Don Giovanni from Aix-en-Provence

[volcanohunter]

Arte Live Web will stream Mozart's Don Giovanni live from the Aix-en-Provence Festival on Monday, July 5, at 21.25 local time, or 3:25 p.m. ET.

Don Gionanni: Bo Skovhus

Leporello: Kyle Ketelsen

Donna Anna: Marlis Petersen

Donna Elvira: Kristine Opolais

Zerlina: Kerstin Avemo

Don Ottavio: Colin Balzer

Masetto: David Bizic

Commendatore: Anatoli Kotscherga

Conductor: Louis Langrée

http://liveweb.arte.tv/fr/video/Don_Giovan...ix-en-Provence/

If you're unable to watch it live, Arte streams are usually available on demand within 24 hours of being broadcast.

[Helene]

Marlis Petersen is the soprano who took over the role of Ophelia in the Met "Hamlet" this past season after Natalie Dessay withdrew for medical reasons. She worked on the role while singing another in Europe, and after that run finished, took an exhausting trip to NY where she had one day of stage rehearsals in the new production before singing in it.

Bo Skovhus' Don should be easy on the eyes and ears.

[dirac]

Much obliged as always for these alerts, volcanohunter.

[volcanohunter]

Here are a couple of TV reports about the production. I'm only slightly familiar with the work of director Dmitri Tcherniakov, namely the Bolshoi production of Evgeniy Onegin that Galina Vishnevskaya hated so much, but from what little I've seen, he sure seems to have a thing for setting operas in wood-paneled interiors.

http://videos.tf1.fr/jt-20h/don-giovanni-revisite-a-aix-en-provence-5904578.html

http://culturebox.france3.fr/#/opera/25033/le-don-giovanni-de-tcherniakov-ouvre-aix-en-provence

http://culturebox.france3.fr/#/opera/24907/aix-en-provence-s_ouvre-sur-don-giovanni

[dirac]

volcanohunter writes:

but from what little I've seen, he sure seems to have a thing for setting operas in wood-paneled interiors.

I'll say. Looks like the opera was staged at the white-shoe Giovanni Law Firm, P.C. Thanks for those links.

[dirac]

Bumping this up as the broadcast is tomorrow.

[dirac]

Anyone see/hear it?

[volcanohunter]

The opera's just started. I'm often surpised by the revisionist takes directors take with operas, particularly when you'd think the libretto wouldn't allow it. From what I gather, in this production the Commendatore is the father of Donna Anna and Don Ottavio is her fiancé. So far so good. But Donna Anna is a middle-aged woman and Zerlina is her daughter; Masetto is still her fiancé. Donna Elvira is Donna Anna's cousin, and she's married to... Don Giovanni.

[Helene]

In the opera Donna Elvira claims to be Don Giovanni's betrothed, and considers herself his wife. To make Zerlina Donna Anna's daughter is a big stretch, since she and Masetto are supposed to be peasants. Did Donna Anna have an illegitimate child, whom she farmed out to a peasant family, or does she live in the big house?

[dirac]

I just went to the site again. The commenters there seem mostly underwhelmed.

[volcanohunter]

Did Donna Anna have an illegitimate child, whom she farmed out to a peasant family, or does she live in the big house?

Everyone lives in the big house. The staging seems to be concerned primarily with turning the piece into a family soap opera. Obviously the idea of Don Giovanni trying to seduce his wife's niece is pretty creepy.

[dirac]

Creepy perhaps, but it happens surprisingly often in real life where pretty nieces are concerned.

[Helene]

And no one would confuse "Don Giovanni" and "boundaries" (except for gender).

[volcanohunter]

I just went to the site again. The commenters there seem mostly underwhelmed.

The reaction of the audience was pretty typical: cheers for the performers (except for Skovhus, who got some boos) and a hail of disapproval for the director. That seems to happen a lot these days.