Don Giovanni 2016
“He betrayed me, he abandoned me — why do I still love him?”
A flawless combination of hilarity, fear, romance and tragedy, Mozart’s setting of the Don Juan story is an opera with everything, including some of the greatest music ever composed for the lyric stage. Is Don Giovanni a rogue or a madman? All will be revealed in this beloved classic.
Synopsis
Act I
Leporello waits outside the Commendatore’s palace for Don Giovanni, who is inside trying to seduce Donna Anna. Giovanni rushes out, pursued by Anna, who cries for help. Her father, the Commendatore, comes to her aid, but Giovanni kills him in a duel and flees. Donna Anna demands that Don Ottavio swear vengeance on Giovanni. Nearby, Leporello pleads with his master to reform, but Giovanni is already flirting with a traveler. She is Donna Elvira, one of his past conquests, who is trying to track him down. Leporello distracts Elvira by reciting the list of his master’s seductions, while Giovanni escapes. A group of peasants is celebrating the wedding of Zerlina and Masetto. Giovanni immediately takes an interest in Zerlina and orders Leporello to takes everyone else to his palace to continue the party. Elvira interrupts his wooing and spirits Zerlina away, then warns Anna and Ottavio not to trust Giovanni. Zerlina begs Masetto to forgive her and they go to Giovanni’s palace. Elvira, Ottavio, and Anna enter the palace in disguise, spying on Giovanni. Leporello distracts Masetto as his master ushers Zerlina into another room. When she cries out for help, Giovanni accuses Leporello as her attacker. Anna, Ottavio and Elvira reveal themselves and denounce Giovanni, who again escapes.
Act II
Outside the inn where Donna Elvira is staying, Giovanni exchanges cloaks with Leporello, as part of his plan to seduce Elvira’s maid. Giovanni lures Elvira down to the street and, mistaking servant for master, Elvira lets the disguised Leporello lead her off, while Giovanni serenades her maid. Anna, Ottavio, Zerlina, and Masetto come upon Leporello (still in disguise) and Elvira. They threaten him, but he reveals his identity and escapes. Leporello and Giovanni reunite in a cemetery. They hear a voice coming from the statue of the slain Commendatore, warning Giovanni of his impending doom. Giovanni laughs and insists that Leporello invite the statue to dinner. It accepts, much to their surprise. At Giovanni’s dinner, Elvira begs him to reform, but he dismisses her. The Commendatore’s statue arrives and again warns Giovanni to repent. He refuses and plummets into hell. The others characters arrive and Leporello explains what has happened. They all announce their plans for the future, then sing the moral of the tale, “Those who do evil come to an evil ending.”
Artists
Daniel Okulitch
Bass-baritone
Don Giovanni
Daniel Okulitch
Hometown: Ottawa, Canada
SFO Debut:
Abdul, The Last Savage, 2011
Past Seasons:
General Groves, Doctor Atomic, 2018
Don Giovanni, Don Giovanni, 2016
Count Almaviva, The Marriage of Figaro, 2013
Leah Crocetto
Soprano
Donna Anna
Leah Crocetto
Hometown: Adrian, MI
SFO Debut:
Anna, Maometto II, 2012
Past Seasons:
Donna Anna, Don Giovanni, 2016
Susan Graham and Friends Gala Concert, 2012
Keri Alkema
Soprano
Donna Elvira
Keri Alkema
Hometown: Palm Beach Gardens, FL
SFO Debut:
Donna Elvira, Don Giovanni, 2016
Past Seasons:
Santa Fe Opera Apprentice: 2004
Edgaras Montvidas
Tenor
Don Ottavio
Edgaras Montvidas
Hometown: Vikaviskio, Lithuania
SFO Debut:
Don Ottavio, Don Giovanni, 2016
Kyle Ketelsen
Bass-baritone
Leporello
Kyle Ketelsen
Hometown: Clinton, IA
SFO Debut:
Leporello, Don Giovanni, 2016
Rhian Lois
Soprano
Zerlina
Rhian Lois
Hometown: Aberystwyth, United Kingdom
SFO Debut:
Zerlina, Don Giovanni, 2016
Soloman Howard
Bass
Commendatore
Soloman Howard
Hometown: Washington, D.C.
SFO Debut:
Il Commendatore, Don Giovanni, 2016
Past Seasons:
Colline, La bohème, 2025
Hunding, Die Walküre, 2025
Il Commendatore, Don Giovanni, 2024
Colline, La bohème, 2019
The Bonze, Madama Butterfly, 2018
Duke of Verona, Roméo et Juliette, 2016
Jarrett Ott
Baritone
Masetto
Jarrett Ott
Hometown: Pen Argyl, PA
SFO Debut:
Maximilian, Candide, 2018
Past Seasons:
Sharpless, Madama Butterfly, 2026
John Seward, The Lord of Cries, 2021
Guglielmo, Così fan tutte, 2019
Harlequin, Ariadne auf Naxos, 2018
Marullo, Rigoletto, 2015
Santa Fe Opera Apprentice: 2015, 2016
John Nelson
Conductor
John Nelson
Hometown: San José, Costa Rica
SFO Debut:
Owen Wingrave, 1973
Past Seasons:
Don Giovanni, 2016
The Marriage of Figaro, 2013
Semele, 1997
Eugene Onegin, 1980
Ron Daniels
Director
Ron Daniels
Hometown: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
SFO Debut:
Don Giovanni, 2016
Past Seasons:
Lucia di Lammermoor, 2017
Riccardo Hernandez
Scenic Designer
Riccardo Hernandez
Hometown: Havana, Cuba
SFO Debut:
The Barber of Seville, 2005
Past Seasons:
Lucia di Lammermoor, 2017
Don Giovanni, 2016
Emily Rebholz
Costume Designer
Emily Rebholz
Hometown: Brooklyn, NY
SFO Debut:
Don Giovanni, 2016
Past Seasons:
Lucia di Lammermoor, 2017
Marcus Doshi
Lighting Designer
Marcus Doshi
Hometown: Waterbury, CT
SFO Debut:
Don Giovanni, 2016
Past Seasons:
Lili Elbe, 2026
La traviata, 2024
Peter Nigrini
Projection Designer
Peter Nigrini
Hometown: Toronto, Canada
SFO Debut:
Don Giovanni, 2016
Past Seasons:
Lucia di Lammermoor, 2017
Nicola Bowie
Choreographer
Nicola Bowie
Hometown: Stoke-on-Trent, United Kingdom
SFO Debut:
Faust, 2011
Past Seasons:
Rusalka, 2023
Madama Butterfly, 2018
Don Giovanni, 2016
Roméo et Juliette, 2016
Rigoletto, 2015
Carmen, 2014
Rick Sordelet
Fight Director
Rick Sordelet
Hometown: Duluth, MN
SFO Debut:
Salome, 2015 (Fight Director)
Past Seasons:
Eugene Onegin, 2026 (Original Fight & Intimacy Director)
Tosca, 2023 (Fight & Intimacy Director)
The Flying Dutchman, 2023 (Fight & Intimacy Director)
Pelléas et Mélisande, 2023 (Fight & Intimacy Director)
Rusalka, 2023 (Fight & Intimacy Director)
Orfeo, 2023 (Fight & Intimacy Director)
Carmen, 2022 (Fight & Intimacy Director)
The Barber of Seville, 2022 (Fight & Intimacy Director)
Falstaff, 2022 (Fight & Intimacy Director)
Tristan und Isolde, 2022 (Fight & Intimacy Director)
M. Butterfly, 2022 (Fight & Intimacy Director)
Eugene Onegin, 2021 (Fight & Intimacy Director)
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 2021 (Fight & Intimacy Director)
La Fanciulla del West, 2016 (Fight Director)
Don Giovanni, 2016 (Fight Director)
Roméo et Juliette, 2016 (Fight Director)
Cold Mountain, 2015 (Fight Director)
Christian Kelly-Sordelet
Fight Director
Christian Kelly-Sordelet
Hometown: Montclair, NJ
SFO Debut:
La Fanciulla del West, 2016 (Fight Director)
Past Seasons:
Tosca, 2023 (Fight & Intimacy Director)
The Flying Dutchman, 2023 (Fight & Intimacy Director)
Pelléas et Mélisande, 2023 (Fight & Intimacy Director)
Rusalka, 2023 (Fight & Intimacy Director)
Orfeo, 2023 (Fight & Intimacy Director)
Carmen, 2022 (Fight & Intimacy Director)
The Barber of Seville, 2022 (Fight & Intimacy Director)
Falstaff, 2022 (Fight & Intimacy Director)
Tristan und Isolde, 2022 (Fight & Intimacy Director)
M. Butterfly, 2022 (Fight & Intimacy Director)
Don Giovanni, 2016 (Fight Director)
Roméo et Juliette, 2016 (Fight Director)
Susanne Sheston
Chorus Director
Susanne Sheston
Hometown: Salt Lake City, UT
Upcoming Seasons:
2027 Season (Chorus Director)
SFO Debut:
2008 Season (Chorus Master)
Past Seasons:
2024 Season-2026 Season (Chorus Director)
2008 Season-2024 Season (Chorus Master)
Don Giovanni 2016
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