Mozart's Don Giovanni Programme Booklet LOW
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THE PRIDE WE TAKE IN OFFERING YOU AWARD-WINNING COMFORT That’s what makes us the world’s most awarded airline Best First Class Business Traveller (UK) 2020 Best Airline First Class Business Traveller (Asia Pacific) 2020 Best Airline Premium class DestinAsian Readers’ Choice Awards (Jakarta) 2020 singaporeair.com First performed on 29 October 1797, Prague, Czech Republic Libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte Produced by the Singapore Lyric Opera Artists’ Training Programme Initiated by the Artistic Director Nancy Yuen in 2016, this performance-based artists' training programme supports the artistic development of talented young singers and provides opportunities for them to hone their skills and gain experience on the professional stage in Singapore. They have access to coaching in languages, stagecraft and vocal techniques, and weekly rehearsals on popular operatic excerpts chosen by the Artistic Committee, and access to master classes by visiting artists. To date, members of the ATP have appeared on the main stage of the Esplanade Theatre and Victoria Concert Hall as well as performing in many educational outreach programmes as soloists and as members of the ensemble, bringing opera excerpts and songs to unconventional places like the National Library, Esplanade Concourse, Our Tampines Hub amongst others. The singers receive regular coachings by Nancy Yuen and Jessica Chen with assistance from répétiteur Aloysius Foong. In 2019, they performed a 90 minutes Abridged Version of Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro at the Victoria Concert Hall to much critical acclaim. Sung in Italian with English and Chinese surtitles An approximately 90 minutes Abridged Version with no intermission. Late-comers will only be admitted at suitable breaks. Please remember to switch your devices to silent mode. Only non-flash photography is allowed. The Singapore Lyric Opera (SLO) is the Patron - in - Chief flagship company of western opera in Mr S R Nathan Singapore. As the longest established (2007 - 2016) in this sector of the Arts, we engage renowned international and local Patron performers and musicians under our Dr Ng Eng Hen repertoire. We aim to promote and Minister for Defence present western operas and concerts not frequently performed in Chairman Asia-Pacific for communities from all Toh Weng Cheong walks of life in Singapore. Board of Directors Lee Suan Hiang Arthur Fong SLO strives to contribute to the Hiroshi Kimura development of the opera scene in Evelyn Sam Singapore by playing a key role in Rolv Stokkmo identifying, encouraging, developing and nurturing current and future Artistic Director generations of young artists and other Nancy Yuen musical talents. SLO also champions the professional growth of Company Secretary production and technical personnel, Steven Luk by whom a performance’s foundation is rooted. Auditor KPMG Build and present a repertoire of works Solicitors that will expand the length and Low Yeap Toh & Goon LLP breadth of the company artistically, yet immerse the audience in the Management expanding aesthetics of western theatrical interaction, without Manager compromising the artistic integrity Gena Ng and passion rooted in the heart of SLO. Administrative Executive Jamaliah Zin Marketing Executive Ho Chi Shuan Production Executive Tan Jia Hui ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Singapore Lyric Opera Limited is supported by the National Arts Council under the Major Company Scheme for the period from 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021. WITH SUPPORT FROM OFFICIAL AIRLINE OFFICIAL CREDIT CARD Donors to the Opening Night | Friday, 12 March 2021 Dorothy Chan Multimetal Resources (Pte) Ltd Resorts World at Sentosa Pte. Ltd Tan Kong Piat Pte Ltd PRODUCTION CREDITS Nancy Yuen Vocal Coach Jessica Chen Vocal Coach Tang Xinxin Director Mirabel Neo Stage Manager Andrea Ee Jia Jie Assistant Stage Manager Theresa Chan Seamstress Aloysius Foong Piano Accompanist Chan Kai Song Surtitle Operator & Translator Daniel Fong Zhang Jie Jonathan MacPherson Don Giovanni Donna Anna Don Ottavio William Lim* Chieko Sato David Tao Commendatore Donna Elvira Leporello & Masetto Joyce Lee Tung** Wang Tong*** Zerlina Zerlina * GUEST APPEARANCE ** FRI, 12 MAR 2021, 8:00PM *** SAT, 13 MAR 2021, 8:00PM First performed on 29 October 1797, Prague, Czech Republic Libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte Produced by the Singapore Lyric Opera Artists’ Training Programme Initiated by the Artistic Director Nancy Yuen in 2016, this performance-based artists' training programme supports the artistic development of talented young singers and provides opportunities for them to hone their skills and gain experience on the professional stage in Singapore. They have access to coaching in languages, stagecraft and vocal techniques, and weekly rehearsals on popular operatic excerpts chosen by the Artistic Committee, and access to master classes by visiting artists. To date, members of the ATP have appeared on the main stage of the Esplanade Theatre and Victoria Concert Hall as well as performing in many educational outreach programmes as soloists and as members of the ensemble, bringing opera excerpts and songs to unconventional places like the National Library, Esplanade Concourse, Our Tampines Hub amongst others. The singers receive regular coachings by Nancy Yuen and Jessica Chen with assistance from répétiteur Aloysius Foong. In 2019, they performed a 90 minutes Abridged Version of Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro at the Victoria Concert Hall to much critical acclaim. Sung in Italian with English and Chinese surtitles An approximately 90 minutes Abridged Version with no intermission. Late-comers will only be admitted at suitable breaks. Please remember to switch your devices to silent mode. Only non-flash photography is allowed. Director’s Notes Is there anything else that cannot be achieved through Mozart’s music? Don Giovanni premiered at Prague in 1787 was a huge success, with some critics even hailing it as the finest work of all time, making it one of the masterpieces in the operatic repertoire. Most operas are all about love and that is no exception from Don Giovanni. However, Mozart turned this into a whole new perspective with Don Giovanni, a character full of charisma, fearless, wily, contemptuous of religion, and never repent. In Mozart's days, even at Moliere's, Don Giovanni’s personality was extremely unacceptable in the society. Ironically, it depicts that everyone had this shadow of “Don Giovanni” in their heart. Mozart's bold use of music to describe the character was a great success. Everyone around Don Giovanni is exemplary. Some act upon their own interests, some are opportunistic, some are always seeking revenge, while some are hysteria. All of these are illustrated by Mozart's incredible compositional skills. Although Don Giovanni is an opera buffa, it consists of seriousness and dramatic elements at the same time. Mozart's music wanders skillfully in both extremes of comical and dramatic. Don Giovanni is one of the most debauched men in the opera world, with him ending up in hell is the only option to end the show which is reminiscent of La Traviata, one of the most promiscuous women. Although these two characters ended in death, one went to heaven and another to hell. What makes the difference is a sincere repentance, which is something that we today should look into. During this pandemic, we should even take more time to look into the purpose of our life. It is necessary to use Don Giovanni as a case study to reflect on. Of course, we can brush it off with a smile. However, we still have to face our own soul. Tang Xinxin Director This will be an approximately 90 minutes Abridged Version with no intermission. The Abridged Version of opera production started in 2019, where we will select excerpts from an opera to perform in a smaller scale setup. This is a platform for us to identify, nurture, and develop local talents for sustainable development of the Arts in Singapore. This is also to provide opportunities for upcoming local talents to gain stage experiences. ACT I SCENE 1 Leporello is at dissatisfaction with the things he is facing, longing he would no longer have to be Don Giovanni's servant. Meanwhile, Don Giovanni completely caught Donna Anna off guard in her room. In order to save his daughter’s dignity, Commendatore gets into a duel with Don Giovanni but is unfortunately stabbed to death. SCENE 2 Donna Elvira arrives at Sevilla, Spain, in search of the ungrateful Don Giovanni. However, he brushes Donna Elvira off with his glib tongue yet again. Leporello explains to Donna Elvira that she is not the first and the last victim with reference to Don Giovanni’s catalogue of women. Leporello quickly departs leaving Donna Elvira in anger. SCENE 3 Don Giovanni is on his move again and this time, his prey is an attractive looking peasant, Zerlina, who was in the midst of the celebration of engagement of Ma- setto and herself. When Zerlina is about to fall into Don Giovanni’s advances, Donna Elvira interrupts and brings Zerlina away. Donna Elvira warns Donna Anna and Don Ottavio not to trust Don Giovanni, when Donna Anna then recognises the voice and realises Don Giovanni is the murderer of her father. SCENE 4 Don Giovanni meets Zerlina again in a party hosted by him. However, Donna Anna, Donna Elvira, and Don Ottavio arrive in disguise, exposing Don Giovanni’s inhumane behaviour, which resulted in causing Don Giovanni’s plan to prey on Zerlina to fail once more. ACT II SCENE 1 In order to seduce Donna Elvira’s attractive maid, Don Giovanni manages to persuade Leporello to exchange clothes with him. Thinking that this is their chance to capture Don Giovanni, everyone gathered only to find Leporello disguised as Don Giovanni, and they left indignantly. SCENE 2 After getting caught and punished by Zerlina, and realizing that he ended up in this state due to his master, Leporello pleads for mercy and escapes.