A flawed but interesting Don Giovanni from Garsington Opera

By Mark Valencia, 31 May 2019

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Reviewed at Garsington Opera, High Wycombe on 30 May 2019

Mozart, Don Giovanni

Garsington Opera

Douglas Boyd, Conductor

Michael Boyd, Director

Tom Piper, Set Designer

Jonathan McGovern, Don Giovanni

David Ireland, Leporello

Camila Titinger, Donna Anna

Sky Ingram, Donna Elvira

Mireille Asselin, Zerlina

Trystan Llŷr Griffiths, Don Ottavio

Thomas Faulkner, Masetto

Paul Whelan, The Commendatore

Garsington Opera Chorus

The Gascoigne Orchestra

A radically trad Fidelio at Garsington

Peter Quantrill, 27th June

Simple solutions prove the best in Beethoven's "problem" opera as John Cox's staging is revived at Garsington.

****1

Ravishing Rodelinda: Handel al fresco at Garsington Opera

Roy Westbrook, 13th June

Ruth Knight untangles Handel's Rodelinda, directing a new staging at Garsington which features a feast of fine singing.

****1

Three card trick: compelling new Queen of Spades at Garsington

Roy Westbrook, 29th May

Jack Furness directs a terrific new Queen of Spades at Garsington – haunting and harrowing.

****1

Garsington’s L’elisir d’amore: Dr Feelgood wins the day

David Karlin, 28th May

Simon Higlett’s exquisite sets and costumes give a backdrop to Donizetti’s frothiest of rom-coms.

****1

Madcap comedy from Verdi: Un giorno di regno at Garsington

David Karlin, 29th June

Christopher Alden, Chris Hopkins and an excellent cast send us a comic roller coaster ride with Verdi’s ultra-rarely performed second opera.

*****

Garsington Opera's new A Midsummer Night's Dream

Roy Westbrook, 16th June

In the first and last acts, ladies entered with a train still attached to a bolt of cloth, which was then cut to length by an attendant. Was this production brought to the stage in a great hurry, allowing no time for costume fittings?

***11

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Mark Valencia

Mark has worked in arts journalism for four decades, both as a writer and as a French-English translator. Nowadays he focuses his energies on reviewing opera and music. Mark also writes for Opera magazine and for Musical America as a correspondent for Europe and the UK.

Mixed emotions: a flawed but interesting Don Giovanni from Garsington Opera