Don Giovanni, A “Comic And Tragic” Opera About Desire

Agnès Jaoui directs Mozart’s Don Giovanni, “the opera of operas”. This universe is also the subject of his latest film The object of denial. His reading focuses on the power of desire which disrupts societal codes and Catholic morality, in the corseted Spain of the 17th century.^e century. Agnès Jaoui remains faithful to the musical masterpiece and its historical context, but she brings to the stage very rich and demanding theatrical work and successful staging.

Karine Deshayes is at the peak of her talent with her voice and her playing

At Corum, in Montpellier, the room is packed. At the opening, the colored shadows of the feathers of Don Giovanni’s hat twirl on the stage curtain. Will the libertine lead the dance to the so-called “champagne” tune? Both light and serious, this opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) on a libretto by Lorenzon da Ponte (1749-1838), created in 1787, is a Playful drama (happy drama). Soprano Esther Tonea in the role of Donna Anna is slightly impressed, but she gradually asserts herself in the register ofopera-series. Victim of Don Giovanni (bass-baritone Mikhail Timoshenko), she escapes and calls for help. Don Giovanni, who was in his chambers, engages in a duel with his father, the Commander (bass Stephen Milling). He murders her and is surprised by the crime. He flees accompanied by his faithful valet Leporello, played with great talent by the American bass-baritone Evan Hugues. Don Giovanni recovers very quickly, he is always looking for a new female conquest. Lovers of freedom, only their immediate pleasure counts. When Donna Elvira arrives, he is very annoyed. In this role of the abandoned but very loving wife, the famous mezzo-soprano Karine Deshayes is at the height of her talent with her voice and her playing, throughout the opera. Even when she is not singing, her presence is strong through her posture, her way of moving. She embodies the figure of forgiveness, in pain and self-sacrifice. As soon as he arrives on the set in a sedan chair, his voice is assured and carries loudly. Betrayed several times, she is frightened by the successive revelations about the actions of Don Giovanni. Evan Hugues is convincing with a sense of the comic in the air of his master’s catalog – long and very difficult -, the enumeration is in agreement with the music of which the woodwinds of the orchestra seem to laugh at the situation. Don Giovanni wants them all, in order to add them to his list of conquests. The sheets with thousands of names are read and unfolded by Donna Elvira.

Viennese soprano Mirian Kutrowatz – the sparkling peasant Zerlina in folk costume – is one of the revelations of this opera, for her crystalline timbre and the quality of her interpretation. A country party crowns her engagement to Mazetto (Frederic Jost – bass). Don Giovanni is on the lookout, and Zerlina hesitates: “ I would and I would not. » The duo is particularly successful in different rhythms.

At the beginning of Act II, Don Giovanni once again plays with Donna Elvira and her feelings, his valet pretends to be him. From a balcony, she quickly succumbs while claiming the opposite. Her body and her expressions betray her, she is upset. For almost an hour, she does not realize the deception. However, it is not too much humiliation, because she continues to defend Don Giovanni, and wants to save his soul. At the edge of the stage, she laments, and could speak to each of the spectators. In its entirety, it is moving.

The theatrical dimension is very present

Despite his cynicism and his disrespect for his prey, Don Giovanni conquers the audience with his bursts of laughter, his enormous nerve, and his courage. On several occasions, he is threatened, pursued by Donna Anna, driven by her thirst for revenge, her suitor Don Ottavio (tenor Michael Gibson), and of course Donna Elvira! Even Zerlina in the group scenes where the voices blend in harmony opposes him alongside her lover, the very jealous Masettto. Don Giovanni’s transgressive behavior is unbearable, he is condemned by everyone, singled out by the interpreters. Through his selfish attitude, he undermines social conformity and religious constraint. His diehard imprudence leads him to his downfall.

In fact, each relationship is unique. Even the seducer consumes women compulsively, nothing is settled. Very humbly, Agnès Jaoui first wanted to put herself at the service of the expressive power of the score, with a broader palette – tunes from farce or terrifying ones. Passionate about male-female relationships, she reveals the contractions of each character with their own vocal language, with the force of desire as a point of gravity. In the era of #MeToo, Agnès Jaoui questions: “ What about desire in the face of good and evil? Don Juan is the one who constantly seeks the limit. » For the directing work, she asked the lyrical artists to also be actors. And this is one of the strengths of this opera, because the theatrical dimension is very present, with a vocal and instrumental balance.

The dark, monumental sets by Eric Ruf, and the play of light by Bertrand Couderc are magnificent. The scenes alternate, from a restless atmosphere of a full moon to residences with rich facades that evoke Venetian palaces, maze of staircases, the ballroom where frivolity and tensions reign among the performers and the Montpellier Opera Choir… At the baton, Benjamin Bayl directs the Opera orchestra in harmony with the performers including the formidable mezzo-soprano Karine Deshayes – a regular on the Montpellier stage -, Evan Hugues, Mikhail Timoshenko… As the curtain prepares to fall after the final scene in which the Statue of the Commander throws Don Giovanni into Hell, a surprise full of subtlety awaits the spectators, for one last burst of laughter!

Fatma Alilate

Don Giovanni by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)

Berlioz Opera, Montpellier

Playful drama in two acts

Booklet of Lorenzo da Ponte inspired by the myth of Don Juan.

Premiered on October 29, 1787 at the Estates Theater in Prague

Benjamin Baylmusical direction

Agnes Jaouistaging

Eric Ruf (member of the Comédie Française), sets

Pierre-Jean Larroquecostumes

Bertrand Couderclights

Pierre Martin Oriolvideos

Mikhail TymoshenkoDon Giovanni

Stephen Millingthe commander

Esther TonéaDonna Anna

Michael GibsonDon Ottavio

Karine DeshayesDonna Elvira

Evan HughesLeporello

Frédéric JostMasetto

Miriam KutrowatzZerlin

Noelle Génychoir director

Choir National Opera Montpellier Occitanie

Montpellier Occitanie National Orchestra

Shortly : Tuesday May 26, 7 p.m., Friday May 29, 8 p.m., Sunday May 31, 5 p.m.

Duration: ±3h20 with intermission

Sung in Italian, surtitled in French and English

Don Giovanni by Mozart at the Opéra-Berlioz, Le Corum, Montpellier © Marc Ginot