McVicar’s ghoulish, gothic Don triumphs despite the odd vocal let-down.

Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House

July 25, 2014

It was a big night in Sydney last night. With Hugo Weaving opening in Macbeth across the harbour and Teddy Tahu Rhodes preparing to strut his stuff in the Opera House, it was clearly a night for the bad boys – Sydneysiders can be forgiven for feeling spoilt for choice. Those of us opting for the music, however, can consider ourselves blessed to have seen a dramatic staging that was as detailed and nuanced as the finest piece of theatre.

This is Sir David McVicar’s third crack at Mozart’s masterpiece of sexual morality (or lack of it) and if anything, his view of the work has darkened over the years. And by shifting the action subtly into the Romantic (or in this case, distinctly Gothic) period, he heightens the emotional conflicts at he heart of Da Ponte’s story. Among the numerous lights that McVicar shines on the murkier aspects of the drama, his particular attention here is on the ambiguities and hypocrisies prevalent in a society beginning to button its sexual pants and blouses in preparation for a century of Victorian values....