OPERA REVIEW: DON GIOVANNI
30 OCT/11

JOHN COULBOURN - QMI Agency
R: 4.5/5
Pictured: Peggy Kriha Dye, Phillip Addis, Vasil Garvanliev

TORONTO - When it comes to his dealings with the bad boy of the opera world, Opera Atelier’s Marshall Pynkoski clearly didn’t waste a lot of time on psychoanalysis and the like — and chances are, that’s something that’s going to leave a lot of OA patrons tickled pink.

For, while Pynkoski’s latest production of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s DON GIOVANNI may be incredibly short on the darker threads of motivation that are often woven through productions of this work, it is more than redeemed by an effervescent spirit of youthful exuberance that not only makes up for any lack of the former, but serves to prove that sometimes, especially when it comes to sex, human nature is the only motivation necessary.

Opera Atelier’s new production of Mozart’s tale opened Saturday on the stage of the Elgin Theatre, where it runs through Nov. 5; and while it’s been pretty much rebuilt from the ground up since 2004 — with new designs from Gerard Gauci, OA’s master of tromp, and new, largely monochromatic costumes by Martha Mann — it is, on quite another level, simply the same old story, told as Mozart might have intended, and not coincidentally, just the way Pynkoski likes it.

Which means that it is simply a high-spirited story about a young rake — the Don of title, sung here by baritone Phillip Addis — and the swath he cuts through the beautiful young women of 17th-Century Seville, few of whom seem to be immune to his charms, as he leaves a string of broken hearts in his wake. Unquestionably, the fair Donna Anna (soprano Meghan Lindsay) is enjoying those charms thoroughly at the top of the show — at least until she’s caught in the clinch and her father (bass-baritone and OA regular, Curtis Sullivan) is killed in an ensuing duel with the Don, much to the chagrin of her loyal fiance, Don Ottavio (tenor Lawrence Wiliford).

Definitely, Donna Elvira (soprano Peggy Kriha Dye) remembers him with something more than fondness, despite the fact that the Don has had his wicked way with her and cast her aside. And certainly, the luscious young Zerlina (soprano Carla Huhtanen) can appreciate his charms, despite the fact that she’s about to be married to the loving and lovable Massetto (played by Sullivan as well) when she catches the Don’s eye and becomes his most recent prey. All of this, of course, means great fun for the Don, even while it drives his long-suffering manservant, Leporello (baritone Vasil Garvanliev) to distraction — until finally, the hell-raising Don gets his otherworldly comeuppance and meets a fate that has seemingly been cast in stone.

It’s not always easy to stage, of course. In Lorenzo de Ponte’s libretto, elements of opera buffa and opera seria are blended in such seemingly haphazard fashion that many directors have been known to get so caught up in the shifts in tone that they’ve done themselves and their productions serious harm. Pynkoski, however, simply goes for the comedy, and sails right over the opera’s darker motifs, aided at every turn by the excellence and commitment of his cast.

Taken individually, both Addis’ and Garvanliev’s performances are strong, but the measure of their excellence is in their scenes together — and while Huhtanen, Dye and Sullivan all prove equally adept at meeting the comedic demands of the script, the entire cast truly shines in facing the complex demands of Mozart’s score — a score that offers a wonderful range of duets and arias to showcase their talents. Meanwhile, conductor Stefano Montanari finds the pulse of Tafelmusik’s talented musicians and cranks it up for maximum effect, creating a Don that is nothing short of delightful.