In Don Giovanni, how have you seen the Commandatore staged? Was it an actual statue or a human in costume?

Question

I can't help shake the vision from the movie Amadeus where the statue crashes through the wall, and yet the two staged versions of Giovanni I've seen live have an actual statue with the actor off stage or at least hidden somewhere so he can supply the voice. Maybe it's just me, but I think I'd prefer an actual live moving statue as opposed to just the voice, even though the costuming would be quite difficult. Does the libretto call for just a voice without the statue actually moving?

Thank you for your answers. I'm curious mainly because I will be playing both the Commandatore and Masetto when my school performs D.G. next year. (Great opera program, just lacking on the basses...) I know this was how it was originally cast, with the same bass doing both roles. So, mainly, I'm just trying to figure out in my head how it would be staged so I can appear back on stage as Masetto immediately after for the finale. I guess our director would probably have no choice but to use a statue of some sort. It's just a shame because although I am by no means a basso profundo, I definitely have the ideal size to act the part instead of just singing it.

Answer 1

Very interesting question. Da Ponte's libretto doesn't dictate how the "uom di sasso, l'uomo bianco" should appear: scene 19 simply indicates "Il Convitato di Pietra e detti", that is D.G. and Leporello; he later disapperas in the smoke of the flames devouring D.G.. We have a description of him coming in by the terrorized Leporello; earlier, when Don Giovanni dares invite him to dinner, Leporello talks to him and he nods accepting "egli fa così-così". In the movie of the historical version conducted by Furtwaengler in Salzburg in 1954 (Cesare Siepi was Don Giovanni) the statue struts in and the voice is behind ("Don Giovanni a cenar teco m'invitasti e son venuto"); in traditional stagings they prefer to have the guy (usually a giant basso profondo) roll in on wheels with flour on his face and a white military uniform. In semi-scenic versions (Salzburg last year, Ferrara in 1997 with Abbado conducting and M. Salminen as the Convitato) they either hide the Commendatore, leaving it all to the scared face of Leporello and to the doomed arrogance of Don Giovanni, or bypass the problem: who says that a living statue shoul be rigid, frozen ? If he can talk he can walk.
Unlike you, I prefer the statue plus the voice, but I think we both share a love for this enormous masterpiece, the real end-point of classicism in music. The part of Don Giovanni is so beautifully written that normal baritones like Fischer-Dieskau or Hampson, agile basses like Siepi or Raimondi and even a tenor like Domingo could sing it, and that's only one of the charms of this portent.

Answer 2

In the 20+ years I've been working at this theater, we've done D.G. three times ( there's a unwritten rule that a piece has to wait in line 7 years before it gets done again. Presumably to get around to a lot of repertory) Each time, we've had our Commendatore in statue-like costume and make-up come in on his own ( once he was flown down -veryslowly- from the lighting stage above) and then stand still to sing. One fellow was enormous ( over 7 ft tall) and one fellow made up for it by being enormous the other direction. The third man was more or less average in body build, but had an amazing stage presence.
We have to remember that the Classic period of opera still relied heavily on the style of the earlier opera seria from the Baroque period. Scenery, lighting, costumes, were all meant to be opulent and complicated. For the entertainment value. The term Deus ex machina ( the god, or resolution fo the plot) coming out of the box was really taken seriously. Folks wanted their special effects! I would imagine the original Commendatore was wheeled or propelled onto stage and just had to stand and sing.
My score ( Schirmer) doesn't have any stage directions at this point. perhaps a different edition will have better markings....

Answer 3

The statue has to come to life in the last act, so I would expect it to be a person in a costume. I have seen D G many many times, live and on TV, and it has always been a person in costume, even in the early scenes where it doesn't move.

Answer 4

There is no "evolution", for God's Word will remain until the end of time. God is the Alpha & Omega, the Beginning and the End, the Everlasting Light. So, I feel that the world will never get to that point of Christianity being "extinct" because Jesus' Teachings have lasted over 3,000 years and I see no sign of it stopping.