Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-01-01
NEWS OF MUSIC
Giovanni to Continue
DC. ribute toMozort

bovine, Sc1SuOuS anu JedlOuS-a
Ottavio his foil, irresolute,
and yet beset by no doubts
the successful product of Sc
ville's church and school. Zer-
lima. the attractor Of GiovaIl-
nj. the distractor Of Masetto.
the feline equal of Leporello.
who lacks but a palace to be .
Pompadour. The Commenda-
tore. father in the first act,
divinity in the second, stuffy
in both.
And then there is Don
Giovanni the catalyst that
brings all the others to life.
He is a gentleman and .
sensualist, a friend. a lover
and q master. It seems to me
that the actors who portray
him as a sort Of sex-ridden
Mephistopheles limit him to
the point where all the action
of the opera seems insignifi-
cant and unmotivated.
Other Variations Also Popular
But. alas, this explanation
of the power of Don Giovan-
nj" can hardly be the true one,
for Mozart's and da Ponies
reworking Of the old story,
while it rs probably the most
vivid and human, is only one
Of many that have been popu-
lar since the Spanish monk
and playwright. Tirso de Mo-
lima, in 1880 first concocted
the tale of the retribution of
the stone guest.
Other plays. stories and
operas based on the legend.
by Moliere, Goldoni. Shad-
well, Dumas. Byron. Merimee.
and the musicians Gazzaniga,
DargomiZhsky, and GOosens,
to name but some, have
almost invariably proved
successful.
It must be something more
basic in the story that has
attracted the world, for an
improvised, authorizes moral
ity play can hold its audience.
If the subject be Don Gio-
vanni." no less than the result
of the combined genius Of
Mozart and Da Ponte.
Emphasis on Lighting
Like the National SYM
phony's Cost fan lutte" Of
last season. Don Giovanni"
will not be a concert perform
ance but viii be acted under
the direction of William Voren-
berg. There will be the barest
minimum of scenery and cos
tune. continuity and mise-en-
scene being suggested to the
sensitive concertAgoer by light
ing.
Mozart's original score for
the Prague production will be
used, uncut and unaltered.
This version contains one aria.
IN milo tesoro," not found in
the final revision made by the
composer for the Vienna pro-
duction, and lacks three num-
bers added later.
Mozart was highly aware OF
the limitations and capabil-
tiles of his individual singers,
and frequently revised his
operas to suit the talent at
hand. The fact that he dis
carded N milo tesoro' is no
evidence that he thougNt the
aria inferior. and today it
would take CONSIDERABLE te-
merity to choose between it
and its substitute, "Dalla sua
pace"
Galloway 10 Conduct
Paul Galloway, who con-
Quoted last years "Cosi" and
who viii be heard this season
also in the Mozart Mass in C
minor and the d minor
Requiem, will be on the
podium. and will accompany
the recitatiyes at the harpsi-
chord. Don Giovanni will be
sung by Kenneth Smith, the
Alfonso of last years Cost;
Ottavio, by David Lloyd, the
Fernando; Leporello, by Mac
Morgan, the Guglielmo: Elvira
by Phyllis Curtin. the Flor
diligi, and Zerlina by Barbara
Gibson. the Despinetta. Anna
will be taken by Lois Marshall,
a young @enadian singer who,
although she has not been
heard recently in Washington,
has made an excellent name
for herself in opera and con-
cert elsewhere. She Is prob
ably best known to Washing
tonians as the soprano in the
Toscanini recording of the
Beethoven "Missa Solemnis."
The roles Of Masetto and the
Commentators will both be
taken by Edwin Steffe, a comic
bass well known in town. In
the original Don Giovanni"
under Mozart in Prague, these
two roles were also sung by q
single singer.
The choruses of peasants
and devils will be handled by
the Washington Chamber
Chorus. and the mandolin
solo that accompanies the
famous serenade will be played
by Anatoly Malukoff.
~ Il \
STERN IN BEETHOVEN
On Tuesday. the night before
Don Giovanni" the Phila-
delphia Orchestra will be in
Constitution Hall with Eugene
Ormandy. Isaac Stern. violin
list. and Jussi Jalas. the Fin
nish conductor heard here a
fortnight ago, to lead the or
-chestra in the sixth symphony
1~A =