The employment of artists with alleged links with Putin grabs headlines in the opera world. Thus, the decision of the Salzburg Festival to have Teodor Currentzis in the pit was sure to be controversial. However, if it was there was no indication of this from the audience at his return to conduct Don Giovanni, this time with his Utopia Orchestra.
The bold and lively Greek conductor produced an evening of orchestral pyrotechnics. Razor sharp waves of sound crashed through the vast auditorium, individual instrumentalists were given space to perform, and singers treated as luxurious jewels to shine.
Opulence is a byword for Salzburg. This was evident from both Currentzis’ conducting and the extravagant theatrical madness from director Romeo Castellucci. His vision is too detailed to analyse moment by moment, whether that is the Audi that is lowered to the stage or grand piano that crashes onto it, the increasingly bizarre costumes for Don Ottavio or attention-grabbing and brain-messing tableaux vivant he creates. Not only does the tenor have to sing a “wet “Don Ottavio but one with an obsession for whacky outfits. This excessive theatricality includes the introduction of theatrical interludes that extend the duration of the performance. One is the lengthy dismantling of the insides of a church, even before the music starts. Another is the chorus of hair waving witch-like ghostly figures as a scene is allowed to drag on after the music has long since stopped.
Add to this we have a live goat, several dogs, a rat and dismembered horses. Fortunately, the latter is only from statues. This is also the director’s coup de grace. Don Giovanni turns into a statue as he sings his own final aria but lip-synchs the Commendatore.
The sexuality of the piece is stressed even more than Mozart does. This involved two marionettes having sex, Zerlina tied up, two photocopiers scanning each other’s flatbeds, so electronically copulating. This contrasted with the emphasis on the emotion, pure revenge of the females.
The opulence of Salzburg enabled vast numbers of females to take to the stage. They either floated around in swathes of pink chiffon or stripped down to their undergarments, and of course, those witchy women. I did not count but apparently there were 150 women involved.
Davide Luciano sang an extremely manly Don Giovanni, vocally strong if a little lacking in elegance, such as in the intimate seduction scenes. The was a lack of chemistry between the master and his servant Leporello. Federica Lombardi thrilled just when she needed to, as a torn Donna Elvira, while Julian Prégardien sang Don Ottavio’s two gorgeous arias with crystal clarity. Castellucci’s adoration of pink flooded the stage for a show-stopping aria from Nadezhda Pavlova as Donna Anna. We may not have seen the Commendatore at the finale, but Dmitry Ulyanov sang with sonority and presence to match his lack of actual stage presence.
Whether this theatrical piece of hyperbole was the opera Don Giovanni or a study in mystical conceptual art did not matter too much when the singing and playing was of such quality.
Images: Monika Rittershaus
https://www.salzburgerfestspiele.at/en/tickets/calendar?season=143
Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Offenbach, Salzburg Festival review:
