The seductive predator Current events add relevance to Don Giovanni almost 300 years after Mozart created it By: Holly Harris Posted: 7:00 PM CST Friday, Nov. 23, 2018

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This article was published 22/11/2018 (2239 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

One of opera’s most darkly charismatic characters bellows into life tonight as Manitoba Opera opens its 46th season with Don Giovanni, which still sends chills down the spine with its supernatural tale of lust, lies, power and seduction as it did when Mozart first penned it in 1787.

And Winnipeg opera fans will get to see Canadian bass-baritone Daniel Okulitch reprise his signature title role he’s performed a dozen times since 2006, having earned accolades around the globe.

“He’s devilishly fun to perform,” the Calgary-raised Okulitch, who last appeared on the Manitoba Opera stage during its November 2015 production of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, reveals backstage at the Centennial Concert Hall. “He’s a seducer, he’s immoral and is completely at the whim of his desires. In today’s parlance, you might say he’s an adrenalin junkie, which is intoxicating to him. But he’s also a product of privilege and society, which is completely transferable to today as we continue to glorify celebrity.

“Who is Don Giovanni? He’s a reflection of ourselves.”

Spanish-born director Oriol Tomas makes his Manitoba Opera debut. Maestro Tyrone Paterson leads the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra through Mozart’s masterful score, with lighting by Scott Henderson and Spanish-flavoured sets and costumes from Edmonton Opera.

Based on an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte, in turn inspired by the legend of lascivious Spanish nobleman and libertine, Don Juan, the story tells of Don Giovanni — in this production, he’s morphed into a swaggering matador — in cahoots with his dutiful valet and sidekick, Leporello (bass-baritone Stephen Hegedus). Don Giovanni preys on vulnerable women, and sets his sights on betrothed Donna Anna (soprano Jessica Strong), Donna Elvira (soprano Monica Huisman) and guileless peasant girl Zerlina (soprano Andrea Lett) as each woman becomes entangled in his spider’s web of seduction.

His Act II finale showdown with the booming ghost of Donna Anna’s father, the Commendatore (bass Kirk Eichelberger) whom he killed after raping his daughter Anna is easily one of the most harrowing scenes in the opera canon. It is said be based on Mozart himself metaphorically confronting the spirit of his own domineering father.

It’s no mere tilting at windmills that Mozart’s compelling opera evokes the same ethos of today’s #MeToo movement, where modern-day moguls, similarly drunk on their own narcissistic power have preyed on women, infusing this 175-minute (including intermission) production with even greater resonance.

“Has my concept been influenced by ‘#MeToo?’ Absolutely,” says Tomas, who has directed two prior Don Giovanni productions. “So I tried to make sure that the women in this opera are not victims, or portrayed as ‘crazy’ women. Of course, they are seduced by Don Giovanni, but they become enlightened after realizing he is a manipulator, as well as a chameleon with a capacity to adapt to all his prey.

“And in the end, we reverse the roles,” he promises tantalizingly of his artistic vision.

Some pundits have posited that Don Giovanni is ultimately about its empowered women, including their growing solidarity and strength in staring down oppression.

For the Winnipeg-born Strong, who graduated from the University of Manitoba’s Faculty of Music before taking a master’s degree in opera performance at the University of Toronto, remains fascinated by it.

“Even written almost 300 years ago, these are still strong, powerful, emotionally complex women which I really respect, and makes it very intriguing to play,” says Strong, who marks her Manitoba Opera soloist debut tonight. “Donna Anna is this cauldron of complexity. She experiences a mixture of anger and passion, but also guilt and shame for having those feelings.

“I have to leave my own views at the side of the stage, and just realize that what we’re portraying here is perhaps is a bit more true to the times the play was written, and that women didn’t have those same opinions and rights that we have today,” she continues. “I feel this production is showing how far we still need to go in this area, and talk about these things that are still happening.”

Strong is also tickled pink that her family and friends will be cheering her on in the audience tonight, 10 years after her last Manitoba Opera appearance.

“I’m just very grateful to be able to be home and debuting in such a wonderful role with such a fantastic dream-team cast,” she shares, adding that one of the vocal challenges of her role is Mozart’s penchant for multiple high A-notes that are near the top of the soprano range. “It’s Donna A with a capital A,” she quips.

For his part, Okulitch, equally renowned for his concert performances of both classical and contemporary repertoire, is keenly in tune with the demands of his larger-than-life role, simply calling it “a big sing,” including his two major arias: the tongue-twisting, champagne-fizzy Fin ch’han dal vino and lyrical serenade Deh vieni alla finestra traditionally accompanied by mandolin.

“Everyone’s going to have a different reaction to Don Giovanni,” he says when asked how viewers can empathize — the holy grail of stagecraft — with what is fundamentally a sexual predator. “I try not to make him a cartoonish villain, and without being an apologist, play him as multi-dimensionally as I can.”

“The more I perform Giovanni, the more I realize that it’s not up to me to make anyone feel anything, as everyone will have their own ideas about his character, and you’re not going to hit the mark for each person,” he adds. “The challenge that I’ve found is to not try to be everything to everyone. If I think I need to be the sexiest Don Giovanni, then I’m going to fail. What is he? He is ultimately a chameleon, and my job is to play this character as truthfully, and as honestly as I can.”

holly.harris@shaw.ca