PORT ANGELES — Don Juan, the mythic seducer of women, will arrive on the North Olympic Peninsula this Saturday morning.
He’s at the center of a reimagined “Don Giovanni,” Mozart’s famed tragicomic opera, and he will appear on the big screen at the Naval Elks Lodge ballroom, simulcast live from the Metropolitan Opera in New York City.
This is the second-to-last opera event of the season hosted by Ghostlight Productions and the Juan de Fuca Foundation for the Arts. Show time is 9:55 a.m. at the Elks, 131 E. First St., and tickets are available at jffa.org/met and at the door.
Prices range from $14 for students, $18 for seniors and $24 general. Refreshments including mimosas, coffee and baked treats will be available during the three-hour performance.
The Rose Theatre, 235 Taylor St. in Port Townsend, will also host the “Don Giovanni” simulcast at 9:55 a.m. Saturday. Ticket prices are $14 for students, $18 for seniors and $24 general.
For information, see rosetheatre.com.
This is a modern retelling of “Don Giovanni,” with baritone Peter Mattei in the title role. It’s one of the most well-known works in the operatic repertoire, thanks in part to its appearance in the eight-time Academy Award-winning movie “Amadeus.”
Appearing with Mattei, who is from Piteå, Sweden, are sopranos Federica Lombardi from Cesena, Italy; Ana Maria Martinez from San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Ying Fang from Ningbo, China, and tenor Ben Bliss from Prairie Village, Kan.
Nathalie Stutzmann from Suresnes, France, conducts the Met orchestra.
The opera is sung in Italian, with subtitles provided in English.
“In this new staging, the familiar tale of deceit and damnation is set in an abstract architectural landscape, which shines a light into the dark corners of the story and its characters,” according to the Met.
The simulcasts have been top-notch experiences, said Ghostlight Productions board president Ron Graham, who has gone to nearly every one of them this season.
“Even if someone has never seen an opera before, or doesn’t understand whichever language is being sung, the emotion and intent of the performers comes through,” he added. “All of the broadcasts have subtitles if they are not being sung in English. But I have often found myself not needing to read because the story is coming through.”
After “Don Giovanni” this Saturday, the last opera of the 2022-23 season is “Die Zauberflote.”
That Mozart work, aka “The Magic Flute,” will light the large screens at the Elks lodge and at the Rose Theatre on June 3.
