Il Dissoluto Punito

* Notes *
In the past week I have seen Don Giovanni twice more, in the first row and in a box. From Row A on the orchestra level, the parts that are offstage are much more noticeable, it is obvious that the sounds are coming from the speakers when they are. It was also much easier not to laugh at the Death Chicken and the Zombie Commendatore, the close proximity shocked me into silence. From the boxes I learnt that the Minuet in the ballroom scene of Act I is played by the musicians in the pit, the Contradanse by musicians in Box A, and the Teutsche is played by those in Box Z.

During both performances I noticed that Twyla Robinson was consistently off key, that Masetto and Zerlina's marriage procession with sounded very much like a race between singers and orchestra, and the set up for the final scene is too noisy as Non mi dir is being sung.

* Tattling *
People are well-behaved when they are right by the orchestra. There was lots of whispering in Box X, especially from those in seats 4 and 5, but the actual words were not discernible. The person in seat 3 snored a bit, somehow this was more endearing than annoying. The cameramen in Box Z were not in place at the beginning of the overture and they talked a little bit during the music.