Here's something you might be interested in.
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed
Big Screen — Movie commentary
Blurt — Music's inside track
Booze News — San Diego spirits
Classical Music — Immortal beauty
Classifieds — Free and easy
Cover Stories — Front-page features
Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes
Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts
Feast! — Food & drink reviews
Feature Stories — Local news & stories
Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore
From the Archives — Spotlight on the past
Golden Dreams — Talk of the town
The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it
Letters — Our inbox
Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites
Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans
Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists
Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news
News Ticker — News & politics
Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated
Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna
Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated
Poetry — The old and the new
Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers
Reading — The hunt for intellectuals
Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails
San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds
SD on the QT — Almost factual news
Sheep and Goats — Places of worship
Special Issues — The best of
Street Style — San Diego streets have style
Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves
Theater — On stage in San Diego this week
Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative
Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work
Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego
Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads
Your Week — Daily event picks
The Don(ald) Giovanni
Don Giovanni abuser of power at Opera Neo
Modern day Don Giovanni?
It’s been an operatic week in mid-August. There was Opera Wednesday, then on Thursday I went to The Elixir of Love at Point Loma Opera Theatre, and on Saturday night I caught Don Giovanni presented by Opera Neo.
Video:
Don Giovanni
Viva la liberta
I have been hearing good things about the Neos but haven’t been to a one of their summer festival shows since 2012. Back in 2012 the performance was a series of scenes from various operas. Things have changed since then.
What I saw on Saturday night was a fully staged, nearly uncut production of Don Giovanni with chorus and orchestra. It was impressivo.
The production was updated to the present day. It’s a smart move as it makes the show more relevant in some ways and for sure saves on the cost of costumes. Characters can pretty much wear their own wardrobe. Not only does it make fiscal sense, I’m sure the singers are more comfortable in their own clothes than the tights and pantaloons of a traditional Giovanni production.
The venue was outdoors at the amphitheater of the Palisades Presbyterian church in La Mesa. Since the performance was outdoors the production was microphoned. I’m not sure how the attendance was at the previous performances but the one on Saturday was basically sold out.
The singing of the cast was consistently excellent but difficult to gage in the outdoor setting with the microphones. This was the first time I’d heard a full opera production with microphones and I’ll admit it takes some getting used to. At least it did for me.
Bernardo Bermudez, in the title role, gave us a deliciously degenerate Don. Bermudez did not shy away from Don’s more lecherous moments but gave us a full helping.
Don Giovanni is a bad guy, but bad guys never believe that they are bad, except for Iago. Iago believes in an evil God and all that mess. Don Giovanni believes in everything he does and might even consider himself a liberator (viva la liberta), but in the end he is an abuser of power and position.
Some things never change. I can think of at least one public figure who considers himself a liberator, but some of us aren’t too sure. His name is also Don.
Here's something you might be interested in.
The Don(ald) Giovanni
Don Giovanni abuser of power at Opera Neo
The Don(ald) Giovanni
Don Giovanni abuser of power at Opera Neo
Modern day Don Giovanni?
It’s been an operatic week in mid-August. There was Opera Wednesday, then on Thursday I went to The Elixir of Love at Point Loma Opera Theatre, and on Saturday night I caught Don Giovanni presented by Opera Neo.
Video:
Don Giovanni
Viva la liberta
I have been hearing good things about the Neos but haven’t been to a one of their summer festival shows since 2012. Back in 2012 the performance was a series of scenes from various operas. Things have changed since then.
What I saw on Saturday night was a fully staged, nearly uncut production of Don Giovanni with chorus and orchestra. It was impressivo.
The production was updated to the present day. It’s a smart move as it makes the show more relevant in some ways and for sure saves on the cost of costumes. Characters can pretty much wear their own wardrobe. Not only does it make fiscal sense, I’m sure the singers are more comfortable in their own clothes than the tights and pantaloons of a traditional Giovanni production.
The venue was outdoors at the amphitheater of the Palisades Presbyterian church in La Mesa. Since the performance was outdoors the production was microphoned. I’m not sure how the attendance was at the previous performances but the one on Saturday was basically sold out.
The singing of the cast was consistently excellent but difficult to gage in the outdoor setting with the microphones. This was the first time I’d heard a full opera production with microphones and I’ll admit it takes some getting used to. At least it did for me.
Bernardo Bermudez, in the title role, gave us a deliciously degenerate Don. Bermudez did not shy away from Don’s more lecherous moments but gave us a full helping.
Don Giovanni is a bad guy, but bad guys never believe that they are bad, except for Iago. Iago believes in an evil God and all that mess. Don Giovanni believes in everything he does and might even consider himself a liberator (viva la liberta), but in the end he is an abuser of power and position.
Some things never change. I can think of at least one public figure who considers himself a liberator, but some of us aren’t too sure. His name is also Don.
Comments