Don Giovanni opens on June 2 in the Music Center Recital Hall

Don Juan, the legendary Spanish rogue and seducer, did get around in his day. Now the Don is coming to UCSC when the Music Department presents Mozart's Italian-language opera Don Giovanni, beginning on June 2 in the Music Center Recital Hall.

Student performers Aleksey Bogdanov (Don Giovanni) and Sheila Willey (Donna Anna) Photo: Steve DiBartolomeo

Considered by many to be Mozart's finest opera, Don Giovanni is a successful combination of comic and dramatic opera. The work begins as Don Giovanni is leaving the bedroom of his latest conquest and ends with his descent into hell.

Don Giovanni features the artistic efforts of an array of participants in addition to student performers: music lecturer Brian Staufenbiel directs; music professor Nicole Paiement conducts the UCSC Orchestra; lighting design is by Sylvie Vray; scenic design is by Legend Theatrical; costume design is by Marti Kranak; and wigs and makeup are by Jeanne Hurd. The opera will be sung in Italian with English supertitles.

John Dizikes, professor emeritus and author of Opera in America, will present a preperformance talk before the final matinee performance on Sunday, June 5. The talk begins at 1:10 p.m. in the Music Center Recital Hall.

Don Giovanni plays Thursday through Sunday, June 2-5 in the Music Center Recital Hall. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday performances are at 7:30 p.m.; Sunday's performance is at 2 p.m. Tickets are $18 general, $14 seniors, and $10 students. Seating is reserved. Tickets for the performance and the Dizikes talk are on sale at the UCSC Ticket Office (831) 459-2159.

Email this story
Printer-friendly version
Return to Front Page