OperaMetro (OM) had the privilege to speak with Rod Gomez (RG), who conceived and will direct the Bronx Opera’s 2020 production of Mozart’s Don Giovanni, and Brian Alvarado (BA), who sings the central role of Leporello. Though not exactly a round table discussion, it’s framed as such here. My questions, their responses…works for me, so why not?

OM: Good morning, gentlemen, and thank you for agreeing to be a part of my previews for the Bronx Opera! Rod, nice to have you to chat with again!

RG & BA: Good morning! Thank you for having us!

OM: Channeling Police Squad, the “word on the street” is that the BxO’s Don Giovanni is going to be updated, relocated, and maybe even with graffiti on the walls. Any comments on this, gentlemen?

RG: Sure, happy to. I am updating this production to the greater New York area/the Tri-State region at the turn of the 21st Century, so about 20 years ago. I want to make the visual palate one that combines images that are familiar to audiences with the hopes, as always when one updates, of making the situations and characters more recognizable and relatable. You might say I hope to tap into some kind of collective pop-culture unconscious. When first conceiving how I wanted the show to look, my initial inspirations were the terrific television series The Sopranos with a little American Psycho mixed in, as well as many of Manhattan’s wonderful public parks/plazas/courtyards, like Union Square/Washington Square/Gramercy Park, that area. These possess the elements of the world I want this Don Giovanni to come from.

OM: If into the 21st century, then we’re just around the corner in time from the MeToo movement and a new (at least American) sexual consciousness. How does today impact your thoughts on this tale?

RG: Yes, given the MeToo movement, I would say there are nods to the recent shifts in our landscape, references to a collective voicelessness...but really people will have to see it to find out!

OM: Although actually the story itself, as written by Da Ponte, presages MeToo in the sense that such behavior does not go unpunished.

RG: Good point.

OM: Then, as another aside here, I confess to being curious how you’re going to mix in a ‘little American Psycho.’ I read the book, sometimes even with my eyes closed it was so gruesome. I haven’t yet found the moment to see the film.

RG: Again, you’ll have to see it to find out! As an aside for me, but relevant: I have seen, multiple times the Peter Sellars’ Mozart/da Ponte trilogy, liking Così fan tutte the most...

OM: Hands down the best of the three. I actually saw that Così fan tutte on stage in July of 1986 at Pepsico Summerfare in Purchase, NY.

RG: Can you believe that the Trump Tower was the home for Sellars’ Nozze de Figaro? Let’s just say I find it more than ironic that some of the actual goings-on mirror the linear plot of Nozze. I know that was the point at the time, but today there is this added layer and becomes, in retrospect life imitating art imitating life. The mind reels.

OM: Absolutely. But like the other two Da Ponte/Mozart operas, Don Giovanni has its humor. It’s called a dramma giocoso, meaning a drama with comedic elements, or a comedy with dramatic elements…or a mixed grill of various humors…It implies some comedy, si?

RG: Dramma giocoso might be called a dramedy by today’s standards. But in this production I can’t say I resort to overt broad comedy. The comic elements in Don Giovanni are always tinged with darkness to them. Irony abounds. In other words, this is not comedia dell’arte or even opera buffo.

OM: But there are semi-comic characters.

RG: I would say Don Giovanni’s right-hand man Leporello and the working-class duo of Zerlina and Masetto are the most obviously comic within the ensemble.

Brian Alvarado sings Leporello in BxO’s Don Giovanni — Brian Alvarado sings Leporello in BxO’s *Don Giovanni*

OM: I’d maybe put Donna Elvira on the boundary, though she is more serious than either of the three mentioned above. Leporello is the one who more clearly crosses the line into comedy. Brian?

BA: Leporello’s an intriguing guy and a fun role to sing. There’s lots of patter, plenty of quips and asides, and a real spectrum of emotions showcased throughout his ongoing grapple with morality. I think Ben Spierman really hit the nail on the head in pointing out how every other principal reacts pretty directly to the Don in their solo/ensemble moments. Madamina, il catalogo è questo, Leporello’s first solo in Act I, is no different. He’s expressing his admiration for the Don’s exploits, even awe and amusement, and though musically it’s very satisfying to sing, in its onstage context, it’s actually pretty rude, even if he, the character, seems to find it funny. I think Rod’s staging will make this evident.

RG: No contest: the aria is funny, pathetic, and heartbreaking all at once.

OM: He runs through the list of the Don’s conquests and preferences pretty much in Donna Elvira’s face. How rude! Aida Carducci referred to this scene in our interview.

BA: But if there’s one thing in particular that Leporello’s character adds to this whole dynamic, it’s his propensity for breaking the fourth wall with well-timed 'asides,' generally at the expense of every other character in this show at some point.

OM: Yes, of course, even right from the very beginning Leporello is talking to the audience!

BA: And he’s often the butt of Don Giovanni’s jibes. He proclaims several times throughout the show that he has had it up to here with Giovanni’s antics. His survival in the Don’s company must involve a weird amalgamation of disgust and desensitivity, offset by envy as well, if not for the women, then certainly for the other comforts associated with the Don's lifestyle. Like something to eat and a comfy place to sleep. Note that he ultimately never leaves. He might fear for his life, sure, but above all, I think it is Giovanni’s charismatic influence, which we see and hear about at various points, that has rubbed off on him. It gives Leporello not only a sense of stability, but perhaps also purpose and goal.

OM: So Brian, it’s well known that a voice tailored for Leporello probably can handle the role of Don Giovanni. Have you done Giovanni?

BA: No. And yes, you’re right, many low voices may be fortunate to sing both at some point! But no, alas, I have not tackled the Don yet. Mind you, I would fight a duel with a real life Commendatore to do so! I did sing Leporello for the first time two years ago in Italian and I’m excited to do it again on stage.

OM: This time in English. How’s that transition going?

BA: Well, I have some advantage in knowing pitches and rhythms of the role, so the arias and ensembles in English are not so hard to put together, but, I have to say I find it a worthy challenge in getting those pesky recits down! This being said, getting them down in Italian was no easier!

OM: Tell us about the English translation.

BA: The translation we’re using is pretty faithful to the Italian, but it’s been modernized to a 1990s vernacular. I don’t think I made any groundbreaking discoveries about the character this time around outside of some select moments where he’s really being an unapologetic jerk. The ‘jerk’ aspect really shines through in this translation. I think this translation and its modernized colloquialisms will prove to be very effective for local audiences. In this, Leporello’s text simply has more bite, and it doesn't always want to make you want to chuckle. Actually, if I ever do get to do this role again in Italian, I'll certainly have to hit the books for those recitatives especially, but with a much stronger command of not only the versi sciolti, but the subtext as well.

OM: The operas in English change your relationship with the audience.

BA: Absolutely! One of the biggest advantages of performing an opera in English for audiences, especially those younger, or new to it, is that they’re able to hone their focus on the stage, rather than share the action and voice on stage with the supertitles above them

OM: Back to Rod’s mention of the Sellars’ Così fan tutte, I really wish there had been English subtitles. I recall that BxO runs the simultaneous supertitles in English.

BA: Right, but I’d be hard-pressed to believe that they’re at all a necessity for the audience to connect with the characters and story. The schoolchildren who come to our community reach-out performance seem, in addition to astutely identifying the characters, also ask insightful questions at the end. Their behavior certainly helps to validate the choice of singing in English in an English speaking community.

OM: I remember seeing you before. Der Freischütz?

BA: Yes! As Kuno. Greatly appreciate the mention in your review.

OM: Impressive production.

BA: So this is my fifth show with my hometown Bronx Opera! I sang Corporal Nym and covered Master Page in their production of Vaughan-Williams’ Sir John in Love, in addition to singing Kuno, I covered Ottokar in Der Freischütz, I sang Pish-Tush in The Mikado last May, and Cesar in a Rossini pastische co-produced with Hudson Guild Theatre, entitled The Theft of a Smile.

OM: Bet that was fun!

BA: Indeed.

OM: Favorite roles, new roles?

BA: Oh my, well, in addition to Leporello, some fun roles in the past have been Dandini in La Cenerentola, Schaunard in La bohéme, Papageno in The Magic Flute, and the title roles in G&S’s The Sorcerer, and Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd.

OM: All wonderful roles. I’ll bet Sweeney was a great one to do!

BA: Of course. Big role! I’ve also been fortunate to have done a fair share of fun comprimario roles as well, with my favorites including Silvano in Un Ballo in Maschera, Zaretzky and the Captain in Eugene Onegin, Sciarrone in Tosca, and something like six characters in a concert Macbeth. There are, of course, certain desirable lyric and cavalier roles that I aspire to study and perform, and having just turned 28 last month, I am curious, excited, and a tad bit anxious to see where my vocal adventures and discoveries may lead me.

OM: If you ever relax...

BA: Wait, time for one more thing: I can happily share that in February, I will be in a production of The Mother of Us All, the link is: The Mother of Us All, co-produced by the New York Philharmonic and Juilliard, and taking place at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

OM: That’s not relaxing, Brian.

BA: What’s a guy to do? Lately, there hasn’t been much downtime between rehearsals, and the rush of holiday church services, but…I like to give myself time to write when I can. I received my BA in Creative Writing, so that will likely always be a crucial outlet for me. Other strong interests include playing with guitars and synthesizers, sampling craft beers (Stouts, Porters, and Belgian ales in particular), listening to copious subgenres of Heavy Metal, longboarding, promoting urban education reform, following the Yankees' season, and watching professional wrestling with my mother.

OM: Interesting mix! Impressive! Thank you, gentlemen, for your thoughtful words, observations and insights. Wishing you the best for BxO’s Don Giovanni!

BxO’s Don Giovanni is performed at the Lovinger Theatre, Lehman College, on Saturday, January 11 @ 7:30 and Sunday, 1/12 @ 2:30, then again the following weekend, Friday, January 17 @ 7:30 and Saturday, 1/18 at 2:30. The Lovinger Theatre is at 250 Bedford Park West in the Bronx. Check out the Bronx Opera’s website for tickets and more information.

Mark on your calendar: Smetana’s The Bartered Bride is performed in May 2 @ 7:30/May 3 @ 2:30/ then May 9 @ 7:30 and May 10 @ 2:30.

Support your local opera! Happy January to all!!!!!!!