Past Production Reviews
2Mintzer, who was making her debut in the role of Salome, was from start to finish extraordinary. This was a fearless, fully inhabited performance that required her to span her entire vocal range in addition to evoking all manner of dark emotions, and Mintzer sang with power, precision and nuance.
The cast fared with varying degrees of success. Jennifer Holloway as Donna Elvira was the most impressive of the women, singing with fine line, intensity and ample intelligence. Caitlin Lynch was also a strong presence as Donna Anna, though her vibrato sometimes got in the way. Simpson's Don Giovanni was certainly impressive at times, including the aria “Deh vieni alla finestra,” with its mandolin accompaniment well played onstage by Thomas Godfrey. I'd like to hear Simpson in the role in a different context. Wayne Tigges gave a particularly earthy slant in vocal timbre as well as deportment to Leporello, Don Giovanni's servant. His Catalogue Aria – cataloguing Don Giovanni's amorous conquests by country, ending with “but in Spain, 1,003” – concluded with coarse handling of Donna Elvira, to whom it is sung. Sean Panikkar offered impressive sotto voce singing as Don Ottavio. Sari Gruber was variable as Zerlina, at her best performing with Joseph Barron's solid Masetto.
