The OSX will close its season with “the greatest opera ever written”: Don Giovanni

▲ This is the first opera the orchestra has staged in seven years. For Martin Lebel, pictured, Don Giovanni is an emblematic and demanding work . Photo: Xalapa Symphony Orchestra

Eirinet Gómez

La Jornada Newspaper, Friday, June 27, 2025, p. 5

The Xalapa Symphony Orchestra (OSX) will close its first season of the year tomorrow with a staging of Don Giovanni by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. This will be the first opera staged by the OSX in seven years, having not staged one since 2017. In the words of the conductor, Martin Lebel, it is an emblematic and demanding work that could be considered the best opera ever written .

In an interview with La Jornada, he explained that last year he presented Giacomo Puccini's La rondine in concert format, which is very little known, much less so than Madama Butterfly, La Bohème , or Tosca. This time, I thought it would be interesting to stage a widely known piece .

He added that “for the OSX, which doesn't perform operas often, it's a very interesting experience to play Don Giovanni.”

This Mozart work, composed in 1787, with a libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte, blends elements of comedy, drama, and the supernatural. It tells the story of the legendary seducer Don Juan, whose debauchery leads him to a tragic fate.

The beginning has a very powerful dramatic aspect, when Don Giovanni kills the Commendatore. But also the final scene, during dinner, when he returns to punish the Don Juan. That ending is also incredible.

In this opera, Mozart uses the orchestra to underline emotions, tensions, and narrative twists. Experts have identified each character as having a distinct musical voice: Don Giovanni, seductive and energetic arias; the Commendatore, solemn and somber passages; and Zerlina and Leporello have comic or playful parts.

The piece requires great coordination between musicians, singers, and stage crew. The singers perform their roles from memory, which requires greater coordination with the orchestra , Lebel noted.

The cast is made up of Edgar Villalba (Don Ottavio), Jafet Maldonado (Commander), Alberto Albarrán (Masetto), Jacinta Barbachano (Doña Elvira), Darenka Chávez (Zerlina), Armando Gama (Leporello), Angélica Alejandre (Doña Anna) and Juan Carlos Heredia (Don Giovanni).

One of the most important criteria we use when selecting performers is that most have already sung it. They know the role and have stage experience, and they have a concept, an idea of ​​how to do things, and they are excellent performers.

Lebel mentioned that the OSX will be staging Don Giovanni after seven years of not staging an opera; most operas are performed in concert format. This time, we're going to have a minimalist staging, because we don't have a pit to hide the orchestra .

With stage direction by Arturo Sandoval and the participation of the University of Veracruz Choir, under the baton of Jorge Cózatl, the performance will be tomorrow at 8 p.m. in the Tlaqná hall, in Xalapa, Veracruz.

The audience will enjoy Mozart and the way he presents each character. I'm sure they'll leave the theater feeling like they've witnessed something very special.