Meet our singers: ERIK ANSTINE, Leporello

Photo by Rebecca Fay

Though the leading man is eventually dragged to hell, some may have noticed that the legend of Don Juan lives on in Seattle Opera’s production of Don Giovanni. Enter Leporello as portrayed by Erik Anstine, bass. The Seattle Opera Young Artist graduate, who's been singing in Europe for the past several years, was recently applauded by Gavin Borchert of The Seattle Weekly, who found him to have the most “debonair” of the deep voices in Don Giovanni. We spoke with Anstine about what it’s like to revisit the character of Leporello for Seattle Opera, now on the mainstage rather than in a Young Artist Program (YAP) performance, not to mention singing with his best friend Evan Boyer, our Masetto.

What’s it been like singing in Zurich?
It’s now my third season. After Don Giovanni, I head straight back for The Magic Flute. It’s nice to be on the European side of things. It’s exciting and different. There’s so much more opera being produced, too. I’m able to get good experience, and I’ve made lots of friends.




What are the big differences between singing in the states versus Europe?
Generally speaking, houses in the German-speaking part of Europe are more open to unconventional productions. I have been involved in some fantastic, interesting performances, and also some rather strange ones. With so much opera being produced, there is a real sense of our art form being alive and an ongoing dialogue.

Erik Anstine (Leporello), right, and Nicolas Cavallier (Don Giovanni). Elise Bakketun photo

You’re quite active on Twitter. Tell me about the opera community on social media.
The community is definitely growing. There is always a flurry of conversation when a production is canceled or when an exciting production is happening. We also use Twitter to cheer on our friends performing in other productions. Like other social media, it's a great way to stay in touch with friends I might not see for years, or donors, fans, etc.

Publicity shot for Seattle Opera's social media channels with the two best friend and basses!

Tell us about being college roommates with Evan Boyer (Masetto).
We had a great time! By our senior year, we were good friends. We lived above both a pizza place, Gigio's, as well as another apartment full of friends. I think there was a pretty wild Halloween party we jointly hosted, but I can't get into too many details. Evan and I had actually never been in a production together before this Don Giovanni, so it's great to finally share the stage with him.

The first act finale finds you dancing with Evan. Tell us a) about your expertise as a dancer and b) something embarrassing about your friend.  
Ha! I have absolutely no "expertise as a dancer." Leporello is making Masetto dance with him in the score, so that's what we do. We have a basic framework of the dance, but we improvise a lot of it. It keeps things exciting!

In terms of an embarrassing moment about Evan? I did plan his bachelor party down in Orlando, but again, can't get into any details. I'm sworn to secrecy.

Erik Anstine (center) with members of the cast of Don Giovanni. Elise Bakketun photo

Has Seattle changed at all since your Young Artist Program days here?
The most obvious change for me is how much the South Lake Union area (where Seattle Opera’s rehearsal studios and administrative offices are) has exploded business-wise. There are way more new glass-and-steel buildings, and a lot more on the way. The traffic is the same, however. Maybe even a little worse.

What are some of your fond YAP memories? Did you make any mistakes that helped you grow or learn?
That was the beauty of the young artist program—it was a safe place to make mistakes. I also made lasting friendships. It was an amazing time of training, learning and developing my craft.

Anstine as Truffaldino (far left) in the 2010 Seattle Opera Young Artists Program production of Ariadne auf Naxos. Chris Bennion photo 

Anstine as Leporello in the 2011 Seattle Opera Young Artists Program production of Don Giovanni. Rozarii Lynch photo

How has your Leporello changed since you last performed the role in the YAP production two years ago?
This is the first role I’ve ever repeated. Everything about the role is much more comfortable. My understanding of the text and character, my feel for the music and style, it has all developed in the past few years. When I picked the score back up over the summer, all I needed was a bit of refreshing, and it came back quite quickly. The biggest changes for me come from working with a different director, conductor, and cast. Nicolas Cavallier, who plays Don Giovanni in my cast, has such an elegance onstage. It makes my job as a foil really easy. It also helps that the costume department has put me in boots that are like five pounds each, so I just clomp around onstage.

What makes this particular production special?
Again, I think it's the cast. We're all having a blast onstage! Nicolas and Elizabeth are fantastic to work with, and most of my scenes are with them. Once we were solid on the blocking and everything, we could just have fun with the piece, and I think that comes across to audience.

Erik Anstine (second from left) as Leporello, with Evan Boyer, Lawrence Brownlee and Cecelia Hall in Don Giovanni. Elise Bakketun photo

Is this story relevant to today at all?
Completely. The story is old; the archetypes are timeless—I think that speaks to the genius of Mozart and Da Ponte. All of the characters are conflicted and complex. If you leave the theater simply hating The Don, then our production may not have done the piece justice.

You have two more opportunities to see Don Giovanni. Tonight (Halloween) and tomorrow!

#MozartsBadBoy

Meet Our Singers: EVAN BOYER, Masetto

What do you do if you’re a kid whose deep voice always sticks out? For Evan Boyer, the answer was: become an opera singer. “No matter how quiet I tried to talk in class, I was always that kid who the teacher could hear,” Boyer says. As a teenager, he discovered his true talent accidentally at camp: some cute girls who liked his bass sound asked him to sing for them. He impressed his audience, and surprised himself with what turned out to be a defining moment. It led him to pursue choir in high school, and later, he studied voice in college. Now, Boyer is a recent graduate of Lyric Opera of Chicago’s professional training program. He makes his Seattle Opera debut as Masetto in Don Giovanni, and has been called “excellent” by The Seattle Times.

Welcome to Seattle Opera! You’re making your debut with us.
Don Giovanni was actually the first opera I ever saw as a senior in high school. It was the Kentucky Opera in Louisville. [He says the name with a Southern accent: "Lou-ville."] I guess here in Seattle you’d say “Louie-ville” [laughs].

Based on some of the names Masetto calls his wife, as well as his quick temper, it might be easy to assume that he’s a bad guy. However, he’s more complex than that, isn’t he?
Masetto has a temper, and tends to see things in black and white--there's very little gray area for him. But he’s a really honest, good guy; he's just trapped in an impossibly difficult situation. He thinks his wife is abandoning him for someone else on his wedding day; in an instant, the happiest day of his life has become a nightmare. Masetto is of a lower class. There’s nothing he can do when this nobleman starts coming on to Zerlina. She’s definitely not resisting as much as she should be. Naturally, he’s pissed off.

In the center: Cecelia Hall as Zerlina, the bride, and Evan Boyer as Masetto, her groom, with the cast of Seattle Opera's Don Giovanni. Elise Bakketun photo

There are different ways to play Masetto: the big, burly moron who just runs around breaking things, or perhaps, as a buffo character. I don't see him as either. He's not the smartest guy you'll ever meet, and he's certainly coarse at times, but his situation is incredibly serious, so while he occasionally makes stupid decisions (like handing over his weapons to a disguised Giovanni in Act II), I think to play him as anything other than a normal guy trapped in a bizarre circumstance wouldn't be right.

Cecelia Hall (Zerlina) and Evan Boyer (Masetto) with members of the Seattle Opera Chorus in Don Giovanni. Elise Bakketun photo

Once upon a time, you and Erik Anstine (Leporello in Don Giovanni) were college roommates. Tell us about that.
Yes, we’ve been best friends for many years now. Day one of undergrad, we nerded out over bass-related opera stuff, and have been friends since.

It must be fun performing with him here at Seattle Opera.
Yes! And actually, I’ve also known Cecelia [Hall] (Zerlina in Don Giovanni) for almost as long as I've known Erik, so it’s been great to spend time with these two old friends. Even though we’ve known each other for so long, we’ve never actually been in a show together. It’s been a lot of fun finally getting to take the stage with them.

Best friends and basses, Evan Boyer as Masetto (far left) and Erik Anstine as Leporello (second from left) with Cecelia Hall as Zerlina and Lawrence Brownlee as Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni. Elise Bakketun photo 

What else have you enjoyed about being in Don Giovanni?
My part doesn’t rotate, and I have really enjoyed performing with both casts. It’s been interesting to see what each singer brings to the role, and how that shapes the performance as a whole. While the story always follows the same journey, each cast has a different way of getting us there. It keeps the production fresh and spontaneous.

Cecelia Hall (Zerlina) and Evan Boyer (Masetto) in Don Giovanni. Elise Bakketun photo

As a millennial who fell into classical music, you have a unique perspective. What’s the best way to get young people interested in our art form?
Growing up in Louisville in a non-musical family, I had minimal exposure to classical music. I think one of the easiest ways to get young people interested is to just give them opportunities to see it. Exposure is key. Once they attend an opera, they'll see that it is an enthralling art form, even if, like me, hip-hop music is their first love.

Evan Boyer (Masetto), right, and members of the Don Giovanni cast. Elise Bakketun photo

You still have three more opportunities to see Don Giovanni (Oct. 29, 31 and Nov. 1)! For tickets and more information, go to seattleopera.org.  

#MozartsBadBoy

A History of Don Giovanni at Seattle Opera

Don Giovanni is an opera of infinite possibilities. It’s what scholars call an ‘open’ work, meaning open to interpretation; unlike, say, La bohème, the creators of Don Giovanni didn’t go about to create an opera with a fixed and focused message. Instead, they asked a lot of questions, which is why we like to present varying interpretations of open works like Don Giovanni, or Hamlet, or Wagner’s Ring. Engaging with these works is a great way to learn about ourselves—what we think, what we feel, what we believe. We’ll never finish ‘climbing the mountain’ with these rich masterpieces of theater. But when we put them on, we make a valiant effort to get up above the treeline and enjoy—not THE definitive view, but A possible view.

This fall, Seattle Opera presents its 8th production of Don Giovanni in 50 years. We’ve had charming Dons, sinister Dons, Dons both young and innocent and those more knowing or mature. We once had a Don who was a vicious murderer, while in other productions he’s been an okay guy with bad luck. And just as this wonderfully complicated central character has varied, so too have all the others; we’ve had milquetoast Ottavios and heroic Ottavios, crazily obsessive Elviras and noble, do-gooder Elviras, clownish, foolish Leporellos and classy, wise Leporellos.

We now have photos from all 8 Seattle Opera Don Giovanni productions posted on our historical mini-site, seattleopera50.com; here, click the header above each photo to explore those productions in more detail.

1968 Don Giovanni

Gabriel Bacquier as Don Giovanni
Des Gates, photo

The elegant French baritone Gabriel Bacquier was Seattle Opera’s first Don Giovanni. The production, which concluded the company’s fourth full season in Spring 1968, featured the second Seattle Opera appearance of Dame Joan Sutherland (Donna Anna), who had made her debut as Lakmé the year before. Sutherland’s husband, Richard Bonynge, conducted, and her favorite mezzo, Huguette Tourangeau, sang Zerlina.

1979 Don Giovanni

When they come for Don Giovanni at the end of Act One, Sherrill Milnes made a daring escape, swinging across his ballroom from a chandelier.
Chris Bennion, photo

One of America’s leading Verdi baritones in recent decades, Milnes first sang in Seattle in 1966 (Count di Luna). He returned to sing Mozart’s bad boy in a winter 1979 production infamous because an ongoing strike at Seattle Symphony meant there was no orchestra. Instead, Music and Education Director Henry Holt played the piano (and another pianist played the harpsichord; a choirster with a mandolin accompanied Giovanni’s serenade). Glynn Ross, Seattle Opera’s first General Director, recalled the audience reaction:

“I went out to the lobby to meet the audience thinking there would be some who would expect a refund for no orchestra. Instead, I had the surprise of my life as the enthusiastic audience lined up to crunch my hand in congratulations and the ladies smeared my cheeks with kisses. Why? Was it an anti-union audience? Not at all. They had had a whole new experience. The singers, exposed without orchestra, really delivered an ensemble performance and this singing defined the genius of Mozart to the audience in a whole new way. They had heard every nuance, every phrasing, every accent; it was a new experience.”

[Excerpt from Glynn Ross’s memoirs published in 50 Years of Seattle Opera]

1991 Don Giovanni

Gary Smith, photo

Certainly one of the most controversial productions in Seattle Opera history, Speight Jenkins’ first presentation of this masterpiece polarized the public. Some lamented the absence of fantasy and romance in Christopher Alden’s production; others applauded a thrilling piece of theater. The Don was Seattle’s favorite baritone from 1984 to 1994, Dale Duesing, who never left the stage. Sheri Greenawald gave a powerful performance as Donna Anna, and Gabor Andrasy, a regular baddie in Seattle Opera’s Ring in those days, thrilled as her father.

1999 Don Giovanni

Kurt Streit (Don Ottavio) threatens Giovanni, while demons lurk.
Gary Smith, photo

A few years later, Speight Jenkins presented Don Giovanni again—this time, set in a dark fantasy of eighteenth-century Spain. Flying Goya-esque monsters and sudden bursts of flame contributed to the dark atmosphere, as did the vile Don Giovanni of Jason Howard. With this production, Christine Goerke made her Seattle Opera debut as Donna Elvira. Husband-and-wife team of Sally Wolf and Kevin Langan joined the ensemble as Donna Anna and Leporello.

2000 Young Artists Program Don Giovanni

A young Morgan Smith as the Don.
Gary Smith, photo

The Young Artists Program took on Mozart’s ambitious dramedy in its third season. The two Don Giovannis, Morgan Smith and David Adam Moore, have both gone on to great success on the mainstage, as have Mary Elizabeth Williams (the Elvira) and Lawrence Brownlee (the Ottavio). Williams, who returns in January as Tosca, won Artist of the Year for her 2011 performance as Serena in Porgy and Bess. Brownlee, who won Artist of the Year in 2008 for Arturo in I puritani, now sings Don Ottavio in our current production—taking on this important role for the first time in his professional career.

2007 Don Giovanni

Marius Kwiecien (Giovanni) feeds Ailish Tynan (Zerlina) while Kevin Burdette (Masetto) fumes.
Rozarii Lynch, photo

The production we’re giving this fall, conceived by director Chris Alexander with costume designer Marie-Therese Cramer and set designer Robert Dahlstrom, first came to our stage in 2007. You can hear audio clips from that performance, conducted by Andreas Mitisek, on SoundCloud. Polish baritone Marius Kwiecien won Artist of the Year for his powerful Don Giovanni, and the intriguing production made Speight Jenkins’ list of his all-time favorites among the many operas he produced.

2011 Young Artists Program Don Giovanni

Jaqueline Bezek (Zerlina) and Erik Anstine (Leporello)
Rozarii Lynch, photo

Most recently, Seattle Opera’s Young Artists Production gave us a Fellini-esque Don Giovanni set in a 1950s Mediterranean world. Erik Anstine, who sang Leporello, now takes the role to the mainstage in the current production. In that YAP production, he (with Jacqueline Bezek as Zerlina) sang the oft-ommitted duet, “Per queste tue manine,” in which Zerlina, like Turandot, threatens to avenge the entire feminine gender by attacking Leporello. (He manages to escape; it’s an odd and amusing scene, but usually it’s cut because Mozart added it as an afterthought, the music isn’t particularly distinguished, and Don Giovanni is already a full-length opera!)

Mozart's Bad Boy Headed to McCaw Hall

The motorcycle that Nicolas Cavallier/Mark Walters will ride as the title character in Don Giovanni which plays at Seattle Opera Oct. 18 - Nov. 1. Motorcycle provided by Moto International Seattle.  

This fall, one of the most popular operas of all time is heading to Seattle. Here's a hint: The hashtag we're using to talk about the show is #MozartsBadBoy! Yes, that's right. Don Giovanni's the name; sweet sin is his favorite game!

With glorious music, Don Giovanni tells a cautionary tale of an insatiable skirt-chaser who must pay the price for his misdeeds. Seattle Opera's production was praised when first presented in 2007. The Everett Herald wrote: “Seattle’s production pulses with scenic delights and compelling staging that never drags. It’s a big story to tell: Don Juan seduces and worse, even murders, without remorse....In this production, it’s a great ride.”

Aidan Lang, our new General Director in more than three decades, said people have been coming back to this work since its 1787 premiere. Why? The genius of Mozart’s compelling characters, for one:

“Mozart gives us a tug-of-war between thought and feeling, right brain and left brain. Logic tells us we should condemn the character of the Don outright. But then our emotions kick in. We cannot help but be charmed, or even seduced by him. We reluctantly admire his unflinching adherence to his worldview, which celebrates free will even in the face of death.”

Stage director (and three-time Seattle Opera Artist of the Year award winner) Chris Alexander also thinks there's more to the Don than simply being bad. Alexander is excited to show the character as dynamic, as monstrously charming (or a charming monster). Joining Alexander on Giovanni's artistic team is the one-and-only Gary Thor Wedow, known for his "authoritative musical leadership” and “vibrant conducting” according to The Seattle Times. Alexander's most recent work at McCaw Hall includes The Tales of Hoffmann (2014). Recently, Wedow has led compelling performances of The Magic Flute (2011) and Orpheus and Eurydice (2012).  

Mariusz Kwiecien (Don Giovanni) in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, 2007. Rozarii Lynch photo

In the title role, the production stars French bass, Nicolas Cavallier, who thrilled Seattle audiences in the May 2014 production of The Tales of Hoffmann with performances that were “urbane,” “smooth,” and “richly sung,” according to Opera News. Indeed, The Seattle Times called his portrayal of Hoffmann’s Villains, a “quadruple-threat”; he sang strongly and dominated each with a “particular brand of menace.”

 

Nicolas Cavallier played The Villians in the 2014 production, The Tales of Hoffmann. Elise Bakketun photo

Lawrence Brownlee returns to Seattle to sing Don Ottavio for the first time in his professional career. The Seattle Times said the Seattle Opera Young Artist graduate was “at the international top of his form” when he sang Tonio in Daughter of the Regiment a year ago, in October 2013. The newspaper added: “[Brownlee] sings his highflying arias with an ease, purity and polish that could hardly be bettered."

Lawrence Brownlee (right) pictured with Sarah Coburn in Daughter of the Regiment (2013).
Elise Bakketun photo 

Cuban soprano Elizabeth Caballero returns to McCaw Hall for the role of Donna Elvira following her performance as Mimì in La bohéme in February 2013. “As Mimì, Elizabeth Caballero was far and away the best singer in the cast, her voice swelling gracefully over every note, light but powerful, precise but full,” wrote City Arts Magazine. Soprano Christine Brandes will sing Donna Elvira in the alternate cast. Previous Seattle appearances for Brandes include Pamina in The Magic Flute and Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro.

Elizabeth Caballero as Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro, 2009. Rozarii Lynch, photo.

Making her Seattle Opera debut is Canadian soprano Erin Wall as Donna Anna—whose portrayal of this part has been called “exceptional” by the Vancouver Observer. Also making debuts in Seattle are several American artists: baritone Mark Walters (alternate cast Don Giovanni), soprano Alexandra LoBianco (alternate cast Donna Anna), tenor Randall Bills (alternate cast Don Ottavio) and Evan Boyer (Masetto).

Don Giovanni also features Cecelia Hall as Zerlina and Jordan Bisch as the Commendatore. Erik Anstine returns as Leporello, a role he sang to praise from The Seattle Times in 2011 as a Seattle Opera Young Artist. Ashraf Sewailam returns as Don Giovanni’s manservant in the alternate cast.

Marie-Therese Cramer’s chic costume designs incorporate both 18th century and modern-day fashions, and sets by Robert Dahlstrom were lauded as “the most persuasive and imaginative of his career” by The Seattle Post-Intelligencer in 2007.

Don Giovanni in 2007. Rozarii Lynch, photo.

Production Sponsor: Maryanne Tagney and David Jones

The 2014/15 Season in honor of Speight Jenkins

Marion Oliver McCaw Hall, Seattle, Washington
7 performances: Oct. 18, 19 (matinee), 22, 25, 29, 31 and Nov. 1
Approximate Running Time: 3 hours and 20 minutes with one intermission
Evening performances begin at 7:30 p.m., matinee at 2:00 p.m.

For more information, go to seattleopera.org.