Mozart, Mischief and Mayhem Abound in Santa Fe

The Don (Ryan Speedo Green) propositions Zerlina (Liv Redpath) in Act 1 of Santa Fe Opera's production of Don Giovanni.

REVIEW

Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Crosby Theater, Santa Fe Opera, Santa Fe

ERICA MINER

The unfinished portrait of Mozart
by his brother-in-law Joseph Lange
from 1782, five years before the
composition of Don Giovanni.

As part of its 2024 season, Santa Fe Opera is presenting a beloved favorite often called the greatest opera of all time: Mozart’s dark comedy, Don Giovanni K. 527. In an intriguing new production by returning director Stephen Barlow, the opera features a stellar cast of singers, who had great command of their famously arduous roles and handled the ornamental enhancements in their arias and recitatives with impressive facility.

Intimidating, ominous, yet universally appealing, the Don has been compared to such iconic bad boys as Casanova and Dorian Gray. Three-time Grammy Award winner Ryan Speedo Green, one of today's most high-powered operatic bass-baritones, took on the devious Don for the first time in his career with an aplomb and vocality that demonstrated how well qualified he was for that prestigious recording prize.

Ryan Speedo Green (Don Giovanni).

Known for other dark roles such as Wagner’s Flying Dutchman and Mephistopheles in Gounod’s Faust, Green brings a devilish vocal and dramatic excitement to the Don that grabs the viewer and listener by the throat. He was born to play the character, and he has it down: the cavalier arrogance, the egocentricity, the stubborn refusal to acknowledge any authority but his own. Green’s vocal range is remarkably consistent from top to bottom, and his overall performance was electrifying from beginning to end. His Fin c’han dal vino brought down the house. After such a thrilling rendering, the anticipation of his Wotan in the company’s 2025 Walküre is palpable.

Nicholas Newton (Leporello).

As his beleaguered servant Leporello, former company Apprentice Nicholas Newton, doing double duty this season in the role of Jacob in the premiere of The Righteous, held his own as a vocal foil to the over-the-top Green. His range was remarkable, from the profound lower notes to the clarion high notes, which rang out through the house. Newton posed a dramatic/comedic challenge to the Don with his upbeat perspective, interpreting the role with the appropriate combination of comic flair and theatricality. Comedically, he was impeccable, milking the humorous lines for all their worth.

The cast also featured an impressive list of soprano leads: former Apprentice Rachel Willis-Sørensen in her Santa Fe Opera role debut as Donna Anna; the company debut of Rachael Wilson as Donna Elvira; and former Apprentice Liv Redpath as Zerlina.

David Portillo (Don Ottavio), and
Rachel Willis-Sørensen (Donna Anna).

Willis-Sørensen, who made her SFO debut in 2010 as an Apprentice in the role of First Lady in Mozart's The Magic Flute, negotiated the difficult tessitura and heavy duty fioratura of Donna Anna, the grieving daughter and conquest of the Don, with full, rich voice—astonishing, given her glittering performance as the Marschallin in the previous night’s Der Rosenkavalier.

The role of Anna is Wagnerian in its demands, and Willis-Sørensen delivered superbly. The high “D” in one of the arias was extremely well done, but it seemed an unnecessary strain on the voice when she had more major singing to do that evening.

In her SFO debut, Wilson gave a sympathetic portrayal of the long-suffering Elvira, although her Freudian hysteria seemed exaggerated at times. Vocally, she displayed a good command of the fioratura, which in many ways is as challenging as that of Donna Anna, and her voice was powerful enough to cut through the heavier moments of orchestration; but some of the slower tempi were challenging in terms of the long vocal lines required of the role.

Rachael Wilson (Donna Elvira).

As Zerlina, Redpath used her pure, true tones to advantage in authentic Mozartian style, with a pleasing combination of purity and heft in every register. The voice was wonderfully consistent, a delight to hear; and Redpath’s interpretation of Zerlina's character was charming.

Tenor David Portillo’s Don Ottavio was as classically refined as his Italian singer in the previous evening’s Der Rosenkavalier was Italianate. The role and his voice were perfectly suited. Portillo has many of iconic tenor Fritz Wunderlich’s qualities in voice, timbre and interpretive skill. The second of his arias, the hugely difficult Il mio tesoro, has defeated many a tenor. Portillo’s rendition was achingly beautiful and an unqualified pleasure to listen to.

Basses William Guanbo Su (Masetto) and Soloman Howard (Commendatore) contributed depth to their characters. Masetto tends to be overlooked, but Su brought a convincing aggressivity to the role, both vocally and dramatically. The Commendatore’s commanding presence, though he appears onstage only at the beginning and end of the opera, was enhanced by Howard’s profound bass voice. At once terrifying and sympathetic, his all-too short appearances onstage left an indelible impression.

Harry Bicket.

To say that company music director Harry Bicket is a world-recognized expert in Mozart would be an understatement. Past seasons with the company include panoplies of classical as well as romantic works. In Giovanni he helmed stage and pit with grace and an obvious deep knowledge of the style, but also with an ease that kept the momentum going without feeling driven. The tempi in the iconic overture were brisk and effective, but some of the arias were taken at a slower, less effective pace.

With so much manic activity onstage in the Act 1 finale, it was difficult to determine whether there were indeed three stage bands; one also missed seeing the Act 3 stage banda playing onstage rather than hearing them from the pit.

Barlow’s Giovanni takes place in the Victorian London of Oscar Wilde’s Picture of Dorian Gray, seen from the perspective of the disturbing novel depicting the evil, disdainful personage in question, thus holding up a mirror to the unsavory ethics of the protagonist. The director’s vision emphasized the dark side more than the comic side of the work’s dramma giocoso genre.

The late Victorian mise en scène, with Masetto (William Guanbo Su) jealously accusing Zerlina
(Liv Redpath) of infidelity with the Don.

Barlow's directorial interpretation of the Don’s sheer evil allows for no doubt as to the appropriateness of the character’s demise, though one would have preferred a more satisfying death scene. Leaving the body on the floor with Anna and Ottavio sitting down to dinner alongside it, rather than the Don being dragged to hell, detracted from the effect of the climax.

The scenic and costume designs by Yannis Thavoris, traditionally elegant and sophisticated for the period and highlighted by sweeping skirts and stylish top hats, allowed for both the graceful and dramatic movements characteristic of each individual role.

Company veteran lighting designer Christopher Akerlind’s effects, such as those in the chilling entrances of the Commendatore’s ghost, were dramatic but not overstated, while  Mitchell Harper’s choreography was entertaining to watch in the Act 1 party scene, with just the right measure of mischief and mayhem.

The ensemble cast for Don Giovanni.

For tickets to subsequent performances through August 23 of Mozart’s Don Giovanni, visit www.Santafeopera.org, or call 800-280-4654 or 505-986-5900.

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Crosby Theater, Santa Fe Opera, 301 Opera Drive, Santa Fe, NM, Saturday, August 3, 2024, 8:00 p.m.

Images: Mozart: Wikimedia Commons; The production: Curtis Brown Photography.