Opéra Noir: On T’Accuse, or Death & Sex in Don Giovanni’s Trial or Nightmare

November 11, 2009 · Posted in Arts & Entertainment, Buzz, Q on Stage · Comments Off 
Clockwise- Kelly Markgraf as Masetto, Gregory Turay as Don Ottavio, Keri Alkema as Donna Elvira, Stefania Dovhan as Donna Anna, Daniel Okulitch as Don Giovanni (center), Jason Hardy as Leporello and Joélle Harvey as Zerlina photo by Carol Rosegg

Clockwise- Kelly Markgraf as Masetto, Gregory Turay as Don Ottavio, Keri Alkema as Donna Elvira, Stefania Dovhan as Donna Anna, Daniel Okulitch as Don Giovanni (center), Jason Hardy as Leporello and Joélle Harvey as Zerlina photo by Carol Rosegg

Source: www.qonstage.com
By Bruce-Michael Gelbert

I remember when you could go to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Lorenzo Da Ponte’s “Don Giovanni” and not worry about what the director thought the opera meant, but just listen to the singers that you loved singing it.  In the new, sometimes infuriating, sometimes intriguing New York City Opera production of “Don Giovanni,” directed by Christopher Alden, abetted by designers Paul Steinberg (sets), Terese Wadden (costumes), and Jane Cox (lighting), which opened on November 8 and which I heard on November 10, at the second of its six performances, the concept takes center stage and wrestles with the music.  Sometimes, as in Don Ottavio’s “Dalla sua pace” and “Il mio tesoro,” Donna Elvira’s “Mi tradì,” and Donna Anna’s “Non mi dir,” treated to virtuoso realizations by Gregory Turay, Keri Alkema and Stefania Dovhan respectively, the music wins.  Here’s what happens: Read more

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