Yesterday night I was on the (back)stage of Teatro Marrucino for the premiere of Mozart’s Don Giovanni, as always in my capacity of official photographer, with the goal of documenting the event for the theatre’s photographic library.
I have shot other mise en scenes of the same opera, and what captivates me is how, while remaining the same at its essence, the result is different each time. This case is no different, as director Paul-Émile Fourny had a brilliant idea: to portray Don Giovanni as a vampire. Coherently, the lighting design by Patrick Meeus and the video design by Mario Spinaci created a dark overall mood without losing the play’s main characteristic: the alternation between drama and humour. The overall results was essentially coherent with Don Giovanni’s ‘predatory’ attitude, while maintaining a visual style for the mise en scène that was consistent with the time in which the story was set.
When it comes to vampires, mirrors play an important role, so it is not surprising that the director made a substantial use of this prop.
A giant one acted as curtain
In another scene, the mirror only reflected Zerlina, not Don Giovanni, revealing his vampiresque nature.
Being Don Giovanni a vampire, it’s no surprise that, when the time comes to confront him, Masetto is supported by people wearing garlic necklaces and crosses.
The play goes on, and before meeting his fate, Don Giovanni embarks on a painful journey in which ghosts from his past return to haunt him.
After shaking the Commendatore’s hand, Don Giovanni falls
and is finally taken away by demons.
In terms of photography, I have chosen to use only the Fujifilm XF 18-120mm f/4 lens with the Fujifilm X-T5 this time.
As always, the electronic shutter prevented me from activating the anti-flicker feature. Consequently, I set the camera to full manual with a shutter speed of 1/100 and an aperture of F4. I found that using auto-ISO helped prevent overexposure or underexposure. This doesn’t always work, but when it does, the feature is very effective.
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