Teddy Tahu Rhodes as Don Giovanni. Photo: Lisa Tomasetti
If you have thought about going to the opera but are unsure where to start, book yourself some tickets for Don Giovanni. Mozart’s playful opera with a sting in the tail has earned its popularity with some of opera’s most appealing melodies and a fine balance of Gothic drama and comic relief.
David McVicar’s Opera Australia production is both accessible and excellent, honouring the music but concentrating on telling a story through character.
Don Giovanni is the tale of an unconscionable playboy who seduces women all over the place, leaving a trail of broken hearts and, sometimes, bodies in his wake. In the first scene of the opera his object is Donna Anna. She escapes but he kills her beloved father who has come to her defence.
Much of the opera is in a comic vein as Don Giovanni toys with an old conquest Donna Elvira; tries his hand (or some other part of his anatomy) on the peasant bride Zerlina and switches clothes with his servant Leporello so he can play for Donna Elvira’s maid.
But in the final scenes Don Giovanni the opera turns dark, delivering on the full title Il dissoluto punito, ossia il Don Giovanni, literally The Rake Punished, the story of Don Giovanni. On the run, Don Giovanni and Leporello find themselves in a graveyard where the ghost of the Commendatore rises up to see that Don Giovanni dissolution meets its just end and our anti-hero is delivered to hell in a famous climax.
Teddy Tahu Rhodes is a fabulous bad boy: sexy and dangerous with a voice that almost makes it convincing that every woman in sight falls at his feet. Rhodes’ rich baritone is captivating and he dominates the stage in a way which is utterly appropriate to the part.
He supported by an excellent cast who all deliver developed characters with dramatic conviction. Shane Lowrencev, in particular, is a rare talent, a physical comic as well as an opera singer. As Leporello. he is a l​ovable clown with tight timing and loose limbs. Together he and Rhodes have a great rapport which keeps the production constantly engaging.
John Longmuir as Don Ottavio delivers a honeyed solo in the second act and Emma Matthews is a strong and dramatic Donna Anna. In his small but important role as the Commendatore, Jud Arthur is wonderfully deep and chilling, moving the final scenes from comedy to tragedy effectively.
Robert Jones provides the production with a well-thought out set, referencing the opera’s Gothic elements and ultimate decline into hell. The stage is cut athwart with a vast staircase that is a raised and lowered like a gangplank so that we can never forget that Don Giovanni is going to end up at the bottom of the ultimate staircase. When he does, the hell- fire scene of writhing bodies appears to bring the paintings of Hieronymous Bosch to life. David Finn’s excellent lighting must be commended too for its place in this effective set.
Don Giovanni
Opera Australia
Arts Centre Melbourne
May 11 -30
Tickets
