The idea of travelling, say, around Austrian music festivals or visiting Italian opera houses would cause little surprise to anyone. But the start of the concert season in the Urals this year proved to be so surprising and so popular that it was clearly necessary to don our winter coats and set off on a musical tour across the Urals.
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Don Giovanni. Viva la liberta!
The train takes five hours to cross the Urals, and you arrive at the frontline of European art. The Perm Opera and Ballet Theatre under the direction of Teodor Currentzis. What are the latest trends? What is on the horizon? What, I will be explaining in different countries in different languages over the course of this season, have they once again taken the liberty to do? Along the way they have been fending off minister Gladnev, waiting for Romeo Castellucci and Markus Hinterhäuser at the next Diaghilev Festival, and accepting invitations from Ruhrtriennale and Salzburg. The Sony Classical recording of the first opera from the Mozart — Da Ponte trilogy — Le nozze di Figaro – has already won the prestigious ECHO Klassik award. Cossi Fan Tutte is coming up for release shortly. And now the final part of the trilogy — Don Giovanni — is being staged. The CD will be released next year. And all three operas will be performed one after the other on the Perm stage in late November. With lutes and fortepiano, stringed instruments with gut strings, and 18th century style free vocal flourishes. Oh, and along together with this now habitual use of historically accurate musical instruments tuned to 430 Hz, it’s time to re-learn the Italian names of Mozart’s operas.
Each production has been created by different imported teams in completely contrasting styles. Over the past two years it has become clear that a typical directorial concept is not to be expected. This Perm Mozart project, which is in the first place, a conductorial project, and there is no need for us to repeat unnecessarily who the main hero of this project is. Nevertheless, Don Giovanni has proved an impressive theatrical statement, which simply won’t be brushed to the side. It has been set to stage by the long-standing member of the famous Catalan group «La Fura dels Baus» — Valentina Carrasco — whose style is allegedly playful, without timidity or overblown exaltation, full of scorching confidence and freedom. And it turned out to be spectacular: sensual, funny (the audience really did laugh out loud), sad, and very much alive despite the fact that mannequin-people are at the centre of all the action.
There are many real mannequins in the production. Complemented by noir visuals, they fill a cleverly darkened stage (the lighting designer is Peter van Praet) as if part of the scenery (the set design is by Carrasco herself and Esterina Zarrillo). Amongst them their staff wander around, as, in fact do the characters of Mozart’s opera, so there is no difficulty in getting lost or mistaking identities, as the plot requires. Bodies laden with womanly roundness available wholesale and retail, make ideal illustration for the Leporello’s «Catalog Aria». At the same time the mannequins are a symbol of death. There is nothing unexpected said about the main hero, but the character is played very convincingly, informally, unpretentiously and competently. Don Giovanni is the embodiment of freedom — he does what he wants, seeks out those he wants, has fun, does not stand back, nor fear death and the constraints imposed by society. It is sad, though, that he has to perform his serenade to an inflatable doll. The charming and vital Simone Albergini is long familiar to Currentzis projects, and in the first of two casts the servant Leporello (Guido Loconsolo) is closer than the others to him in spirit — a witty bespectacled man in a cap, carrying with him a Cheburashka doll in his travel bag. The women, in this director’s version, are more inconspicuous, obscured, easily merging with the masses of mannequins. However, this does not prevent us noticing the vocal successes of the Perm singer Natalia Kirillova (Donna Elvira), and a brand new star on the horizon of Currentzis’ Mozart — Nadezhda Pavlova (Donna Anna).
Don Giovanni himself is the only character not wrapped in all kinds of orthopaedic corsets and bandages, and does not merge together with the mannequins. He stands out as a bright light on the general background (costume designer — Meta Bronski). Everyone who comes into contact with him receives a freedom vaccine — if not for long, then at least for a while they can enjoy the stunning, bright, liberating, albeit rowdy celebration that ends the first act. Towards the end the main — too free — hero is destroyed by the mannequin people, who remain -boring, insipid and sexually unsatisfied. But the banner with its celebratory slogan «Viva la liberta!» («Long live freedom!») — remains a symbol of the whole performance, and to the buzz and noise of the audience the artists appear on stage for their bows with this banner over their heads. And, it seems that the theatre is buzzing not only due to the Mozart that has appeared on its stage, but resonating to what is taking place outside too.