The Don Giovanni signed Ivo van Hove was born on the stage of the Opéra Garnier in June 2019 before being revived at the Opéra Bastille in February 2022. In the meantime, the show, co-produced by the Met, should have been presented on the New York stage in 2020 but, due to covid, the premiere has been postponed until May 5, 2023.
The Belgian director sets the action at the end of the twentieth century in monumental settings representing several concrete buildings whose architecture evokes the canvases of de Chirico. These dark and deserted buildings, with their staircases which seem to lead nowhere, create a distressing climate reinforced by the smoke which emanates from the ground. Three of them move in order to modify the space over the paintings. Thus the “dramma” aspect of the work predominates to the detriment of its “giocoso” character. The audience hardly laughs during the catalog tune or during the exchange of clothes between master and servant, which is limited to Don Giovanni’s raincoat and tie. However, the color makes its appearance during the finale of the first act where the women wear eighteenth-century costumes in bright colors that are also worn by the models appearing in the windows of the buildings. Thanks to the videos of Christopher Ash, the scene of the punishment of Don Giovanni is particularly spectacular. During the final sextet, the buildings return to their original place, bathed in golden light, flowers appear on the balconies, signs of rediscovered serenity.
The cast is dominated by the exceptional Don Giovanni by Peter Mattei whose vocal material remains intact despite the passing of the years. The Swedish baritone flows naturally into the conception of the character desired by the director who makes him not an incorrigible seducer but a sexual predator doubled as an assassin. Indeed it is not during a duel that the commander dies, Don Giovanni shoots him down with a revolver. #Me Too having been there, this character does not inspire any sympathy or even any pity. Mattei embodies it with a solid voice that becomes suave in the duet with Zerline and velvety in the beautifully nuanced serenade. The air of the champagne is more aggressive than jubilant and facing the commander the timbre is adorned with raucous tones quite in tune. Previously we will have seen the character sinking into decay, grabbing the food with both hands, throwing the bread on the ground before unzipping his fly in front of the pleading Elvira. A major incarnation that allows Peter Mattei, twenty years after his debut in loco in the role, to remain one of the greatest Don Giovanni of the moment.
By his side, Federica Lombardi portrays a first-rate Anna whose vocal seduction is coupled with an advantageous physique. The timbre immediately captures the attention and the character moves from its first appearance. “Or sai chi l’onore” is sung with a resonant voice and percussive highs, “Non mi dir” allows him to assert a beautiful legato, a seasoned technique during the recovery piano, as well as precise vocalizations in the second part of the air. The Italian soprano has, no doubt, a bright future ahead of her. Ben Bliss has a clear and well-projected lyrical tenor voice, an inexhaustible breath as evidenced by the aria “Il mio tesoro” and its long central vocalization and an elegantly nuanced vocal line. The covers of his tunes are tastefully ornamented. Familiar with the role of Leporello, Adam Platchetka embodies it with a resigned bonhomie. Endowed with solid vocal means, he manages to impose his gruff character against Mattei’s grandiose Don Giovanni. The Elvira ofAnna Maria Martinez is neither hysterical nor ridiculous, she is an abandoned woman whose suffering is all the more moving because she is no longer very young. However the wear of the tone is noticeable especially from the upper medium. Despite everything, the singer manages to offer a beautifully crafted “Mi tradì”. Zerlina is here entrusted to a lyrical soprano, Ying Fang, whose pure and limpid timbre is not devoid of sensuality in the aria “Vedrai carino”. We have to recognize that his relationship with Alfred Walker is not very well matched both scenically and vocally, the baritone possessing a powerful voice devoid of nuance and charm. Finally Alexander Tsymbalyuk is a luxury commander, the voice is wide, the bass abysmal and the incarnation impressive.
The big winner of the evening is undoubtedly Nathalie Stutzmann. Acclaimed enthusiastically by the public, the French chef made her flamboyant debut at the Met. From the first chords in D minor of the overture, authoritative and disturbing, she plunges the audience into the drama. She then subtly negotiates the passage to the allegro in D major before unrolling under the voices of the singers that she strives never to cover, a sumptuous orchestral fabric that highlights with precision at every moment, the richness of the score. The generally brisk tempos adopted provide a few sublime moments of suspension, such as the duet between Don Giovanni and Zerline, while the final confrontation between the commander and Don Giovanni is conducted in a spectacular manner.
On Saturday June 3, the Metropolitan Opera will broadcast in Pathé Live network cinemas, The Magic Flute again with Nathalie Stutzmann as director.
2023-05-22 06:51:17
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