"DON GIOVANNI," Brigham Young University School of Music, de Jong Concert Hall, BYU, Saturday
PROVO — "Don Giovanni" is Mozart's undisputed operatic masterpiece and arguably one of the most perfect operas ever written. The delineation of the characters, the fine balance between comedy and dark drama, the vocal writing and the sheer potency of the music combine to elevate this work beyond mere storytelling and transport it to a level of artistic excellence never seen before and only seldom since. "Don Giovanni" is Mozart at the height of his creative power.
Brigham Young University's school of music just completed a six-performance run of "Don Giovanni" Saturday, and while it was a resounding success vocally (Saturday's cast featured some exceptional singers), the production had one major flaw: For some inexplicable reason, Lawrence Vincent and his artistic team decided to stage it without the epilogue.
This is like performing a Bruckner symphony without the final tonic chord of the closing cadence. One is left dangling at the end waiting for a conclusion that never comes. The epilogue is crucial to Mozart's "Don Giovanni." It ties everything together and offers resolution.
Besides boasting some glorious music, the epilogue completes the work. Mozart and his librettist da Ponte knew what they were doing. The 19th century had problems with the epilogue — it didn't fit into the era's sensibilities. But the epilogue is vital. Don Giovanni made such a huge impact on the characters in the story, and his demise turned their world suddenly upside down. They need to come to terms with how their lives are going to be without him. And that's exactly what the epilogue offers: They visualize their future without Don Giovanni.
"Don Giovanni" is a demanding work for the singers, and fortunately BYU has the vocal talent to pull it off. Among the leads at Saturday's performance, four in particular stood out: Shea Owens in the title role; Rachel Willis-Sorensen as Donna Anna; Melissa Otani-Jensen as Donna Elvira; and Alainna Beus as Zerlina. They were vocally superb, and they brought depth and definition to their characters.
Owens seems destined to play Don Giovanni. The role is a natural for him. The same is also true for Otani-Jensen and Willis-Sorensen, who was doing double duty this past week. Not only did she star in BYU's production, she was also Kate Pinkerton in Utah Opera's just concluded run of Puccini's "Madame Butterfly."
Ben Boster as Leporello was also in fine form Saturday as was Adam Walton as the Commendatore and Nicolas Orrego as Masetto.
Joseph Olson as Don Ottavio sang his sole aria, "Il mio tesoro," with lyric charm, and the chorus sounded solid.
The BYU Philharmonic under the baton of Kory Katseanes played wonderfully, and Katseanes' tempos were well-chosen and kept the action onstage moving along at a nice pace.
E-mail: ereichel@desnews.com