Murder,
seduction, eternal damnation,
and other secrets of the night.
According to his (not-so-little) black book, Don Giovanni has seduced 1,003
women in Spain alone. Over the course of a scandalously sinful day, his
misadventures come back to literally haunt him, as Mozart's brilliant score
whirls people in and out of the Don's midst. One of the greatest operas ever
written, Don Giovanni simply does not age. If you've never
seen it, come discover the glory of a piece that has been thrilling audiences
(and shocking a few of them) for over 225 years. If you've seen it less than
1,003 times, come see it brought to life afresh, with a young, vibrant cast.
Cast
Production
Conductor: Joseph
Mechavich
Director:
Elise
Sandell
Sung in Italian with
projected English translations
Run time: approx. 3 hours, including one
intermission
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The Story of the Opera
Spain, 1780s
ACT
I
Leporello, servant
to the nobleman Don Giovanni, keeps watch outside the Commendatore’s
home
at night. Suddenly, the Commendatore’s daughter, Donna Anna, rushes
out, struggling with the masked Giovanni and followed by her father. The
Commendatore challenges Giovanni to a duel and is killed. Giovanni and
Leporello escape. Anna asks her fiancé, Don Ottavio, to avenge her
father’s death.
Giovanni and Leporello encounter one
of Giovanni’s former conquests, Donna Elvira, who is devastated by
his betrayal. Leporello tells her she is neither the first nor the last woman
to fall victim to Giovanni and shows her his catalogue with the names of every
woman Giovanni has seduced. Peasants celebrate the marriage of Masetto and
Zerlina. Giovanni flirts with the bride, telling her she is destined for a
better life, but Elvira tells Zerlina to flee from him. She also warns Anna,
who is still unaware of the identity of her father’s murderer and has
asked Giovanni for help in finding the man. Giovanni, for his part, insists
that Elvira is mad, and Anna and Ottavio wonder what to believe. As Giovanni
leaves, Anna suddenly recognizes his voice as that of the murderer. Devastated
but determined, she once more asks Ottavio to avenge her. He wonders how to
restore her peace of mind.
Giovanni, who has invited the entire wedding party
to his palace, looks forward to an evening of drinking and dancing. Outside
Giovanni’s home, Zerlina asks Masetto to forgive her. Giovanni enters
and leads them both inside. Anna, Elvira, and Ottavio appear masked and are
invited in by Leporello. In the ballroom, Giovanni dances with Zerlina, then
tries to drag her into the adjoining room. When she cries for help, Giovanni
blames Leporello. Anna, Elvira, and Ottavio take off their masks and, along
with Zerlina and Masetto, accuse Giovanni, who is momentarily surprised but
manages to slip away.
ACT
II
Having exchanged
clothes with Giovanni, Leporello takes Elvira on a nighttime walk, leaving his
master free to serenade her maid. When Masetto arrives with a band of peasants
to hunt down Giovanni, the disguised Don sends them off in various directions,
then beats up Masetto. Zerlina finds her bruised fiancé and comforts
him. Later that night, Leporello—still believed by Elvira to be
Giovanni—is surprised by Anna, Ottavio, Zerlina, and Masetto, who all
denounce the supposed Don. Fearing for his life, Leporello reveals his true
identity before making his escape. Ottavio proclaims that he will take revenge
on Giovanni and asks the others to look after Anna. Elvira thinks about
Giovanni, whom she still loves in spite of everything.
In a cemetery, Giovanni
and Leporello meet the statue of the Commendatore, who warns Giovanni that by
morning he will laugh no longer. Giovanni forces the terrified Leporello to
invite the statue to dinner. The statue accepts. Once again, Ottavio asks Anna
to marry him, but she replies that she will not until her father’s
death has been avenged. Elvira arrives at Giovanni’s palace and makes
a last desperate attempt to persuade him to change his life, but he only laughs
at her. The statue of the Commendatore enters and asks Giovanni to repent. When
he boldly refuses, he is consumed by flames. Elvira, Anna, Ottavio, Zerlina,
Masetto, and Leporello appear, contemplating their futures and the fate of an
immoral man.
-Courtesy of Opera News
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Recommended recording of Mozart's Don
Giovanni.
Recommended DVD of Mozart's Don
Giovanni.
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Kelly Markgraf
Don
Giovanni
Madison
Opera Debut
Recently: 2nd Japanese Envoy, Le Rossignol (Boston Symphony
Orchestra); The Count, Le Nozze di Figaro (Kentucky
Opera); Malatesta, Don Pasquale (Hawaii Opera); Papageno,
Die Zauberflöte (Apollo’s Fire Baroque
Orchestra)
Upcoming: Soloist, Bach Cantata BWV 60 (Los Angeles Philharmonic); Ned Keene, Peter Grimes (Aspen
Music Festival); Ping, Turandot (Hawaii Opera Theatre)
Website: http://kellymarkgraf.com/
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to Overview
Matt Boehler
Leporello
Madison Opera Debut
Recently: Hotel Manager, Powder Her Face (New York City Opera); Sarastro, Die Zauberflöte (Theater St. Gallen); Sparafucile, Rigoletto (Minnesota Orchestra and Theater St. Gallen); Bass Soloist, Kepler (Spoleto Festival USA); Fyodor Drebednov, Moscow Cheryomushki (Chicago Opera Theater); Nourabad, The Pearl Fishers (Hawaii Opera)
Upcoming: Pope, Attila, Count De Horn, Un Ballo in Maschera, and Marchese, La Forza del Destino (Theater St. Gallen); Sir Walter Raleigh, Roberto Devereux and Don Quichotte cover, Don Quichotte (Canadian Opera Company)
Website: www.mattboehler.com
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Elizabeth Caballero
Donna
Anna
Madison Opera Debut: Micaëla,
Carmen
Recently with Madison Opera: Violetta,
La Traviata
Recently: Cio-Cio-San, Madama Butterfly (Lyric Opera of Kansas City); Mimì, La Bohème (Central City Opera); Liù,Turandot (Austin Lyric Opera and Lyric Opera of Kansas City); Magda, La Rondine (Florida Grand Opera); Nedda, Pagliacci (Nashville Opera)
Upcoming: Mimì, La Bohème (Seattle Opera); Alice, Falstaff (Virginia Opera); Violetta, La Traviata (Florentine Opera); Anne Trulove, The Rake’s Progress (Brazilian Symphony Orchestra); Nedda, Pagliacci (Hawaii Opera Theater)
Website: http://www.elizabethcaballero.com/
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Caitlin Lynch
Donna
Elvira
Madison Opera Debut: Opera in the Park 2012
Recently: Donna Anna, Don Giovanni (Pittsburgh Opera); First Lady, Die Zauberflöte (Dallas Opera); Countess, Le Nozze di Figaro (Lyric Opera Baltimore); Eliza, world premiere of Dark Sisters (Gotham Chamber Opera); Micaëla, Carmen (Seattle Opera); Konstanze,Die Entführung aus dem Serail (Arizona Opera)
Upcoming: Biancafiore, Francesca da Rimini (Metropolitan Opera); Athena, L’Orestie (University Musical Society - Michigan); Donna Anna, Don Giovanni (Green Mountain Opera Festival)
Website: www.caitlinelynchsoprano.com
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Wesley Rogers
Don
Ottavio
Madison Opera Debut
Recently: Don Ottavio, Don
Giovanni (National Theatre Opera Prague); Tamino, Die
Zauberflöte (Crested Butte Music Festival), Belmonte,
Die Entführung aus dem Serail (Semperoper
Dresden)
Upcoming: Belmonte, Die
Entführung aus dem Serail (L'Opéra National de
Montpellier and Opéra de Liège, Belgium)
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John Arnold
Masetto
Recently with Madison Opera: Acis and Galatea, Un Ballo in Maschera,
Galileo
Galilei
Recently: Joseph De Rocher, Dead Man Walking (Boston Opera Collaborative); Ensemble,
Acis and Galatea and Count De Horn, Un Ballo in
Maschera (Madison Opera) Angelotti, Tosca
and The Father, The Prodigal Son (Kentucky Opera); Bob
Beckett, H.M.S.
Pinafore (Opera New Jersey); Leporello,
Don
Giovanni and Schaunard, La
Bohème (UW-Madison)
Upcoming: Colline, La Bohème and
Pierre Monteux, Danse Russe (Kentucky
Opera)
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Nathan Stark
Il
Commendatore
Madison Opera Debut
Recently: Leporello, Don Giovanni (Opera Grand Rapids); Nourabad, The Pearl Fishers (Virginia Opera); The King,Aida (Virginia Opera); Friar Laurence, Roméo et Juliette (Dayton Opera); The Bonze, Madama Butterfly (Arizona Opera), The Speaker, Die Zauberflöte (Cincinnati Opera)
Upcoming: Hunding, Die
Walküre (Dayton Opera); Il Commendatore, Don Giovanni and Pope, Barberini, & Simplicio, Galileo Galilei (Cincinnati Opera)
Website: http://www.nathan-stark.com/
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Joseph Mechavich
Conductor
Madison Opera Debut
Recently:
Lucia di
Lammermoor (Dayton Opera); Così fan tutte (Pine Mountain Music Festival); Moby Dick (Calgary Opera and San Diego Opera); Le Nozze di Figaro, Tosca, Don Giovanni (Kentucky Opera); Così fan tutte (Pine Mountain Music Festival); Pagliacci (Mill City Opera); Roméo et Juliette (Florida Grand Opera); Susannah (Florentine Opera)
Upcoming: Roméo et Juliette (Intermountain Opera); Lucia di Lammermoor (Opera Saratoga)
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Elise Sandell
Stage
Director
Madison Opera Debut
Recently: Associate Director for Aida, Carmen, Elektra, Don Pasquale, and Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (Lyric Opera of Chicago); New Arrivals (Houston Grand Opera); Così fan tutte (Portland Opera)
Upcoming: Susannah (Opera Idaho)
Website: http://www.elisesandell.com/
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Angela Mannino
Zerlina
Madison Opera Debut:
Recently: Garsenda, Francesca da Rimini and Yvete cover, La Rondine (Metropolitan Opera); Fairy Godmother, Cendrillion (Kentucky Opera); Papagena, The Magic Flute (Dallas Opera); Oscar, Un Ballo in Maschera (New Orleans Opera)
Upcoming: 1st Esquire/Flowermaiden, Parsifal (Lyric Opera of Chicago)
Website: http://www.angelamannino.com/
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Synopsis
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