Don Giovanni: Passionate villain and philosopher

Don Giovanni
by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
NZ Opera, Aotea Centre, Auckland
Until September 28
Then St James Theatre, Wellington
October 11 – 18

It is difficult to know if being consigned to the flames of hell is all that frightening these days. When Don Giovanni was first performed it seemed logical for the earth to open and the villain be thrown into the depths of the underworld.

That just doesn’t work now but NZ Opera has come up with a new way to have a fiery exit for the great anti hero. Many operas attempt to update the settings and the themes to make them more relevant, many not all that successfully.

Don Giovanni, which tells of the abuse of power by a member of the aristocracy and his eventual damnation, was relevant in pre French revolutionary France and has had many makeovers to make it more socially, morally and politically relevant. NZ Opera’s new Don Giovanni really brings the work up to date with an intelligent, pacey and exciting new production.

This Don Giovanni is set in contemporary Spain in an urban setting with a cast of believable characters. The don in this production is the owner of the aptly named nightclub Libertino and Leporello is not only the Don’s right hand man but also club bouncer, fix-it man and drug buyer. This is a slightly seedy world with homeless and drug dealers in the streets and an air of malevolence.

The don and Leporello are part of the underworld and their encounters with the women of the story, Donna Anna, Donna Elvira and Zerlina, are clashes between civil and corrupt society. Each of the roles is brilliantly portrayed and given a heightened realism and real depth of character with individual foibles and characteristics.

Warwick Fyfe singing the role of Leporello creates a complex role. He is not merely a servant to the don but a man aspiring to be a libertine like him. He is actually a more sleazy character than the don, the sort of guy who would use his cellphone to film up girl’s skirts. He uses his cellphone to take pictures and film everyone, compiling a set of compromising images.

However, along with his portrayal of a peripatetic prying henchman, Fyfe manages some genuine comic displays. He also gets to have one of the more cleverly staged moments in the famous “list aria" where he shows Donna Elvira the Don’s list of conquests by scrolling through his cellphone.

Donna Anna, sung by Lisa Harper-Brown, gave a forceful performance displaying an extraordinarily rich voice imbued with strong emotional dimensions. At times, her body seemed to tremble along with her voice, overwhelmed with rage. She combined a fragility and intensity that made her presence on stage poignant and inspiring. Anna Leese sang Donna Elvira, conflicted in her love and loathing of the don. Leese used her voice to reflect on the moments of joy along with passages of desperation and pity.

Mark Stone gave an electrifying portrayal of the charismatic don, by turns fervent, obsessive, fickle, hot-blooded and quick tempered.

He inhabited the role with a superb naturalism, creating a man who relishes his life of depravity, deception and joie de vivre but who is also something of a philosopher. He used his voice as a passionate instrument playing with the emotions of his women and the audience. Robert Tucker’s Masetto was suitable aggressive and loutish while Jaewoo Kim’s precise voice helped create an earnest Don Ottavio.

There were some clever touches, which showed director Sara Brodie has taken an intelligent and comprehensive approach to the update, including a couple of detectives who follow the tragedy through and a new take on the notion of masquerade which has not only the don and Leporello resort to disguise but also the Commendatore.

The set, designed by John Verryt, with its moving graffiti covered walls created both intimate and spacious settings for the performers and was given a subtle ambience by the lighting of Jeremy Fern. Elizabeth Whiting’s costumes were judiciously designed, reflecting the various characters perfectly. The lively Wyn Davis conducting the Auckland Philharmonia had the muscians playing with a fervour as passionate any of the singers.