Tradition with a bucolic twist
Don Giovanni in Concert (out of 4) Produced by Alexander Dobson & Friends. Westben Centre for Connection and Creativity, Campbellford, Ont., July 7.
CAMPBELLFORD, ONT.— On Saturday afternoon, a group of Canadian performers tried a bucolic twist on the Metropolitan Opera’s 80-plus-year tradition of giving people live performances they can hear, but not see.
They presented a concert version — with the bare minimum of props — of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s perennially popular 1787 opera Don Giovanni in the rolling, sun-drenched countryside outside of Campbellford, Ont., a small town on the Trent River.
The concert also included a bare minimum of accompaniment: a concert- grand piano. The event took place in the intimate barn at what was for the past 18 years known as the Westben Festival, but has now been renamed Westben Centre for Connection and Creativity.
It felt odd seeing Don Giovanni performed like this outside of a music school, and there were some cringeworthy moments of bad costuming and awkward movement around the stage. But if one closed one’s eyes, Saturday Afternoon at the Opera-style, it was an impressive performance.
Canadian-British baritone Alexander Dobson, the show’s producer, had assembled a first-rate cast, placing himself in the title role. He also made some judicious cuts to the opera, resulting in a tidy, two-hour performance time. And pianist Andrea Grant was impressive in rendering a colourful, elegant accompaniment.
Dobson was fierce and daring as the Don, fearlessly tackling the role that would have launched 1,003 #MeToo social media posts in Spain alone.
His supporting cast was equally up to the task, including some wonderful work by tenor Colin Ainsworth, bassbaritone Joel Allison, bass Matthew Li, and sopranos Vania Chan, Teiya Kashara and Leanne Kaufman.
Ultimately, though, the show left much to the imagination — including surtitles. The blank barnwood wall behind the stage would have been an ideal place to place a projection that translated the Italian dialogue into English.
Unless it is a particularly static Baroque work, opera really needs to be staged for it to become a truly engrossing experience.
But at least the folks at Westben were being creative with the programming, which includes all manner of classical and popular music styles. The next day promised a solo recital by pianist Robert Silverman, and next weekend’s lineup includes a show by comedians Colin Mochrie and Deb McGrath and a concert by the Vancouver Chamber Choir.
New this year, to go with the festival’s name change and expanded status to include the full calendar year, is a collaborative program.
Over the coming week, nine performer-composers from around the world will be developing new material individually and in groups.
Festival founders Brian Finley and Donna Bennett want the quiet countryside to inspire creative musical minds, much in the way the Banff Centre has done in the Rockies in the past.
Westben proved that having a music festival in an out-of-the-way location could draw a core of enthusiastic fans, so there’s no reason to believe this evolution won’t be able to succeed as well.