Last Updated on February 23, 2025
Scooby Don
The peacocking libertine strides onto the stage to unfurl his finery. No glimmering collection of colour shock here. Rather, the embroidered listings of former conquests battle for space on the crowded lining. Poetasting aside, this is how Regents Opera begin its version of Don Giovanni with Leporello’s little black book replaced with a rather larger black cape.
Mozart’s version of the Don Juan myth, Don Giovanni follows the eponymous serial seducer of some 1800 women. Giovanni and his long-suffering lackey, Leporello, navigate the hazards and pitfalls of surviving his prolific sexual profligacy. The target of a failed rape attempt, Donna Anna, joins forces with a jilted former lover, Donna Elvira to enact their vendetta. Even so, the Don cannot slow down and sets his perilous sights on a Bride, Zerlina. His monomaniac obsession with carnality can be seen in the champagne aria Fin Ch’han dal Vino which ends repeatedly gibbering about getting twelve more names for his list.
Director and Designer Sarah Heenan places the action in 1817, a regency-era staging primarily seen through costumes with limited use of sets. The re-animated Commendatore statue is replaced with a scooby-doo-esque piece of ghostly puppetry. The dead father is piloted by his vengeful daughter Donna Anna. This removes the requirement for the heavens to intervene in Don’s downfall and allows the women more agency. And he would have got away with it too if it weren’t for those meddling victims.
The orchestration is reduced to flute, clarinet, cello and piano an arrangement by Alison Holford who also performed on the cello. Musical director Ben Woodward led from the piano. Some of the Sturm und Drang of the original is lost but it is nonetheless surprising how such an economic arrangement can still propel the music along. The added benefits of letting the singers resonate without battling in small theatres go without saying. Pizzicato cello replaces a mandolin for accompaniment to the Act II aria Deh, Vieni alla finestra It is impressive to watch and a potentially unique way of hearing the piece.
Don Giovanni was played by Oliver Gibbs. His slightly pantomimed acting brings Giovanni to life with seasoned expression and stage work. In the aforementioned champagne aria, Gibbs snaps between dance positions as he whips out the names of the dances. His diction occasionally suffered but nonetheless sang well.
Ashley Mercer is a forceful Leporello who comfortably carries some of the most notable and colourful arias in the piece, including a richly entertaining catalogue aria Madamina, i’l catalogo. Christine Buras’ Donna Anna is hair-raisingly sung, surging with the burning flame of vengeance. Davide Basso’s Don Ottavio is more nervous and priggish, dragged behind his fiery beau. I should say Basso is excellent and this characterisation seemed deliberate. Alistair Ollerenshaw and Justine Viani as Masetto and Zerlina respectively are a joy to watch as the soon-to-be married couple. Viani’s rendition of Vedrai, carino is astonishingly tender and accompanied with classic buffo stagework from the pair. Andrew Tinkler as the Commendatore smashes into the stage with his luxurious lead-toned voice. Characterful and entertaining as the doomed duellist or resurrected visitation. Isolde Roxby is good as Donna Elvira.
As small-scale opera goes, few reach this level of quality across the board. the staging is simple yet effective, the orchestration and singing work well in the space used and I look forward to more future Regents Opera productions.
Don Giovanni is touring until November, culminating in a performance in Wimbledon at Trinity Church on 10th November as part of the Wimbledon International Music Festival
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