Fairfax, VA—Even in these tough economic times, the Virginia Opera has managed to pull together a marvelous, well-sung, virtually photogenic production of Mozart’s enduring classic, “Don Giovanni.” The company, whose permanent home is in Norfolk, Virginia, took the show on the road to the George Mason University Center for the Arts this weekend before making its final stop in Richmond.

We caught Friday evening’s performance (February 26, 2010), and are we’re delighted to pronounce it a notable success. The singers came to play sing. The orchestra—a subset of the Virginia Symphony—quite literally knew the score. And the sets and costuming were as colorful and opulent as they could be without spilling too much red ink. Opera fans who prefer traditional productions of classic operas will greatly appreciate the company’s efforts in this regard.

In the popular entertainment world, the term “greatest” has been bandied about so much that it’s lost much of its impact. (I’m waiting any day now for a CD of Lady Gaga’s “Greatest Hits.”) Even in the presumably more rarified world of classical music and opera, partisans of this composer or that musical era are quick to avail themselves of the term in order to endlessly promote their favorites and demonstrate their erudition.

That said, however, Mozart’s tragicomic masterpiece, “Don Giovanni,” has probably come closest to garnering a consensus from both critics and audiences as the greatest opera ever. To be sure, a lot more tears have been shed over “La Bohème’s” Mimi than will ever be wasted on the despicable Don. But librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte’s tight, almost postmodern plot--brought to life by Mozart’s musical genius but tempered by his essential humanity--is an almost perfect seriocomic morality tale that translates brilliantly to the stage.

“Don Giovanni” is great theater and great comic opera. But what comic opera starts out with a brutal, senseless murder and concludes with its protagonist dragged into the fires of hell by the spirit of the man he killed? The swirling minor key scales in Mozart’s orchestral accompaniment constitute perhaps the most chilling passages the composer ever wrote. There’s a genuinely menacing dark side to “Giovanni,” a deep, disturbing complexity that sets it apart from other operas in this time period.

Today we’d probably regard something like “Giovanni” as a dark or “black” comedy, an entertainment that’s sometimes funny yet in an unpleasant, discordant way. But in Mozart’s time, this level of moral ambiguity was something new and daring for opera. Perhaps that’s one of the reasons why it still resonates for us today.

Yet “Giovanni” is still loaded with bawdy comic touches sandwiched between the nasty parts. We continue to be amazed at the Don’s utter amorality and the near-complete stupidity of the rubes—peasants and royalty alike—who fall for his tricks again and again. But that’s life, isn’t it. (We do continue to routinely re-elect incompetents incumbents to Congress from both parties, right?)

Adding to “Giovanni’s” Ben Jonson-esque sense of fun, the straight-man Don’s sidekick in this operatic buddy-movie, Leporello, gasses things further with an almost endless supply of excellent Da Ponte one-liners. Abbott and Costello never did it better. Comic shtick aside, however, most Mozart fans come to hear “Giovanni” for the vast and endless greatness of its music.

Primary and secondary characters alike in this opera have plenty to sing, too, both in solo and ensemble. So there’s no place for a poor vocalist to hide. The Virginia Opera, fortunately, is fielding one of their strongest casts ever in this production. They work as a team to make this “Giovanni” a memorable one.

Baritone Matthew Worth was superb as Don Giovanni, interpreting the priapatetic nobleman as a cool psychopath who enjoys a heavy dash of comic irony in his personal relationships—to the point of imagining his countless conquests are always grateful for his abuse and subsequent abandonment. His interplay with his servant, Leporello, imaginatively sung by bass-baritone Daniel Mobbs, was entirely callous, lighthearted one moment, menacing the next. The gradual distance that grew between them was an inevitable result. (The fact that the Don nearly gets Leporello killed on more than one occasion also doesn’t help.)

Mr. Worth’s well-supported voice was authoritative yet subtle, creating a sense of villainy that's strictly under control. As his hapless foil, Mr. Mobbs unveiled an instrument that was notably supple and bell-clear even in its lower range. His comic chops were also impressive.

While the Don’s innate depravity is usually the focal point of this opera, this production, under the direction of Lillian Groag, never lost sight of the musical and dramatic variety that’s built in to the Don’s three primary female antagonists. Recognizing this, the Virginia Opera's spot-on choice of three terrific divas is a major reason for this production's success.

Soprano Nicolle Foland sang the role of the obsessively aggrieved Donna Anna with great dignity and force, giving her character far more spunk and authority than is generally the case in this opera. Hers is a fine, lyric voice, delicate yet well-supported, capable of imbuing her character with just the right proportions of vulnerability and fury.

Soprano Cristina Nassif, long a favorite of area opera fans, added some mature vocal heft to her role as Donna Elvira, whom she portrayed as still conflicted about her notably poor life choices. Surprisingly, Ms. Nassif was slightly careless in her execution of Elvira’s more rapid vocal excursions. Aside from these minor glitches, however, her superb, burnished delivery remains a major highlight of this production.

Soprano Sarah Jane McMahon’s portrayal of the peasant girl Zerlina provided an interesting twist on a character that is usually regarded as a naïve innocent and an easy mark for the lecherous Don. Ms. McMahon’s Zerlina is impetuous, imperious, yet not altogether world-wise. But she knows what she wants and generally gets it--after a mistake or two. Vocally, Miss McMahon’s voice was the sweetest and lightest-textured of the three sopranos singing in this production which is a perfect match for her classic country-girl character.

The remaining cast members also turned in fine performances, including tenor Chad A. Johnson (Don Ottavio), baritone David Krohn (as a much put-upon Masetto), and bass Nathan Stark (Commendatore), whose chilling return as the Stone Guest/ghost added the right dose of gravitas to the opera’s graphic finale.

Mr. Johnson’s voice, however, seemed to lose a bit around the edges near the end of the evening. But “Giovanni” is a long opera. Perhaps he was tiring a bit.

A special hat tip to all the soloists for the nearly uniform high quality of their diction. Some productions don’t pay enough heed to this, correctly figuring that many listeners don’t know Italian or other opera languages very well anyway. But attention to such details adds to the quality of any production. It was gratifying to see and hear it in this one.

The orchestra played expressively under the baton of Joseph Walsh. The chorus turned in a decent performance in its limited role. But their singing at times was barely audible. The addition of just a few more singers would have made their presence more robust.

As to the production itself, John Pascoe’s costuming, originally designed for the Michigan Opera Theater, was attractive without being too fussy. It was evocative of the opera’s period setting while not slavishly conforming to every minute historical detail.

We’ve often admired the clever scenic designs of Erhard Rom, and the Virginia Opera certainly got their money’s worth by working with him here. His set—primarily a series of moving columns that glide silently to and fro to effect the opera’s rapidly changing scenes—functioned here with understated elegance, evoking the mood and the period without requiring an extravagant budget to construct.

Mr. Rom’s most imaginative creation, however, was his attention-getting rear curtain, a huge unfurling rose painted in the manner of Georgia O’Keefe with all the psychosexual implications therein. As the moods of the opera changed, the lighting altered the flower’s color to reflect them. It was a brash, attention-getting, yet subtly romantic way to emphasize the feminine sensibilities that lie at the heart of this opera.

Mozart fans can catch “Don Giovanni” one more time—Sunday, February 28, 2010—if you move quickly. If you don’t mind jumping in your car, you can also catch it next weekend in Richmond’s fabulously, fabulously restored Carpenter Theater. Details below.

Rating: *** (Three stars)

The Virginia Opera presents Mozart's "Don Giovanni." Tickets: $48-98 for the final GMU performance, Sun. Feb 28 at 2pm at the Center for the Arts on the campus of George Mason University, Fairfax, VA. For tickets and information, click here.

Tickets for next weekend's performances in Richmond at the fabulously restored Carpenter Theater range from $29-99. Performances are on March 5 and 7 (matinee). To purchase tickets to this venue, click here, call Ticketmaster at 1-800-982-2727, or call the Virginia Opera box office at 1-866-673-7282.

To access tickets and info directly from the Virginia Opera, click here.

Virginia Opera's next attraction: "Porgy and Bess" at Mason April 23 and 25. Click here for details.

This article is the copywritten property of the writer and Communities @ WashingtonTimes.com. Written permission must be obtained before reprint in online or print media.

REPRINTING TWTC CONTENT WITHOUT PERMISSION AND/OR PAYMENT IS THEFT AND PUNISHABLE BY LAW.