The North End Music & Performing Arts Center (NEMPAC) presented their 2018 Opera Project Production of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Don Giovanni at Faneuil Hall’s Great Hall on Thursday, June 21st and Saturday, June 23rd with hundreds of opera-lovers in attendance.
This was NEMPAC’s seventh annual opera performance with a fully staged opera accompanied by orchestra, sung in the original Italian with English supertitles, performed by outstanding professional singers, and featuring NEMPAC theatre students.
“It was an absolute joy to work with such talented singers, designers, and musicians to bring this piece to life. It’s always a thrill to return to the Great Hall and this year proved no exception,” – Sherri Snow, NEMPAC’s Executive Director
Dr. Tiffany Chang returned to the podium this year to conduct the orchestra, and artistic and stage director Rebecca Miller challenged the concept of conventional theatre space by reinventing opera at one of the most unique and historic non-traditional performance spaces in the City of Boston.
“This was a fantastic opportunity to reclaim the Don Juan archetype and reinforce that narrative through a reimagining of the historic Hall. When I directed Rossini’s La Cenerentola in 2016, the Hall symbolized oppression—I set Cinderella during the Revolutionary War, just as Faneuil Hall was used as a theatre space to entertain British troops in 1775. Last year, when I staged Beethoven’s Fidelio (set in a prison), I emphasized the Hall’s role as the “Cradle of Liberty,” reminding audiences of what the promise of American freedom can be, and yet how far we still have to go.
This year, I emphasized the patriarchy’s role in both Don Giovanni and in the structure and decoration of the Hall; busts and paintings of Founding Fathers literally and figuratively look down on the playing space, informing the mood and tone of the production. These productions all melded performance forms with the realities of history to provide a forum for change through art and music,” explained Rebecca Miller, NEMPAC’s Opera Project Artistic and Stage Director.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart based his masterpiece, Don Giovanni, on the legends of fictional libertine and serial seducer Don Juan. Reimagined as the infamous womanizer Don Giovanni, Mozart and his librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte created a predatory philanderer, consumed entirely by his own desires —wreaking havoc in his wake.
Opera is a brilliant and rich art form that combines many disciplines such as visual arts, acting, singing, directing, lighting and design, and NEMPAC’s production was a fantastic, contemporary and relevant interpretation of a legendary piece. The audience was delighted by its magnificent score and timely story, and gave a standing ovation at each performance.
To learn more about NEMPAC’s performance events and educational programs, please visit www.nempacboston.org.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
The NEMPAC Opera Project 2018 Production was possible thanks to the generous support from sponsors and partners. Co-Presenting Level Sponsors $5,000: Andrea and Arthur Waldstein | NorthEndBoston.com; Maestro Level Sponsors $2,500: The City of Boston | Friends of the Christopher Columbus Park | Greater Tacoma Community Foundation | TD Bank; Orchestra Level Sponsors $1,000: Boston Cultural Council | Union Oyster House