United Kingdom Mozart, Don Giovanni: Soloists, Refrain and Orchestra of Regents Opera / Ben Woodward (musical director). Hoxton Corridor, London, 29.6.2024. (JH-E)

Manufacturing:
Director — Sarah Heenan
Assistant Director/Stage supervisor — Eleanor Strutt
Costume designer — Alexia Tonkin
Lighting — Joe Doody
Producer — Oliver Gibbs

Solid:
Don Giovanni — Oliver Gibbs
Leporello — Ashley Mercer
Donna Anna — Christine Buras
Donna Elvira — Isolde Roxby
Zerlina — Justine Viani
Don Ottavio — Davide Basso
Masetto — Alistair Ollerenshaw
The Commendatore — Andrew Tinkler

A Regency-styled Don Giovanni sounds as if it is likely to be a trite swing on the current Bridgerton-driven interval fervour. However as a substitute, Regents Opera’s manufacturing, directed by Sarah Heenan, presents a pleasingly minimal model that highlights the non-public stakes and relationships of the characters, fed by a vigorous and personable solid.

Touring opera is all the time logistically troublesome, however this present makes probably the most of what it might probably do. A lot of the burden of set dressing falls on some beautiful costuming in basic Regency silhouettes, with no backdrop and a few ingenious use of bigger props to create furnishings, balconies, and even the climactic dinner. The minimalist strategy redirects consideration onto the characters and the drama, moderately than losing it on pointless particulars.

Sadly, the music generally suffered from the requirements of small-scale touring areas. The decreased orchestration for flute, clarinet, cello, and keyboard (performed by musical director Ben Woodward) was at occasions untidy and struggled to fill out Mozart’s orchestral passages. As an accompaniment to the singers, nevertheless, the ensemble labored properly.

And certainly, the best advantages of the manufacturing and setting selection do come to the characters and their realism. The Regency all the time has attraction to British audiences as a interval drama setting, and the social dynamics and difficulties have turn out to be acquainted to us. By setting the opera in 1817 — the 12 months of its London premiere — and in what director Sarah Heenan calls ‘an English Regency thought of Spain’, the viewers is put in a cushty world with recognized social stakes. The plights of Donna Anna and Donna Elvira turn out to be all of the extra partaking, and Don Giovanni’s transgressions extra surprising with this context, and it actually permits the characters to shine.

The ladies are particularly vivid on this model, imbuing their characters with emotion and pathos. The small area of Hoxton Corridor introduced some musical difficulties — operatic voices that stand out in massive homes can wrestle to not sound considerably harsh in small ones. Soprano voices notably are inclined to fare worse with this, by no fault of their very own. Isolde Roxby as Donna Elvira introduced a strong portrait of a girl struggling between love and rage, and the social penalties which may befall her, however her hanging voice was not served by acoustics of the small area, generally coming throughout as brassy and a little bit harsh. Donna Anna, sung by Christine Buras, suffered much less from this impact, nevertheless it nonetheless often confirmed. She thrived in Donna Anna’s journey from a confused woman, first proven within the overture reluctantly accepting a proposal from Don Ottavio (Davide Basso) out of an absence of choices, to a girl who makes use of her grief and anger to form her personal future.

Don Giovanni as a Regency rake didn’t come throughout as fairly charming sufficient, however Oliver Gibbs was convincingly devil-may-care and selfishly unconcerned with the implications of his actions. He labored marvellously with Ashley Mercer’s put-upon Leporello, the 2 of them taking part in off one another for among the present’s most entertaining moments. Mercer sparkled in Leporello’s quick patter and introduced an consciousness of the distinctions of sophistication that all the time lie in Mozart’s operas to the fore. Justine Viani as Zerlina had some troublesome moments with intonation, however made for a pleasingly coquettish Zerlina, particularly with Alistair Ollerenshaw as Masetto.

The flip in direction of a Frankenstein-inspired ending has extra combined success than the remainder of the manufacturing. Donna Anna turns into a model of Mary Shelley herself mixed along with her Physician Frankenstein, and with the assistance of Leporello and Donna Elvira, re-animates her father with the intention to terrify Don Giovanni. Using this twist within the plot, in permitting the ladies and servants of the story the final word company in its route, is satisfying and does a lot to strengthen the characters of Donna Anna and Donna Elvira. The sharply contoured Frankenstein make-up given to Andrew Tinkler’s Commendatore is much less efficient and lends the dinner scene a daft aspect which inserts much less properly with the extraordinary interpersonal dynamics which might be in any other case the main focus. However incorporating the supernatural is all the time a problem for any manufacturing of Don Giovanni, notably one which in any other case goals for some stage of social realism, and the ultimate loss of life coming by Giovanni being first stabbed, then shot, works notably properly.

General, it is a manufacturing that’s pushed ahead by the sturdy chemistry of what finally ends up feeling very very like an ensemble solid, and a manufacturing that enables this to shine. Whereas the musical excellence doesn’t all the time dazzle, this nonetheless makes for an entertaining and watchable efficiency, with a lot to take pleasure in.

Julien Harman-Evans

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