DON GIOVANNI • MUNICH
★★★★★☆
Photo: Geoffey Schied
REVIEW DON GIOVANNI: A STUNNING, CONFUSING REINTERPRETATION
German director David Herman is risking his nose with a stunning reinterpretation of Don Giovanni at the Munich Staatsoper.
Photo: Geoffey Schied
An insistently different production of Mozart’s classic rolls across the stage in a bold, innovative stage design, held more or less in place by the excellent, permanent conductor Vladimir Jurowski’s sure grasp of Mozart’s magnificent score.
Herman’s staging is imbued with several ambitious, difficult-to-dechifer layers of extemporised context, which from the very first moment make the performance unconditionally original – and unconditionally difficult to get to grips with.
Herman reads the story backwards, so we meet Don Giovanni in a lava-bubbling hell, where he is ready for sex with an equally willing Donna Anna, who just needs to pop to the bathroom.
Photo: Geoffey Schied
Now something really strange happens. Two gods from the underworld, Proserpina and Pluto, appear in bright red suits, and as if by magic, Proserpina crawls into Don Giovanni’s body!
From then on, Don is possessed by the goddess visiting from the underworld. So there is a woman inside this womanising man!
Sometimes it seems that Proserpina allegedly feels pity for the other women she seduces in Don Giovanni’s guise, other times she finds cruel pleasure in her role.
Photo: Geoffey Schied
It all takes place in a modern, cool designer setting with impressive stage effects, such as when an entire wedding office at the town hall pops up from the stage floor by turning around itself on its way up into earthly reality. Of course, a gay wedding is also taking place and adding to the chaos.
Before that, Don has killed the Commendatore by snapping his forehead, after which a team of authentic paramedics rushes in with a defibrillator and modern ambulance equipment.
Proserpina’s jealous husband, the god of death Pluto, repeatedly interferes in the plot, which seems to float around in several simultaneous layers.
In the end, Pluto transforms himself into the dead commander and takes Don Giovanni back to hell. You are never completely sure what is going on.
Photo: Geoffey Schied
The director’s idea is skillfully executed, but rather hard to understand, apart from the vague references to the gender debate of the time.
Some critics call Hermans’ approach a shaky, mythological superstructure that adds surprise and subtle humour, but mostly unnecessary confusion. Does this make it a better opera?
Musically, the overall impression is strangely unresolved, without it being possible to put your finger on anything in particular. The German/Romanian baritone Konstantin Krimmel is strong in the title role, both vocally and dramatically, and the roles of Leporello, Donna Anna and Zerlina are played by singers of a high artistic standard.
Don Giovanni is an exciting but also challenging evening at the opera, where the courage to dare the sensational is nevertheless rewarded with five stars from GOT TO SEE THIS.
