| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Susan Loris, Director of Marketing & Public Relations
Phone: 414-225-1949
Email: sloris@florentineopera.org
Florentine Opera to Premiere New Production of Mozart’s Beloved Don Giovanni
What:
Don Giovanni by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
When:
Sunday, November 12, 2006 @ 2:30 PM
Friday, November 17, 2006 @ 7:30 PM
Saturday, November 18, 2006 @ 7:30 PM
Sunday, November 19, 2006 @ 2:30 PM
Where:
Marcus Center for the Performing Arts
929 North Water St., Milwaukee, WI 53202
Tickets:
Single tickets for Don Giovanni range from $25 to $138 and are available online at www.florentineopera.org; or by phone at 414-291-5700 ext. 224.
Supertitles:
Don Giovanni will be sung in Italian with English translations projected above the stage.
Description:
Long considered one of Mozart’s finest operas, attending the Florentine’s production of Don Giovanni is the perfect way to commemorate the 250th anniversary of his birth. Audiences will delight in the deliciously shocking exploits of the legendary lover and heartbreaker, Don Juan. This all-new production of the beloved classic, designed by Kris Stone, is a thrilling exploration of moral ambiguity, as Don Giovanni’s journey takes him from revelry to hellfire. An all-star cast, accompanied by members of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, will bring Mozart’s gloriously intricate score to beautiful life.
SYNOPSIS
ACT I
Scene 1- Leporello, Don Giovanni’s servant, complains about how difficult it is to have the Don as a master, due to his lustful and devious behavior (for which Leporello is often blamed). Suddenly, Don Giovanni bursts out of the house of Donna Anna, whom he has just attempted to rape. Anna’s father, an aging soldier, challenges Don Giovanni to a duel to avenge his daughter’s honor; Don Giovanni promptly kills him. Anna’s fiancé, Don Ottavio, tries to comfort her, and Donna Anna makes him swear revenge.
Scene 2- The next day, Leporello, after making the Don promise not to punish him for speaking his mind, tells Don Giovanni that he leads a scandalous life. When Don Giovanni becomes angry, Leporello changes the subject and begins discussing women with Don Giovanni. As the Don tells of his latest flame, Donna Elvira appears. The men hide as she rages at her betrayal at the hands of a scoundrel. Don Giovanni, not recognizing her, approaches, thinking her another conquest. However, she recognizes him as the man who married and abandoned her. She berates him, and the dismayed Don Giovanni sneaks away. Leporello stays to explain to her that she is not the only woman to suffer this fate and proceeds to list the Don’s ‘catalogue’ of women to Elivira.
Scene 3- A group of villagers celebrate the wedding of Zerlina and Masetto. Don Giovanni and Leporello admire the girls; the Don decides he is exceptionally interested in Zerlina, the bride-to-be. He invites everyone to enter his castle to eat, drink and celebrate. He then attains Zerlina, at the annoyance of a very jealous Masetto. Don Giovanni promises to marry Zerlina and charms her into becoming his lover. Donna Elvira reappears, warns the girl, and takes her away, just as Donna Anna and Don Ottavio arrive. Donna Anna seeks Don Giovanni’s help, not realizing that he is the man who murdered her father. Donna Elvira returns and tries to tell the others what kind of man the Don really is, but Don Giovanni convinces them that she is mad and takes her away. However, Donna Anna has realized from his voice that Don Giovanni is her attacker and the murderer of her father. She tells Don Ottavio what happened to her on the night her father was killed and again begs him to seek revenge. After the crowd disperses and he is left alone, Ottavio reflects on his love for her. Don Giovanni and Leporello reappear, and Leporello tells the Don how he got the villagers drunk and managed to lock Elvira out of the house. Don Giovanni is pleased with his servant and orders a huge party, then departs to prepare for the celebration. Masetto storms into the garden, accusing Zerlina of infidelity. Zerlina begs him to forgive her, telling him he can do anything he wants as long as they can be together. Masetto relents, but they soon hear Don Giovanni approaching. Zerlina becomes anxious, which makes Masetto suspicious and he hides to watch them together. The Don renews his attentions and tries to take Zerlina aside, but as they leave, they discover Masetto. Don Giovanni tries to cover up his intentions, explaining that Zerlina missed her husband and sends the couple off. Donna Anna, Don Ottavio and Donna Elvira enter in masks for the ball. Don Giovanni does not recognize them and invites them to the party. As the guests dance, Don Giovanni continues to court Zerlina. Leporello grabs Masetto and forces him to dance, so that the Don can dance with Zerlina and drag her away. Soon, Zerlina’s screams are heard, and Masetto and the others rush to find her. Don Giovanni enters and pretends that Leporello is the culprit. Don Ottavio, Donna Anna and Donna Elvira remove their masks and threaten Don Giovanni, who keeps them at bay with a sword. Using Leporello as a shield, he escapes.
ACT II
Scene 1- Don Giovanni changes clothes with Leporello and serenades Elvira’s maid, who is the new object of his affection. Elvira leaves with Leporello, thinking him the remorseful Don. Meanwhile, Don Giovanni stays behind, still disguised as Leporello, to ‘look after’ Elvira’s maid. Masetto arrives with a group of men who are intent on punishing Don Giovanni. Pretending to be Leporello, the Don tells the men how to find ‘Don Giovanni’ by directing the group down the path that Leporello and Elvira have just taken. Don Giovanni then uses a ruse to disarm Masetto and beats him half to death.
Scene 2-The Don and his servant meet in a graveyard, where a statue of the dead Commendatore (Donna Anna’s father) addresses them, telling Don Giovanni that the end is near and that he will exact revenge upon his murderer. Far from being afraid and repentant, Don Giovanni flippantly invites the statue to supper, and the statue accepts the invitation.
Scene 3-The scene changes for supper. Elvira tries once more to convince her husband to change his ways, but is unsuccessful. The statue arrives and demands the Don’s repentance. Unbending, Don Giovanni is dragged screaming to hell. Ottavio, Anna and Leporello address the audience with the moral: Evildoers always come to evil in the end.
ARTISTIC INFORMATION
Donna Anna / Laquita Mitchell
Soprano Laquita Mitchell is a member of the Houston Opera Studio, and while there she has performed several roles, including Valencienne in The Merry Widow, Javotte in Manon, First Lady in The Magic Flute, Barena in Jenufa, and Water in The Little Prince (world premiere). Additionally, she has appeared with Wolf Trap Opera as Alice Ford in Salieri’s Falstaff and as a soloist in Marsalis’ All Rise with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Additional engagements include Mimi in La Bohème with Cincinnati Opera, Clara in Porgy and Bess with Washington National Opera, and Donna Elvira with Wolf Trap Opera.
Donna Elvira / Elizabeth Caballero
Cuban soprano Elizabeth Caballero has been hailed by the San Francisco Chronicle as a "powerful diva in the making" and by The New York Times as a "promising artist." Some significant opera companies on her resume include, New York City Opera, Florida Grand Opera, San Francisco Opera and Opera Orchestra of New York. Ms. Caballero resides in Miami, FL with her husband Mauricio Martinez, where she studies private voice with tenor Manny Perez.
Zerlina / Anne Jennifer Nash
Anne Jennifer Nash is attracting attention among regional American opera companies as an exceptional young lyric soprano with an uncommon beauty of expression and musicianship. She has appeared with companies including New Jersey Opera Theatre, Lancaster Opera Company, the National Opera Company and The Opera Company of Philadelphia. Ms. Nash holds a Master of Music with a major in Voice and a Graduate Performance Diploma in Opera from the Peabody Conservatory of Music. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music and French from Dickinson College where she was Phi Beta Kappa, Magna Cum Laude.
Don Giovanni / Peter Volpe
American bass Peter Volpe has appeared to critical and popular acclaim on four continents. Possessing a vast and ever-expanding repertoire of over 80 roles in 6 languages, he commands an impressive expanse of style and interpretive skill. Companies he has performed with include Pittsburgh Opera, The Opera Company of Philadelphia, Santa Fe Opera, Arizona Opera, New Jersey State Opera, Central City Opera, Hawaii Opera Theater, and Connecticut Opera, among many others in both Europe and the United States.
Other notable members of the cast include:
Don Ottavio/ Jonathan Boyd, tenor
Leporello/ Eduardo Chama, bass-baritone
Commendatore/ Ethan Herschenfeld, bass
Masetto/ David Cushing, bass
Director / John Hoomes
John Hoomes is currently the General and Artistic Director of the Nashville Opera Association. He is also a free-lance Stage Director and has directed over 75 productions of opera and musical theater with such companies as Kentucky Opera, Cincinnati Opera, The Lyric Opera of Kansas City, The Opera Company of Philadelphia, Opera Memphis, Glimmerglass Opera, Indianapolis Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, Augusta Opera, Opera Festival of New Jersey, and Sarasota Opera. Mr. Hoomes received his Masters Degree from Indiana University.
Conductor and Artistic Advisor / Joseph Rescigno
The 2006-2007 season will be Mr. Rescigno’s 25th as the Artistic Advisor and Principal Conductor of the Florentine Opera Company. A frequent guest conductor, Maestro Rescigno has performed symphony and opera in cities on four continents. Descended from a long line of musicians, Maestro Rescigno resides in New York.
Set Designer/ Kris Stone
Kris Stone’s set designs have been seen throughout New York, the United States, Scotland, England and Ireland in over 100 productions, earning her numerous awards. Ms. Stone has designed venues at The Abbey Theatre in Dublin, the Yale Rep, Portland Stage, Chicago Opera Theatre, The Old Globe in San Diego and many venues Off Broadway in New York City. Ms. Stone holds a BFA from the Art Institute of Chicago and an AFA from The Yale School of Drama in stage design and is a life-long contributor to the Sallie Mae Student Loan Corporation. She has taught set and costume design at Vassar College, Swarthmore College and at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts.
THE FLORENTINE OPERA COMPANY
Milwaukee’s Florentine Opera Company is Wisconsin’s oldest and most enduring performing arts organization. It is also the fifth oldest opera company in the United States. Today Florentine audiences enjoy beautiful main stage productions each season that include first-rate vocal artistry, the visual excitement of elaborate, period authentic sets and costumes, high drama, light hearted comedy and superb choreography. Audiences also enjoy outstanding modern works such as the 1999 North American premiere of Lowell Lieberman’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, the 2002 Milwaukee premiere of Benjamin Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and the 2003 Florentine premiere of Richard Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde.
For additional artist biography information or to schedule an interview with any of the artists above, please contact Susan Loris, Director of Marketing & Public Relations at 414-225-1949. |
