Salzburger Festspiele 2024
Großes Festspielhaus, Salzburg, 19 August 2024
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Don Giovanni
Teodor Currentzis is one of the most interesting and talented of the younger conductors under the age of 60, not least because he is unwavering in his approach, refusing to bow to media pressure to make political statements against Putin, but remaining stubbornly silent. And he proudly accepts the fact that many organisers no longer invite him, or even disinvite him.
In this respect, it is a great stroke of luck that Markus Hinterhäuser, the artistic director of the Salzburg Festival, does not allow such exclusions, because Currentzis and his Utopia Orchestra performed Don Giovanni with such freshness and vitality, including the necessary drama, as I have not been able to experience for a long time.
At the same time, I got to know Currentzis as a stylistically very versatile artist, whom I have had the honour of experiencing with excellent interpretations of late romantic symphonic music. Unlike with Mahler, Bruckner, Tchaikovsky or Stravinsky, where he is committed to the traditional orchestral sound with his orchestras playing on modern instruments, he prefers the style of historical performance practice for Mozart. This makes sense, as the baroque and early classical style of his predecessors still shines through in Mozart’s operas, especially in the fortepiano recitatives.
Where the music is played on strings and with much reduced vibrato, it certainly conveys a more intimate sound than a modern symphony orchestra, and when you consider that Don Giovanni was first performed in a very small theatre in Prague, now the Estates Theatre, it seems very authentic. The Großes Festspielhaus in Salzburg, on the other hand, seems much too big – the Utopia, with its correspondingly smaller cast, seems a little lost in the huge pit.
In the 1970s, Mozart operas were usually performed in the Kleines Festspielhaus, now the Haus für Mozart, or in the Felsenreitschule. But then, of course, it would have been difficult to satisfy the huge demand for tickets, and any additional performance would probably have put a strain on the festival’s budget.
In any case, this elastic, subtle, sometimes chamber-music-like playing brings out delicate details that are often only noticed in passing, such as the virtuoso obbligato cello solo that accompanies the first Zerlina aria ‘Batti, batti, o bel Masetto’. And what a range of colours there are in the musical expression, which Currentzis always pushes to the limit: the great tenderness in Don Ottavio’s arias, sung with lyrical beauty by Julian Prégardien, the terrifying drama in the opening chords of the overture and in the entrance of the Commendatore. Or the tremendous verve of Giovanni’s champagne aria, which Davide Luciano sings with virtuosity and at breakneck speed.
All in all, Currentzis not only conducts the orchestra with great dedication, but also gives the singers cues – sometimes with his back to the stage, always keeping an eye on what is happening onstage – which, sadly, is no longer a matter of course. And although I usually take offence when conductors add extra music to a self-contained score, an excerpt from Mozart’s Dissonance Quartet, with its mysterious mysticism, fits in harmoniously before the graveyard scene in the second act.
Unexpectedly, I like Romeo Castellucci’s production better than I had hoped. It is true that many of today’s props, such as the upside-down car in the first scene and a photocopier for Leporello’s register aria, seem superfluous. But the interior of a magnificent Renaissance building in widescreen format as a backdrop – at the beginning a church interior completely emptied of building workers, including the cross and statues of saints, before the overture begins – is appealing. Aesthetically, you have to hand it to the Italian: Castellucci, who is responsible for the sets and costumes as well as directing, has good taste. He doesn’t need jeans or worn-out clothes to make the characters modern. Although there are sometimes too many female extras on stage, some scenes are poetic: the bucolic landscape with a pile of bright red apples where Zerlina and Masetto get married, surrounded by peasants, is somewhat reminiscent of the legendary Giorgio Strehler.
The characters are all excellently cast and true to type. In addition to those already mentioned, Anna El-Kashem is recommended as Zerlina with her beguilingly beautiful top notes, Nadezhda Pavolova as Donna Anna with a somewhat small soprano, but heavenly beautiful, crystal clear colouratura and a slender vocal line. Federica Lombardi sings an emotionally agitated Donna Elvira with equally secure high notes and a slightly harsher colour. Kyle Ketelsen gives a profound, agile Leporello.
Even if some details raise questions, such as why Ottavio keeps changing shape, once as a clown with a dog, Castellucci’s imagery and characterisation largely harmonise with the libretto and score, and that is saying a lot these days.
All in all, a very inspiring, appealing production with excellent music-making and singing all round. Mozart’s vibrant music, with all its eroticism, drama, longing and tenderness, resonates wonderfully with Currentzis. This is deservedly being celebrated in Salzburg. Markus Hinterhäuser will hopefully not miss out on a continuation of this successful collaboration. Currentzis currently has no other venue for opera productions in Western Europe. In this respect, Salzburg will play a very important role in his future work. Such a talent should not be held back!
