Pr0n Giovanni

So we went to see Don Giovanni yesterday. As the review had said there were some “interesting” directorial choices in the staging. Oh, the singing was fine for the most part (aside from yet another somewhat reedy tenor) and Daughter and Bride agreed that both Don Giovanni and Leporello were stud muffins.

I guess the one thing I sort of liked about the staging was the cyclical nature, how the tableaux that opens the opera also closed it, showing that even though this particular Don Giovanni is gone there will be another to replace him because the fickle and corrupt fallen nature of Man will always allow it, will always fall prey to one with his charms and devices; indeed, we always want to be enchanted/enticed/ensnared in some way. But the staging itself was very barren, and the characters who were not singing moved in a very slow, stylized way which was…odd to my provincial sensibilities. I must give props to the lighting designer, because one neat aspect with the staging was how the shadows of the characters interacted on the walls in a manner that was somewhat different from how they were interacting on stage yet perhaps more evocative of their true meanings…that was well done.

But what turned me off about the overall experience was the over-the-top gropey lewdness. Hands were constantly on breasts (not mine), under skirts, in pants and crotches, and various sexual acts were pretty graphically simulated on a dining room table next to a casket. I mean, was this really necessary? I don’t think so. It was cringe-inducing and added nothing to the production; in fact it took a lot away.

As did the idiot sitting next to me who kept humming along to several of the melodies. Like I paid good money to come and sit next to him to listen to him. Ass.

5 Responses to “Pr0n Giovanni”

1. major dad says:

   November 23, 2009 at 9:16 am

   Don Giovanni? Bing, we need to talk…

2. JeffS says:

   November 23, 2009 at 9:31 am

   Hands were constantly on breasts (not mine)…

   Your hands or your breasts?

3. Mr. Bingley says:

   November 23, 2009 at 9:35 am

   A certain level of ambiguity helps me maintain that aura of mystery, Jeff.

   And it was dark.

4. gregor says:

   November 25, 2009 at 6:16 am

   the opera crowd ain’t what it used to be. and, as is the way of the modern world, the “imaginative” productions these days leave a lot to be desired in some instances, as you’ve experienced. I don’t make seeing some experimentation, like the Met’s mid-eighties production of “Carmen”, in a setting of the Spanish Civil War, which gave some interesting depth to the character of Don José, but I think what you’re describing is a bit beyond what is necessary. I was born in the wrong times, I guess.

5. gregor says:

   November 25, 2009 at 6:17 am

   make that “I don’t mind seeing…”.
   too early. not enough of the bean.