Don Giovanni at Teatro Real: the libertine's last moments in the dark forest.

Every performance held on 23rd December at the Teatro Real has something special. Christmas is around, and spectators have their last opera night the day before celebrating the Nochebuena(a Spanish word for Christmas' night) with the family. Years ago I saw in this day Siegfried and Luisa Miller, usually the last performances of their runs, unlike in the recent ones, lasting until early January. This year, I returned for another December 23 performance, but with Mozart's Don Giovanni, which returns to Teatro Real after a 7-year absence, then with the scandalous and static Dmitri Tcherniakov's staging from Aix-en-Provence, outraging the audience.

              

Now it returns with the famous production from the 2008 Salzburg Festival, directed by Claus Guth, who sets the action into a deep, sometimes a bit foggy, dark forest at night, in a rotating circular stage. In this version, we witness the last two hours of Don Giovanni's life, after being shot by the Commendatore, inside out the original plot. The work is actually the flashback of his dissolute life, full of irresponsible, and evil deeds. Christian Schmidt's sets recreate a dense and sinister fortest, more proper of Siegfried (scheduled in Madrid for February 2021) than Giovanni's Sevilla. Like its predecessor, this staging shows a the seducer as a man using compassion to lure women's attention. If Tcherniakov's DG is an alcoholized bourgeois, Guth's DG is an underclass rascal, but both more able to inspire repulse than fascination. However, they succeed. And unike Tcherniakov's, Guth's Don Giovanni has something of the unconsciousness, selfishness, narcissisism of Da Ponte's libretto, under the appearance of a dying thug. He is present in every situation affecting his victims: he is flirting with Donna Anna outside her car, luring her to him, while Ottavio sings Dalla sua Pace, or he appears in some point of Catalogue aria, in front of Leporello and a distraught Donna Elvira. Dark, poor costumes, the appearance of a bus-stop- like wooden shelter, or the junkie aspect of Leporello and Don Giovanni suggest a gloomy ambiance, making that forest unbearably sordid. At the end, snow falls and the Commendatore returns from the death, and Don Giovanni finally dies, falling into the grave dug by the statue itself, much to Leporello's grief and despair.

For this occasion, and as the production team chose in Salzburg, the work is presented in the original Prague version, without the Il mio tesoro aria, and specially without the final happy-ending epilogue created for the Vienna premiere, finishing with Don Giovanni dragged to Hell. Today it's usual to finish with the epilogue showing the characters feeling their lifes empty without him, but one hundred years ago, it was usual to perform the opera without the epilogue, giving it a romantic ending, much of the taste of the audience of those days. 

Ivor Bolton conducted the orchestra at a such an accomplished mozartian level, never heard before in this orchestra, much to my amazement. From the Overture, the strings had a shining sound, a brilliant agility, fit for Mozart's operas, specially in the Fin ch'an dal vino and Batti, Batti arias. The brass and woodwind sections succeed too: in the Final scene, the clarinets sounded strongly and splendidly in the celebration playing the themes of other operas included in the score, and the trumpets sounded wagnerian, too powerful. The percussion had an impressive, full of grace sound during the complete performance. Just a great rendition, making Bolton probably the star of the night. The chorus had a good performance, in their small interventions, specially during the Zerlina's entrance and the final male choir of devils.

Christopher Maltman, a renowned Don Giovanni, premiered this staging in 2008 at Salzburg. Twelve years later, he has already taken worldwide his portrayal of this decayed protagonist. He is correct vocally, with a good volume, and he knows the character, singing well his aria Fin ch'an del vino and the serenata Deh Vieni alla Finestra, alongside the mandolina beautifully played by James Ellis. 

Erwin Schrott also premiered this staging as Leporello in 2008, alongside Maltman. This is his signature role: he knows it very well, with a great sense of humor, well sung and acted, living the character. His volume is generous, as well as his voice, an accomplished bass-baritone, a hilarious portrait, but human at the same time, crying desperately at the end, for his master's destiny. While singing, accomplishedly, the catalogue aria, I had a déjà-vu remembering when he sang this piece at the same stage during the concert for Plácido Domingo's 70th Anniversary. 

Anett Fritsch, invited regularly to Madrid for singing Mozart roles (Last January she sang an interesting Pamina here), is an interesting Donna Elvira with her beautiful, dramatic voice and also good low notes, but a but light in the aria Mi tradì quell'alma ingrata. Brenda Rae was a good Donna Anna, with a tender, well-sung rendition of the Non mi dir, bel idol mio. Mauro Peter as a correct Don Ottavio started well his Dalla Sua Pace, but his voice tone seems heavy for this role pretending to be lighter. Krysztof Baczyk as Masetto was sometimes surpassed by the orchestra but his rendition of Ho capito, signor sì was well performed, conveying his impotence at losing his fiancée. Louise Alder as Zerlina had a nice tone and singing singing the Batti, Batti o Bel Masetto, but sometimes a bit trouled in high register. As an actress, she was convincing, having the appearance suitable for the role. Tobias Kehrer had the voice, had the low register, had the appearance for the Commendatore, but he lacked volume, making his final scene sometimes not as frightening as supposed.

At the end, the audience seemed to have been enjoyed the show, judging by their enthusiastic final applause, specially for Schrott and Bolton. In a Madrid in which despite the increase of cases of covid, operatic life tries to be reprised, even with. In an Europe with all its venues closed, life goes on for Madrid opera houses, theatres and symphonic halls, which is itself a great Christmas present.

My reviews are not professional and express only my opinions. As a non English native speaker I apologise for any spelling mistake.

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