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November 3, 2006 > Arts & Entertainment > Impeccable Don Giovanni triumphs

Impeccable Don Giovanni triumphs

By Andrea Leyton-Mange | For the Thresher

The Houston Grand Opera has started its 2006-‘07 season with a fantastic success. Mozart’s 1787 masterpiece Don Giovanni showcases timeless drama, laugh-out-loud humor and some of the best vocal music ever written.

Don Giovanni was Mozart’s second collaboration with Italian librettist Lorenzo da Ponte after their wildly successful Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro) premiered in Vienna the year before. The legend of Don Juan, the lustful womanizer of Seville, serves as the basis for numerous operas. But the version by Mozart and da Ponte is beyond comparison.

From the very first moments of the production, Don Giovanni captures the audience’s emotion and attention. The HGO orchestra is flawless during the overture, which is notably darker than those of Mozart’s other comic operas. Within five minutes of the first singer’s entrance, the audience witnesses a seduction and attempted rape, a violent pursuit, swordfighting and murder. The deep, believable characters and thoughtful music allow the action to alternate effortlessly between serious drama and riotous comedy.

Young Polish baritone Mariusz Kwiecien owns the stage as Don Giovanni in his HGO debut. He is seductive, conniving, thoughtless and astoundingly likable. Kwiecien’s intense but tender voice can be heard brilliantly over the orchestra throughout the theater, and his clear language and tone adapt easily to the varying styles of his duplicitous character. His strong presence on stage and the sweetness and sincerity of his courtship songs make the thought of Giovanni’s thousands of female conquests unsurprising, if undeserved.

Soprano Ana Maria Martinez does an admirable job as Donna Elvira, one of Don Giovanni’s former lovers who attempts to expose his crime and deceit. The role suits Martinez like none other she has performed in Houston in recent years. Her vocal tone is sensational and consistent, blooming in her upper middle range and narrowing beautifully for Mozart’s notoriously difficult high passages. Martinez also brings out the humor of her character’s interaction with Giovanni without losing the audience’s sympathy for her as a victim of betrayal.

Baritone Oren Gradus plays Don Giovanni’s servant and comic sidekick Leporello. Gradus’ portrayal of Leporello — a character who cannot decide whether he is more afraid of his master or his enemies — is funny and creative. Gradus’ sound is pleasant and conversational, but his lower range is sometimes lost in the large hall.

Soprano Alexandra Deshorties, who plays Donna Anna for the second time in her career, has good dramatic instinct and a substantial voice, but her singing became labored in her sustained arias. Promising young lyric tenor Garrett Sorenson is an enjoyable Don Ottavio, and Raymond Aceto as the Commendatore delivers well one of the most famous lines in all of opera.

Conductor and HGO music director Patrick Summers heads this excellent production. There are some minor timing issues — mainly involving the singer Deshorties, who missed a portion of the rehearsal period due to illness. Regardless, the HGO’s production of Don Giovanni’s strengths vastly overwhelm a few minor weaknesses.

Don Giovanni will be playing at HGO through Nov. 11. It is sung in Italian with English surtitles and would make a fantastic introduction to opera.

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