Don Giovanni (Mathew Whitmore, senior music major) meets his fate during rehearsal Tuesday. CU Opera's Don Giovanni plays Friday through Sunday in Macky Auditorium. (CU Independent/Jeff Wagner)
CU Presents is taking on the Opera “Don Giovanni” at Macky Auditorium Friday through Sunday.
Music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Libretto (text) by Lorenzo Da Ponte, this 18th century opera tells the story of Don Giovanni, a knight whose goal is to have as many women as he can.
Beginning with Don Giovanni trying to rape Donna Anna and in the process, killing her father when he tries to defend her, this opera presents a story that surprises audience members to this day.
After fleeing the scene, he attempts to “seduce” a peasant bride, Zerlina, who manages to fight him off. Her fiancé Masetto becomes his mortal enemy. A former conquest—or victim—of Don Giovanni, Donna Elvira, wants revenge. His enemies join in a conspiracy against him.
The opera’s story is not easy for modern audiences to identify with; Don Giovanni’s power is in Mozart’s music and the cast sang and acted well.
The standout performances both vocally and dramatically are Wei Wu as Leporello and Margaret Higginson as Donna Elvira in important comic supporting roles.
Above the stage, an English translation of the libretto was projected for the audience. This made it easy for those new to opera to understand what was going on.
The cast and orchestra for Don Giovanni rehearse Tuesday night. CU Opera's Don Giovanni plays Friday through Sunday in Macky Auditorium. (CU Independent/Jeff Wagner)
Jimmy Luthye, a 20-year-old sophomore psychology major, said the subtitles really helped him understand the show.
“It was my first time seeing an opera,” Luthye said. “I thought it was a completely different experience. It was a little hard to get into. But the talent was great and so was the music.”
The set design and the costumes were excellent, and the final scenes of the opera were beautifully done and captivated the audience.
“This is probably the best college production I have seen,” Ashley said. “It had much better music and costuming.”
Lucy Lyford, a 20-year-old sophomore international affairs major, said this was her second time seeing the opera.
“It was great,” Lyford said. “I liked it a lot better the second time because I understood the story much better than I did when I was younger. It had better costuming and much better singing than the first production I saw.”
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Brigid Igoe at Brigid.igoe@colorado.edu.
