Rose revels in all the physical, even slapstick comedy that this important role demands while handling its considerable vocal demands - including patter song and intricate ornamentations - with commendable agility and seeming ease.Īll three of the women are fine singers, starting with Amanda Majeski, who has deservedly become something of a fixture at Lyric Opera. Particularly impressive are the giant rows of swooping grapevines outside Giovanni’s villa in Scene 3 of Act 1. The elaborate, highly realistic sets by Walt Spangler looks like portions of actual street buildings were moved onto the stage.

Instead, he simply presents this opera in a probing, straightforward way, doing an adroit job of threading the humor and darkness of this story and not shirking from the physically invasive - and sometimes disturbing - aspects of Giovanni’s conquests. Other than shifting the action to the 1920s, which works well, there are no dramatic gimmicks or contrivances. To be successful, a stage director need only trust and embrace this work, and that’s exactly what Robert Falls, artistic director of Chicago’s Goodman Theatre, has done here. Although Giovanni is obviously the opera’s central character, the heart of the story really focuses on a trio of women wronged by him - Donna Anna, Donna Elvira and Zerlina - whom Mozart and Da Ponte portray not as victims but as strong, #MeToo women reasserting their independence.

Lyric opera chicago don giovanni