It has been 5 years since the Don has been seen in Southampton, yet with a new production for 2011 much of the sparkle from last time seems to have been lost. The fundamental flaw with this production is that *whispers* nobody has informed the production team that Mozart and his librettist da Ponte created this opera as a black comedy and not tragedy. This turns what should be an evening of musical excitement and frivolity into one which is rather slow and mundane not helped by John Caird's static direction and John Napier's dingy sets. James Southall in the pit certainly did little to help matters, rarely have I heard the WNO orchestra so below par. The fabulous overture in particular became a real drag while all too few musical sparks flew out during the evening. Although ill, David Kempster made the eldest looking and unsexiest Don I've ever seen, at least David Soar's Leporello added a bit of life to the evening. As the 2 females of the Don's conquests Camilla Roberts and Nuccia Focile were vocally ill at ease although rose to the challenge during their central arias. The real stars of the evening were Robin Tritschler and Gary Griffiths purely on the strength of the voices. Robin's 'il mio tesoro' was the highlight of the evening displaying impeccable breath control and vocal timbre. This will no doubt be the weakest of the trio of works this week continued with Katya tonight.
Jonathan
Hampshire