Don Giovanni 

Reviewed by Paul Birchall 
Pacific Opera Project 
Through April 22 

RECOMMENDED 

In the movie Theatre of Blood, a theater critic arrives at a derelict warehouse, ostensibly to see a production of Julius Caesar.  It’s a trap, of course, and the movie’s villain has arranged for him to be ambushed in the filthy ruins by a crowd of maniacal bums who stab him a hundred times.  As I pulled up to the derelict loft building where the Pacific Opera Project production of Mozart’s opera Don Giovanni was to be performed, these were the thoughts that briefly flitted through my mind. 

I need not have worried, naturally, for even though the company’s warehouse location for this production is in a truly fearful part of downtown (in the pre-show announcement, they warn quite explicitly about not leaving one’s car in the lot overnight), the actual environs of the show are wonderfully luxurious.  Pacific Opera Project has developed the talent for making operas of the traditional canon hip again – and it’s a joy.  The inside of the downtown loft was turned into a sprawling picnic area, with tables covered with delicious Italian cold cuts and bottles of wine.  In this a wonderfully relaxed atmosphere, we’re treated to a first rate production of Mozart’s thrilling opera of excess and moral compass spinning.  It’s like Opera in the Park, except it’s urban and cool.  And the loft’s acoustics were terrific.

The wine is delicious and so are the cold cuts, but this is also a production of Don Giovanni that displays its chops where it counts, with national caliber performers assaying fully realized, shrewd, and powerful performances under the baton of skillful conductor Ryan Murray.  Director Josh Shaw sets the 18^th century opera in the world of Prohibition Era gangsters, with the cast caparisoned in designer Maggie Green’s 1930s “Dick Tracy”-style fedoras and trenchcoats (for the men), and moll gowns for the gals.  It’s an update that mostly works – Green’s pastel colors craft a lovely comic book feel for the opera – though I can’t help that feel the opera is occasionally shoehorned into the context.  During scenes in which characters awkwardly pull pistols on other characters, or engage in Godfather-like menacing for little reason or return, the mob world setting is more of a distraction than a natural fit.

And yet, the performances are compellingly good, from Adrian Rosas’ deliciously wicked Don Giovanni.  He has a powerful baritone that chills, and accompanies it with a leering smile and a simmering sexuality that’s mischievously sociopathic.  He plays Giovanni as a mob boss, used to throwing his weight around to get what he wants, and that gives his character a menace that adds to his sensuality.  As his sleazy assistant Leporello, E. Scott Levin combines great comic timing with his gorgeous bass.  His disgust at his master’s doings mingles with his lust to do some of the same.  As the much abused women in Don Giovanni’s life, Saira Frank’s lovely (and, in this production) tragic turn as the innocent, but soiled Donna Anna is delightful, and so is Daria Somers as the ferociously vengeful (until her final beautiful moment of forgiveness) Donna Elvira. 

The Vortex, 2341 E. Olympic Blvd, Los Angeles; Fri., 8 p.m. Sat., 7:30 p.m., Sun 2 p.m.; through April 22. https://www.pacificoperaproject.com/dongiovanni. Running time: three hours and 15 minutes with an intermission.