Don Giovanni
Royal Opera House
La Rondine
Peacock Theatre
This latest revival, for which the opening night received a great deal of publicity, and which began with Tony Hall, the Royal Opera’s chief executive, welcoming Sun readers and bidding them to come again — but at what price? — sported as distinguished a cast as any the production has had during its six years, and Charles Mackerras in the pit; yet it failed to achieve any momentum, and if it had succeeded, it would have lost it shortly after acquiring it.
I’d be interested to know to what extent the revival director Duncan Macfarland got the singers to develop their own conceptions of their roles. I ask primarily because Simon Keenlyside, who was in strong, supple vocal form, presented the Don as so repulsive a figure that even a dumb and starry eyed Zerlina, such as we had in Miah Persson, would have recoiled rather than been tempted.
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