Based on one of the most universal Spanish myths, that of
Don Juan, Don Giovanni
, with a libretto by
Lorenzo da Ponte
, and great music by
Mozart
that achieves one of the greatest of his operas, which is therefore equivalent to all history of the music.
It can be staged, and has been done, in many ways, from accentuating the Sevillian nuances of the work, the aristocracy-people confrontation, to an abstract allegory.
Or with the impressive Palladian architecture as in the remembered film by Losey with a stellar
Ruggero Raimondi
.
Basically it is an erotic myth but it balances the eros / thanatos binomial a lot, although some tend to forget that relationship and emphasize only one aspect, and of course in what we have seen death fully triumphs.
The Real has opted for a version that is already its twelve years old from Salburg although tuned at the Berlin Staatsoper by
Julia Burbach
.
In it,
Claus Guth
develops the action in a rotating forest (even too much) well designed scenery by Christian Schmidt, less happy in the costumes, with lighting according to
Olad Winter
.
All this further dramatizes the action, makes it mysterious, almost gloomy, like an ominous space that suffocates at the same time that it masks the characters.
If the end of the story is death, here it is somehow present from the beginning.
There is a lot of emphasis on the lumpen, with the characters' capricious drug addiction, or a car driving through the forest as a very expendable detail of modernity.
And the height of the crap is the dinner that does not miss anything that angers the Commander.
But Mozart can put up with anything if the music is done well. Musically the work is not easy at all and its vocal cast is very demanding.
The absolute protagonist is the baritone, this time an interesting
Christopher Maltman
who is highly specialized in the role.
The three female parts are also involved, here embodied by
Brenda Rae, Anette Fritsch and Louise Adler
.
They are different but at the same time very homogeneous and of unquestionable quality.
The tenor is also a difficult role vocally and as an actor and this time it is played by
Mauro Peter,
who is constantly modulating a voice perhaps a little big for the character's tradition.
Erwin Schrott, Kryzstof Bączyk
enliven
Leporello and Masetto
respetivamente while
Tobias Kehrer
lends his voice to a cavernous
Comendador
.
On the other hand, the main choir of the theater, as always irreproachably prepared by
Andrés Máspero
, shines fully and the Madrid Symphony Orchestra sounded convincing, carefully conducted by
Ivor Bolton,
who on this occasion was more resounding as an irreproachable concertmaster than in terms of nuance of a work that is a continuum of hidden pitfalls, all saved with skill and musicality.
The audience likes good operas and more if they are well sung, so they enjoyed the performance and applauded everyone without restriction.
File
Work: Don Giovanni.
Libreto by Lorenzo da Ponte, music by Mozart.
Performers: soloists, Choir and Symphony Orchestra of Madrid.
Stage director: Claus Guth.
Musical Director: Ivor Bolton
Royal Theater Place
Date: December 18, 2020
Qualification: ***
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
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