Name: Don Giovanni
Start: 2016-12-08T00:00:00.000Z
End: 2016-12-08T00:00:00.000Z
Location: Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre

Organization

Conductor

Pavel Smelkov

Valery Gergiev

Pianist

Aglaya Zinchenko

Singer

Baritone

Vadim Kravets

Don Giovanni

Bass

Yevgeny Plekhanov

Leporello

Yuri Vlasov

Commendatore

Soprano

Albina Schagimuratova

Donna Anna

Tenor

Vsevolod Marilov

Don Ottavio

Elena Stikhina

Donna Elvira

Alina Mikhailik

Zerlina

Vadim Soloviev

Masetto

Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre

Italian

Vladivostok

Russia

Big Hall

Public

Russian

Approved

Don Giovanni or The Libertine Punished (Il dissoluto punito, ossia il Don Giovanni) is one of Mozart’s last operatic masterpieces and quite an unusual composition for its time. The composer defined its genre as “dramma giocoso” or “drama with jokes” - which, in essence, is a tragicomedy. This dialectics of Mozart’s genius was very subtly observed by Pushkin who expressed it in one of his little tragedies in the composer’s own words: I feel good, when all at once... A funereal vision, sudden gloom, or something… A whimsical mix of tragic and comic scenes, virtuoso splendour and ingenuous lyrics, the subtlest psychological insight and overt buffoonery - these are the features defining theatricality of Don Giovanni and Mozat’s flair for musical scene.

The opera libretto was written in 1787 by Lorenzo da Ponte, the Composer’s permanent librettist, for the National Theatre in Prague and was based on a medieval legend about a Sevillian nobleman who had gained his notoriety for his endless stream of amorous victories. There was another possible Don Giovanni’s prototype - the legendary Giacomo Casanova, who lived at the same time as Mozart and whose name, just like Don Giovanni’s, has become a common metaphor. Don Giovanni is not only the title character of the opera but also the driving force of its action. Don Giovanni’s zest for life, constant pursuit of new pleasures and denial of what had already been achieved endowed him with Faustian traits, turning him into a “new time hero”. Not without a reason Goethe admired the opera so much and believed that only Mozart was capable of translating his Faust into music in a congenial way.

While relying on traditional types of arias and ensembles, the composer fills them with incredibly rich image content. Each of the eight opera principal characters possesses individual intonation and its own musical image. All solo numbers of Don Giovanni - The Champagne Aria and Don Giovanni’s Serenade, Leporello’s List Aria (The Catalogue Aria), lyrical Zerlina’s solo, virtuoso but at the same time so different arias of Donna Elvira, Don Ottavio and Donna Anna, as well as the famous Seduction Duet (Là ci darem la mano - There we will give each other our hands) have long acquired a life of their own and are included in the treasury of vocal repertoire. The orchestra in the opera is also far from being a simple accompaniment to solo parts. Mozart masterfully and ingeniously uses it to enhance characteristics of opera personages and scenic situations.

Musical dramaturgy of Don Giovanni is so bright and valuable in itself that it does not require any additional visualization by means of set design. That is why, concert performance of the opera can give to the audience just as much as and maybe even more pleasure than a fully-staged performance.

Nadezhda Koulygina

English

Performance credits (Cast & Crew )

Cast

Crew