#ceasare siepi

[gch1995]

I love how seductively Bryn Terfel plays the role of Don Giovanni. He has a fantastic voice, and I love how he just pulls out that apple to rub it around Zerlina’s (Hei-Kyung Hong’s) chest sensually. It’s so over the top, but I love it! Also, Hei-Kyung Hong actually portrays Zerlina in a way that makes her come across as more sympathetic than she does. She’s adorable, and her voice is lovely. Obviously, the her character is always meant to be conflicted about agreeing to be with Don Giovanni because she’s already betrothed to Masetto, and since we know that Don Giovanni is a lecherous and unprincipled fuckboy that would make her his victim, no matter what. However, so many opera singers singing this duet with their Don Giovanni play it off as Zerlina actually starting to fall for his seductions and being willing to betray Masetto for some guy she just met. Here, Hei-Kyung Kong genuinely looks conflicted and terrified as Zerlina throughout the whole duet with Bryn Terfel as Don Giovanni, even after she agrees to be with him, though she knows it will hurt Masetto. It’s as if she’s terrified of what Don Giovanni could do if she hadn’t said no to him, and clearly still feeling guilty about Masetto. That’s not something many of the Zerlinas think to do in this duet with the Don Giovannis, and I like it.

Character ask: Don Giovanni

Tagged by @ariel-seagull-wings

Favorite thing about them: Despite all the many things to hate about him, you can't deny that the man is charismatic. He's seductive, of course, but also exuberant, clever, witty, full of zest for life, resilient and unstoppable until the end, and courageous even in the face of hell. It's no wonder that in the world of the opera he's won over so many women, or that in the real world so many men hero-worship him, despite his appalling actions.

Least favorite thing about them: Just a few minor things. He rapes women, seduces and abandons them, chases after other men's wives and fiancées, bullies and endangers his servant, beats up Masetto, kills the Commendatore... but nothing more than that.

Three things I have in common with them:

*I enjoy good food, drink and parties.

*I crave freedom.

*I don't have much reverence for traditional Christian values. (The actual values Jesus taught, yes, but the church's, no.)

Three things I don’t have in common with them:

*I'm not male.

*I'm nowhere near as... um... amorously experienced as he is.

*I actually respect and empathize with other people.

Favorite line:

His reply when Leporello asks him why he deceives women:

È tutto amore! Chi a una sola è fedele, verso

l'altre è crudele; io che in me sento si esteso

sentimento, vo' bene a tutte quante; le donne

poiché calcolar non sanno, il mio buon natural

chiamano inganno.

"It's all for love! He who is faithful to just one is cruel to the others; I, feeling boundless sentiment within me, love them all; because women don't know how to think, they call my good nature deceit."

(This is completed by Leporello's sarcastic gem of a response:

Non ho veduto mai naturale più vasto, e più benigno!

"I've never seen a more generous, more benevolent nature!")

brOTP: Leporello. Their relationship is a dysfunctional mess, but they'd be incomplete without each other.

OTP: I agree with @ariel-seagull-wings that he loves no one but himself.

Although in Claus Guth's 2008 production that had the Don slowly dying of a gunshot wound and Leporello caring for him throughout, I'll admit I was tempted to ship him with Leporello because of the surprisingly tender moments they shared.

nOTP: Any woman.

Random headcanon: One of his conquests was a Romani woman whom he impregnated, and as a result, he became the great-great-grandfather of Carmen. Both characters live in Seville, after all, and she definitely shares some of his spirit and charisma. (Although she's more honest than he could ever be.)

Unpopular opinion: I don't know if this is opinion is unpopular in general, but it's definitely unpopular with many male stage directors and commentators who have written about the opera, even with some I respect like the late Sir Peter Hall:

He's not a hero. He's not a symbol of the Enlightenment, rebelling against the stodgy, oppressive forces of religion and conventional morality. He's a member of the ancient regime who uses his power, status and wealth to indulge himself at others' expense. Yes, he proclaims "Long live liberty!" and mingles with nobles and peasants alike, but only so he can abuse them all equally. And while a part of me does admire his courage as he defies the Stone Guest to the end, just consider what his lack of repentance means! He's not like Carmen asserting her right to love whom she chooses and not be possessed by any man against her will; he's asserting that he'd rather burn in hell than stop raping and abandoning women! There's no possible way to view him as a good guy.

Song I associate with them:

"La ci darem la mano"

"Fin ch'han dal vino"

"Deh, vieni alla finestra"

Favorite picture of them:

These two paintings by Max Slevogt of Francisco d'Andrade in the role:

Samuel Ramey dressed and posed like the latter painting on the cover of Herbert von Karajan's studio recording:

The legendary Cesare Siepi:

Rodney Gilfry with Liliana Nikiteanu as Zerlina:

lldebrando d'Arcangelo:

Erwin Schrott:

Mariusz Kwiecien:

Dmitri Hvorostovsky (RIP):