Thursday, October 4, 2012

So, What’s up with Don Giovanni & Leporello?


This is not quite what it looks like. Or...hmm
Sometimes I wonder, when Leporello tries to convince DG to stop playing around and chasing women, if he has more than one motive.  I don't think he disapproves of philandering. I do think he is tired of being in danger because of DG's exploits, and probably is tired of following DG around and cleaning up after him.  I wonder more in some productions than in others.

I don't really understand traditional male bonding very well, especially not 18th-century style. But sometimes I can't help thinking that there's something more between these two guys. 

 Apparently I am not the only one who has been wondering that. Here two are clips from a 2009 production directed by Pier Luigi Pizzi (remember him from that Monteverdi opera?) for the Macerata Opera Festival at the Arena Sferisterio in Italy. 
Giovanni & Leporello - just good friends?
In this production, I believe that there is a bit more than traditional male bonding going on with Don Giovanni (Ildebrando d’Arcangelo) and Leporello (Andrea Concetti). Mind you, I am not complaining. 

Ummmm...

 Thanks to the Barihunks blog for drawing this second clip to our attention. Unfortunately I don’t think there is an official video of this production, but there are a few other clips on YouTube.  
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6 comments:

  1. AnonymousOctober 4, 2012 at 12:06 PM

    So we've speculated on homoeroticism in both Don Giovanni and Cosi. What next? The Count with the hots for Figaro?

    ReplyDelete
  2. RobOctober 4, 2012 at 12:13 PM

    I wouldn't rule it out. and Cherubino? I'm surprised someone hasn't gone there yet.

    ReplyDelete
  3. earwormoperaOctober 4, 2012 at 4:48 PM

    I can totally imagine a production where the Count is after Figaro (or Cherubino).

    ReplyDelete
  4. RobOctober 5, 2012 at 11:10 PM

    Blondchen & Konstanze decide to ditch their tenors, and stay with Selim & Osmin. Belmonte and Pedrillo end up alone together.

    ReplyDelete
  5. David DollingerOctober 12, 2012 at 6:35 PM

    This is a DG that I would love to see--principally because of d'Arcangelo. I had fogotten about the clips which Barihunks provided and remembered how would I love to see the complete production even though Italians and Mozart have never had the happiest marriage on record--I do have to exclude the recent Nozze with Arcangelo and Damrau; a charmer, but no homoeroticism extant.

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  6. RobOctober 12, 2012 at 7:12 PM

    This production looks pretty spare, but I for one don't mind that if the performance itself is good. One think I have to say for d'Arcangelo and Concetti is they seem really comfortable with one another. There are a few other clips from this on YouTube--all pretty amateur--but they reveal a lot of "comfortableness" among the cast.

    ReplyDelete

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