Well it had to happen I suppose, Mozart's Don Giovanni is turning gay; well at least in a new production (version?) of the opera to be presented in Heaven, the nightclub under Charing Cross Station. Dominic Gray is directing and Ranjit Bolt producing a new translation.
But, I'm hearing you ask, how do you make Mozart's Don gay? There have, in fact, been productions where the relationship between Don Giovanni and Leporello has been either homo-social, homo-erotic or down-right intimate; with various degrees of success. I seem to remember one production where the Don seemed to spend rather too much time an a dress. Please!
For this new production, all the characters bar Don Giovanni himself are swapping sex. So that Donna Anna, Donna Elvria and Zerlina become men whilst Leporello and Masetto become women. It makes dramatic sense. And there is a reassuring bit on the website, here, where David Crichton says that they have kept closely to the class-based delineation of the lovers. This is important, Mozart and Da Ponte's opera is about class as much as sex and modern day productions just don't work properly if they ignore the class element.
In this new version the Don becomes a nightclub owner, with Leporello turning into his female PA. Alan (Donna Anna) is from a wealthy, privileged background, Eddie (Donna Elvira) is middle class and Zac (Zerlina) a young working class lad. Also, rather creditably, they are using young singers with operatic/stage backgrounds for the main roles.
From the web-site, which is stylishly but rather annoyingly designed, I am unclear what the accompaniment is going to be. Also, given Heaven's dreadful acoustics, I don't know whether they are going to be using microphones or not. But all in all it sounds a fascinating proposition.
The show is at Heaven starting 15th April 2012. Further details here.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Popular Posts this month
-
The young composer Alistair White is having a busy moment, his opera ROBE recently premiered at Tête à Tête [see my review ], and now hi...
-
Handel Suites de Pièces nos 1-4, 1720; Pierre Hantaï; Mirare Reviewed by Robert Hugill on 4 December 2020 Star rating: 5.0 (★★★★★)...
-
Alastair White (Photo Gemma A. Williams) We caught the premiere of Alastair White 's opera ROBE at Tête à Tête: The Opera Festival in ...
-
Being as it is Easter weekend, there seem to be a plethora of Bach passions on the internet, with a wide variety of performing styles. Whi...
-
Friday Afternoons is a project that arose out of the Britten Centenary in 2013, when Britten's own set of songs for children, Friday Af...
-
Bach: St John Passion - Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (Photo from film directed by Grant Gee) Easter Sunday saw us continuing our r...
-
Gimnazija Kranj Symphony Orchestra I get all sorts of mail, people sending my information on concerts and recordings. Everything gets gl...
-
Mónica Cárdenas 10 Preludes and Fugues of Latin America , Sonata Herencia ; Mónica Cárdenas; Tonada VP Reviewed by Robert Hugill on 1...
-
The Octagon Tower, Ely Cathedral (photo Mark Seton ) Holy Week has always been a busy time for singers and musicians, and it seems that with...
-
Friends Meeting House, Hertford (Photo taken by Equus caballus, November 24, 2012, from Wikipedia ) Live classical music is cautiously comin...

Just to let you know - there will be a 10 piece orchestra and no microphones... along with some 'club' music arranged by Vince Clarke of Erasure in the Act 1 Finale... Enjoy!..
ReplyDelete