{"id":3614,"date":"2017-06-05T08:31:11","date_gmt":"2017-06-05T07:31:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.larkreviews.co.uk\/?p=3614"},"modified":"2017-06-05T08:33:33","modified_gmt":"2017-06-05T07:33:33","slug":"opera-holland-park-don-giovanni","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/?p=3614","title":{"rendered":"Opera Holland Park: Don Giovanni"},"content":{"rendered":"

I must have seen a dozen Don Giovannis<\/em> since I last saw one traditionally set in the eighteenth century. And they get ever more ingenious and imaginative. I suppose it says something for the timelessness of this story of hedonistic amorality, revenge and justice. Oliver Platt\u2019s version for OHP is set on a luxurious 1930s cruise ship which provides a certain plausibility as the Don seeks further seductions to add to his list. And Neil Irish\u2019s set gives us a long narrow deck with lots of doors, some of which open to provide mini rooms and most of it slides away to create a communal area for strolling, deck chairs, dancing, quoits and so on.<\/p>\n

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Ashley Riches is the most imposing looking Don I\u2019ve ever seen. Taller than anyone else on stage, he brings a charismatic loucheness to the role which \u2013 unusually \u2013 means you can actually see why so many women fall for him, at least initially. He also sings beautifully of course. The seduction aria addressed to Zerlina (Ellie Laugharne \u2013 good) and accompanied by James Ellis on mandolin is utterly delightful, not least because it\u2019s so simple and contrasts well with the more complex work, in duet with Leporello (John Savournin) for example. Savournin finds all the right chagrin, loyalty, wonder, distaste and jealousy to the role and the list number is fun with the numbers chalked up on the quoits score board as he goes.<\/p>\n

Victoria Simmonds\u2019s impassioned Donna Elvira ensures that the audience feels real sympathy for this woman who has been \u201cruined\u201d and cast aside. There\u2019s nice work from Lauren Fagan as Donna Anna especially in that nasty rape scene, played partly on stage in this version, at the beginning. It must be quite a challenge to sing when you\u2019re sideways on the floor with your cheek pressing down and a very large actor on top of you. This production doesn\u2019t pull many punches or invite much sympathy for this serial seducer\/rapist. The murder of Il Commendatore ( Graeme Broadbent) is pretty graphic too.<\/p>\n

Don Giovanni stands or falls on the strength and staging of its ending. Full marks for this one in which Broadbent\u2019s basso profundo avenger is like Stephen Berkoff playing Banquo\u2019s ghost and pretty damn terrifying.<\/p>\n

Warm praise too for the costumes. Themed in amber, yellow, beige and dark red the passengers\u2019 clothes are a visual feast, particularly the Chanel- style trousers and Fagan\u2019s pink silk dressing gown. This is a show which looks as good as it sounds. Dane Lam draws huge amounts of finely drawn detail from his orchestra and it\u2019s fascinating to watch the meticulous way he supports singers by mouthing almost every word.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I must have seen a dozen Don Giovannis since I last saw one traditionally set in the eighteenth century. And they get ever more ingenious and imaginative. I suppose it says something for the timelessness of this story of hedonistic … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3614"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3614"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3614\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3619,"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3614\/revisions\/3619"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3614"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3614"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3614"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}