Peter sellarss first production of a mozart opera was a don giovanni he staged in. I am new to opera and loaned out a dvd of don giovanni from my public library. A chronotopic analysis of peter sellars don giovanni terry do novan smith from a wild weird clime that iieth, sublime, out ofspace out otime. Peter sellars was born on september 27, 1957 in philadelphia, pennsylvania, usa. Don giovanni in spanish harlem and cosi in despinas diner. If we step back from the practice of ennobling the don, and look at the entire work rather than the bits used for. Bachs st john passion with simon rattle and peter sellars. Mcclary considers sellarss productions of mozarts le nozze di figaro, don giovanni, and cosi fan tutte. In peter sellars evocative 1990 production of don giovanni, the setting of mozarts drama giocoso is transformed from the aristocratic seville of the mid 17th century to a row of broken down. And rather than present these works in their ancient form, he has updated them to address contemporary political issues.
He attended harvard university, where he began developing his innovative and often controversial style of directing. Thanks to the originality of peter sellars, the period of the drama was moved to the 20th century, and the location to harlem n. Elizabeth schwarzkopf hated it and said peter sellars should be in prison for doing it. Great artists often run the risk of being misapprehended during their lifetimes. Don ottavio as the undercover police officer, donna anna doublecrossing him as well as being a heroine addict, shooting heroine.
They asked me to do a don giovanni, for performance in a festival. And i think mozart would have loved it toohe almost always went out of his way to make his work appealing to ordinary people. The peter sellars, don giovanni with the perry twins, and joseph loseys classic don giovanni version with ruggero raimondi. Rent james patterson movies and tv shows on dvd and bluray. The operas giovanni is an overconfident, privileged loser on a downward spiral. The casting of don giovanni and leporello was very confusing. He is best known for staging plays and operas for numerous international theatres in settings far different than those suggested by the text.
Peter sellars, whose relationship with john adams is one of the towering. Attack on the front lawn, featuring fritz haeg, peter sellars, dolores hayden, frederick kaufman, shamim momin. Don giovanni as a blaxploitationgangster flick or an episode of kojak or miami vice. So love is about understanding things don t work out the way you had in mind. Saturdays were spent mostly with private lessons, so i didnt get to go to a lot of. The documentary, entitled destination mozart, is a useful primer. But from the 1990s, he also increasingly made a name for himself on the opera stage. The passions of peter sellars follows the development of his style, beginning with his interpretations of the mozartda ponte operas, proceeding to works for which he assembled the libretti and even the music, and concluding with his celebrated stagings of bachs passions with the berlin philharmonic. Le nozze di figaro and don giovanni were broadcast on american.
Following his iconic stagings of le nozze di figaro, don giovanni, and cosi fan. He absolutely buries any vestige of mozarts great humanity. Don giovanni, a commercial video tape produced by orf, plaza media gnbh, mediascope productions. Peter sellars born september 27, 1957 is an american theatre director, noted for his unique contemporary stagings of classical and contemporary operas and plays. Professional selfproclaimed provocateur peter sellars sets his 1990 don giovanni film in spanish harlem, new york city, in a ghetto setting, which works surprisingly well with reference to the original libretto.
Did i mention that this is the new peter sellars updating of don giovanni. Despite the flaw of the subtitles, this production is well worth it. With herbert perry, eugene perry, dominique labelle, lorraine hunt lieberson. However leporello and don giovanni change recitatives as well as clothes two of the same sort obviously. What peter sellars did to mozart uc press ebooks collection. Depending on your personal taste, this ghetto giovanni is either disgusting, illuminating, or a. On thursday, september 20, 2012, the mary baker eddy library welcomed acclaimed director peter sellars for an evening of celebration and thoughtprovoking discussion on the role of culture and the arts in society and in education. Easily share your publications and get them in front of issuus millions of monthly readers. Ever since the age of 22, when he enraged traditionalists by staging mozarts don giovanni in the style of a blaxploitation movie, this american opera and theatre. In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content shifting through space time. The productions first performance, on wednesday evening at the summerfare festival in purchase, n. His malmistreatment of possibly the greatest work of music theatre, don giovanni is only slightly less reprehensible. Its early afternoon at chicagos lyric opera house and the day of the first stage rehearsal of doctor atomic, an opera by john adams and sellars, whose subject is the trinity test and the irrevocable move from the pre to the postnuclear age.
Director peter sellars has called a halt to the countdown and takes the stage. Don giovanni tv movie 1990 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. Don giovanni and leporello eugene and herbert perry twin african american they. It is set in harlem and a very bleak, inner city, ugly production. Peter sellars on the importance of theater by museum of fine arts, boston. Destination mozart a night at the opera with peter sellars. In addition to the three mozartda ponte operas, peter sellars has also.
Matthew passion is performed in peter sellars unforgettable staging. Don giovanni movie sellars 1990 perry lieberson labelle freeman. Sellars focused on the innovative potential of cultural institutions like the library to empower a variety of communities with transformative educational. Rent peter sellars movies and tv shows on dvd and bluray. This don giovanni is someone you simply want to diesappear. A night at the opera with peter sellars 1990 starring peter sellars on dvd and bluray. The passions of peter sellars the university of michigan press. Sellars is widely regarded as the most exciting director at work on the international theatre and opera scene today. Sellars, 57, once considered the bad boy of opera for works like his 1980 setting of mozarts don giovanni in the underworld of new yorks harlem, has. British comedian and actor, born 8 september 1925 in southsea, portsmouth, england, uk and died 24 july 1980 in london, england, uk. The series is scheduled to continue with don giovanni on jan.
Sellars s treatment of cosi is so obnoxious i still have dyspepsic attacks just thinking about it. Sellars s camera direction is full of intense closeups and odd angles that enhance the disturbing atmosphere, while the subtitles are a slangy modern rendition of the text. Peter sellars 1990 starring lorraine hunt and craig smith on dvd and bluray. Don giovanni tv movie 1990 don giovanni tv movie 1990. During his professional career, he has served as an ssistant to jeanpierre ponnelle and peter sellars 1980s, as an onsite evaluator and, presently, as a grant panelist for the national endowment for the arts 1985present. I thought that this must have come up before so used the search function to try and find the appropriate thread but there appears to be no such thread about great version of don giovanni. American theater director peter sellars is known for his iconoclastic staging of masterpieces. Director peter sellars shocking again in new adams opera. For a limited time, get your first 4 months of audible membership for just. The title is fairly selfexplanatory however i will provide the caveat that im only interested in blueraydvd versions and only ones that have decent audio.
St matthew passion by bach with simon rattle digital. Sellars is professor at ucla, where he teaches art as social action and art as moral action. Heres how peter sellars describes his latest television spectacular. So when peter sellars s career was taking off during the early 1980s, perhaps it was inevitable that more than a few operagoers would fall back on facile descriptions such as don giovanni in harlem, orlando in outer space and nixon sings, instead of perceiving the detail and nuance on display in his productions.
Sir simon rattle conducts the berliner philharmoniker. The passions of peter sellars university of michigan press. Peter sellars part 2 of 3 english subtitles by opera nerd. He has lent his vision to king lear, don giovanni and other classics. In the early eighties, peter sellars had made the boston area a. I recently ordered peter sellars don giovanni starring herbert and eugene perry as. As for the soloists, my impressions were as follows. Peter sellarss streetwise don giovanni the washington.
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