Exciting news for opera fans who retreat to The Berkshires each summer! The Berkshire Opera Festival (BOF) announced its production of Mozart’s opera Don Giovanni, which will appear at the historic Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield this August. 

The opera, based on the legend of Don Juan, is considered by many to be one of Mozart’s supreme achievements and one of the greatest operas ever composed. It premiered at the original National Theater in Prague in October of 1787. After its premiere, it was labeled as an unusually intense work, and was not entirely understood in Mozart’s time. Within the next 100 years, however, it was recognized as one of the greatest of all operas.

This summer, witness a charming (yet murderous) Giovanni on a quest to satisfy his lust. As the original antihero, he finds himself in a situation he can’t conquer. In a blend of comedy, tragedy and the supernatural, Don Giovanni is brought back to life at the Berkshire Opera Festival.

Located in the gorgeous mountainous region of Massachusetts (“The Berkshires”), BOF launched its first season in 2016. Each summer since, they present musically and dramatically compelling operatic productions, in addition to recitals and other related musical events. The addition of Don Giovanni for the 2020 season is a welcome and exciting update! BOF’s Artistic Director and Co-Founder Maestro Brian Garman describes Don Giovanni as a timeless piece and a brilliant work from Mozart:

“...What's uncanny is the way he [Mozart] portrays the inner emotional states of each character through their music,” he said. “This was a major development for the time, and the influence that Giovanni had on the works of later composers can’t be overstated.” 

Director of Production, Jonathon Loy, portrays Giovanni as the devil — keeping the production relevant to audiences today while still maintaining its integrity. He says the hardest part of preparing this production was transforming a 1787 opera to a stage in 2020 — a very different world than where Mozart lived.

“I do not see how in 2020 we can play Giovanni as a mortal man,” Loy said. “His behavior is vile and inexcusable to a modern audience. I think making Giovanni a ‘Weinstein’ character or anything of the like is just obvious and boring at this point. It seems to me that Giovanni must be Lucifer, the devil himself.” 

This production stars bass-baritone Andrè Courville as Don Giovanni and Erik Anstine as Leporello, Giovanni’s servant. Laura Wilde plays Donna Anna, the Commendatore’s daughter and Joshua Blue appears as Don Ottavio. Joanna Latini makes her debut as Donna Elvira and John Cheek as the Commendatore. It also stars Natalia Santaliz as Zerlina, a peasant girl and Brian James Myer as Masetto, Zerlina’s fiancé. 

Don Giovanni opens at the Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield, Massachusetts on Aug. 22, at 1 p.m. There will be additional performances on Aug. 25, at 7:30 p.m. and Aug. 28 at 7:30 p.m. To learn more about the production and to purchase tickets visit the BOF website. Tickets may also be purchased over the phone by calling the Colonial Theatre’s box office at (413) 997-4444.

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