Opera Cleveland - Don Giovanni @ State Theater 10/30/09

Unfortunately, not every hard-hit ball is a home run. We in Cleveland know that better than most folks. One can say the same for almost any endeavor—you win some, you lose some. Unhappily, in spite of major effort by all concerned, the final production of the 2009 season of Opera Cleveland, Mozart’s Don Giovanni ends up slightly off-base.

For the most part, the singing was excellent, but when singing actors are rushing frantically around the huge State stage, breathing becomes a necessity. The orchestra conducted by Dean Williamson sounded great, and the mandolin accompaniment (by violinist Priscilla Eva) to the Don’s big aria in the final section was totally charming, adding much to the mood of the scene.

The minimalist sets by Kris Stone worked well, for the most part, although at times, listeners were shaking their heads, trying to discover the meaning of a particular element or two. They were different, that’s for sure. Leporello’s ‘catalog aria’ took on entirely new meaning when long strips of paper bearing the names of the Don’s victims unrolled to the floor of the stage. The lighting by Noele Stollmack was excellent, especially the stars and the huge moon! Costumes, coordinated by William Byron Smith, were bright and colorful and mostly appropriate.

Soprano Janinah Burnett was a dignified and appealing Donna Anna, the first of the Don’s victims with whom we become acquainted. It’s her father, the Commendatore (bass Scott Conner, who did double duty, also serving as Masetto) who tangles with Don Giovanni (bass-baritone Robert Gierlach) and loses, thus becoming the stone statue that comes to life in the final scenes. Donna Anna’s fiance Don Ottavio was sung in stalwart fashion by tenor Jonathan Boyd.

Too bad soprano Alyson Cambridge’s Donna Elvira couldn’t completely capture the Don; she might well have brought him to his knees with her feistiness! (But then, to slightly renovate the title of another of Mozart’s operas – some men are like that! Always on the hunt.) Bass-baritone Matthew Burns was excellent as Leporello, convincing as himself, or when masquerading as his boss.

Cleveland favorite, mezzo-soprano Fenlon Lamb was entirely believable and charming as Zerlina. Although it’s a toss-up for a while if she’ll succumb to the wiles of the Don, she remains faithful to her Masetto.

No one is listed as having prepared the largish chorus, which sang and acted enthusiastically throughout. There were also busy supernumeraries and five dancers, who also remain anonymous.

There is one remaining performance of Don Giovanni, at 8 pm on Saturday, Nov. 7. For tickets or information about the upcoming season visit the web-site: http://www.operacleveland.org or call 216.664.6065.

From Cool Cleveland contributor Kelly Ferjutz, who writes: My most recently published book is Ardenwycke Unveiled (e-book and trade paper). Cerridwen has another contemporary romance from me, But Not For Love, currently available only as an e-book, but perhaps will be in print next year. I hope to soon get around to completing some of the 30+ incomplete books in my computer!

By the way, Cerridwen has also accepted two of my short stories in their Scintillating Samples (complimentary reads) area: Song of the Swan and Unexpected Comfort. I love photography as well, as you can see here. Occasionally I teach writing workshops and sometimes do editing or ghostwriting on a free-lance basis. But over and above everything else, there's always been the writing. I can't imagine my life without it.