni. This is the second of a projected trilogy of Mozart's operas, all directed by Mr. Alden. Le Nozze di Figaro is planned for a future season.

Cosí (the title is based on a line from The Marriage of Figaro)  is an intimate opera, the story of two callow suitors who decide to disguise themselves and switch fiancées in order to win a bet. That makes it admirably suited to George Steel's newly mobile New York City Opera, who have gambled their future by leaving Lincoln Center and taking their shows to various venues located around New York City.

This is the company's first production at the Gerald W. Lynch Theater, located in the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. The Lynch Theater is about two blocks from the company's former home at the (former) New York State Theater. It can seat 605 opera-goers.

This cast features three singers new to the City Opera. in soprano Jennifer Holloway, who makes her company debut as Dorabella. Tenor Allan Clayton joins the company as Ferrando. Sara Jakubiak is Fiordiligi. Veteran Mozart baritone Rodney Gilfry takes the role of Don Alfonso. Christian Curnyn conducts.


Cosí opens March 18 and will run for four performances only.


Recording Recommendations:

Of the three Da Ponte operas, Cosí was the last to enter the standard repertory. There are many recordings of the opera, but just as many are out of print. Here are two good ones.

English Baroque Soloists cond. John Eliot Gardiner (DG Archiv, 1993)
Fiordiligi:  Amanda Roocroft
Dorabella: Rosa Mannion
Despina: Eiran James
Gugliemo: Rodney Gilfry
Ferrando: Rainer Trost
Don Alfonso: Carlos Feller
This is part of John Eliot Gardiner's classic cycle of Mozart operas on period instruments, with a young Rodney Gilfry taking the role of Gugliemo. Crystalline sound and an appendix with all the alternate numbers included.

Chamber Orchestra of Europe cond. Sir Georg Solti (Decca, 1996)
Fiordiligi: Renée Fleming
Dorabella: Anne Sofie von Otter
Despina: Adelina Scarabelli
Gugliemo: Olaf Bär
Ferrando: Frank Lopardo
Don Alfonso: Michele Pertusi
An all-star effort from Decca. This was Solti's second recording of the opera, made with an all-star cast of hopeful young singers including one Renée Fleming. Sparkling acoustic and for Fleming fans.

Opera Review: Sin City, Part Two

The second cast breathes life into the Met's Don Giovanni.

Isabel Leonard (l.) and Gerald Finley contemplate the horizontal mambo in Don Giovanni.
Photo by Marty Sohl. © 2012 The Metropolitan Opera.

When the Metropolitan Opera's new production of Don Giovanni opened in October, the big story was the injury to baritone Mariusz Kwiecien, scheduled to sing the title role. The ill luck continued for this run, when bass John Relyea was forced to cancel his appearances as Leporello. 

Happily, Tuesday night's performance proved to be something of a coming-out party for his replacement, bass-baritone Kyle Ketelsen. Leporello is the more interesting role anyway, and Mr. Ketelsen brought a rough comic energy to the part of the Don's faithful servant. His Catalogue Song snickered and leered. The brief tryst with Donna Elvira (Ellie Dehn) was a highlight of the second act, as he threw himself into the role of impersonating the Don. 

Gerald Finley brought a light touch to the title role, emphasizing the comic side of the character. This Don was played as the character that inspired the Romantics. He may have committed murder in the opening scene, but he was fun to be around, pulling the audience along on his wild adventures and making his actions seem like small sins in pursuit of a philosophical ethos. 

The Canadian baritone borought acting ability and a bustling comic energy to the part, racing through the Champagne Aria in what sounded like one breath. On the other hand, "Deh vieni a la finestra" was sung with a smooth seductive edge. The final scene, with huge gouts of flame eructating from the stage was heroically sung, with Mr. Finley pulling the audience's sympathies over to the side of the unrepentant Don.

Don Ottavio may be the most unrewarding primo tenore role in the repertory, with just two arias and little to do other than being supportive to Donna Anna. But this production continues to have good luck casting the part. Matthew Polenzani made the most of his two arias, putting emotional weight into "Dalla su pace" and  "Il mio tesoro." 

The ladies were a major improvement in this cast. Marina Rebeka has settled into the house, although her bright-toned soprano can prove wearing as Donna Anna. Ellie Dehn was a luxuriant, sensual Donna Elvira, without the shrill manic edge. And Isabel Leonard stole hearts and the opera as Zerlina. Masetto, (the bluff bass Shenyang) is a lucky peasant. 

The only hitch in the casting was the presence of James Morris as the Commendatore. His bass-baritone is still noble, but wearing at the bottom and showing more signs of age. At 65, the singer cannot make the listener jump out of their skin, and his voice lacked the black power needed to stand up to Mozart's writing for the full orchestra.

Sir Andrew Davis conducted an engaging, red-blooded performance. By not having to split duties at the harpsichord, the British maestro gave an old-fashioned Romantic reading of the score, that kept all of its power and hellfire while sacrificing none of the humor that is essential to this carefully balanced dramma giocoso.

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?

Another cancellation for the Met's Don Giovanni.

Dinner guest: Bryn Terfel.
Photo © 2012 Deutsche Grammophon.

In October of 2011, one of the biggest stories coming out of the Met involved Mariusz Kwiecien, who was replaced in the title role of the Met's new production of Don Giovanni after being injured in a rehearsal. He was replaced by Peter Mattei, and the show went on.

Now there are problems with the second cast. Bass John Relyea, scheduled to sing eight performances as Leporello, has bowed out of the production, according to a report on The Wagnerian's blog. Mr. Relyea's doctor ordered the singer to rest his voice. 

Their replacements for the upcoming shows will be Kyle Ketelsen, who will sing the first four performances, and none other than Bryn Terfel, who will sing the last four shows in March. 

Mr. Terfel, last seen as the Wanderer in the Met's new production of Wagner's Siegfried made his early reputation with this opera, singing and recording Masetto (with Arnold Östman) the Don (with Sir Georg Solti) and Leporello (with Claudio Abbado.) He first sang Leporello at the Met in 1995, and the Don in 2000 

This run of the company's new Michael Grandage production pairs the singers with Canadian baritone Gerald Finley in the title role. The cast also includes Matthew Polenzani as Don Ottavio, Marina Rebeka as Donna Anna and Isabel Leonard as Zerlina. James Morris (another famous Met Wotan) is the Commendatore. Andrew Davis conducts.

Don Giovanni returns on Feb. 21.

Recording Recommendation

Don Giovanni is one of the most frequently recorded Mozart operas, and many fine recordings are available. Here are three that I like.

Vienna Philharmonic cond. Josef Krips (Decca, 1955)

Don Giovanni: Cesare Siepi

Leporello: Fernando Corena

Donna Anna: Suzanne Danco

Donna Elvira: Lisa della Casa

Il Commendatore: Kurt Böhme

One of the first stereo recordings of this opera, the Krips recording captures singers of a different age in the fertile ground of Vienna, just a decade after the war. Siepi and Corena play the roles of master and servant with gusto, and the conducting is terrific.

Chamber Orchestra of Europe cond. Claudio Abbado (DG, 1998)

Don Giovanni: Simon Keenlyside

Leporello: Bryn Terfel

Donna Anna Carmela Remigio

Donna Elvira: Soile Isokoski

Il Commendatore: Matti Salminen

This was Bryn Terfel's third recording of the opera, and his first as Leporello. (He was the Don for Solti's recording, and also recorded Masetto.) The Welsh baritone seems much more comfortable as the Don's slippery servant, and gives a great reading of this part. Abbado's conducting is spot on, as is Matti Salminen's terrifying Commendatore.