THE HANGOVER REPORT – Ivo van Hove’s potent new DON GIOVANNI arrives at the Met, splendidly sung and surprisingly straightforward

A scene from Ivo van Hove’s new production of Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” at the Metropolitan Opera.

Last night, I caught up with Ivo van Hove’s anticipated new production of Don Giovanni, which opened last week at the Metropolitan Opera. The Belgian auteur’s production replaces Michael Grandage’s lifeless traditional staging, which failed on most counts to find insight and nuance in Mozart’s infamously tricky opera, resulting in a long slog of an evening (in all fairness, opera directors have long struggled with how to unlock the work).

Luckily, van Hove’s clear-eyed modern dress staging provides a sophisticated, adult interpretation of the dark yet playful work. Indeed, the director embraces the opera’s contradictions, conjuring an unforgiving world that feels vital, real, and dangerous. In a fascinating shift, van Hove’s divisive experimentation (so evident in his Broadway revivals of A View from the Bridge and West Side Story) has taken a back seat, turning his attention instead to shedding a light on the moral murkiness of the world at large, not just the title character’s. Set against towering edifices that house rooms and corridors where secrets and mysteries lie (the coldly imposing set design is by Jan Versweyveld), van Hove’s vision for the opera is conceptually flexible enough to contain the opera’s multitudes of modes. Suffice to say, the production, in my estimation, is a keeper.

Just as importantly, the music-making was splendid. Leading the way in the title role was silken-voiced tenor Peter Mattei — who all but owns the role at this point in his career — was authoritative yet wickedly playful, and he sang the role as richly as ever. As his trio of conquests — Donna Anna, Donna Elvira, and Zerlina — sopranos Federica Lombardi, Ana María Martínez, and Ying Fang sang with beauty, character, and sublime musicality. Also featured were bass-baritone Adam Plachetka as  a perfectly frustrated Leporello and robust tenor Ben Bliss as Don Ottavio. Conductor Nathalie Stutzmann makes an impressive Met debut with a lucid, unfussy reading of Mozart’s masterpiece score that matched van Hove’s potent yet surprisingly straightforward staging.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

DON GIOVANNI
Opera
The Metropolitan Opera
3 hours, 25 minutes (with one intermission)
In repertory through June 2

Categories: Music, Opera, Other Music

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