A classic Don Juan tale and a creative Hot Springs, Ark.-based opera troupe make Thursday night at the Regional Arts Center downtown the place to be.
The Muses pay a return visit to Texarkana for a fully-staged rendition of Mozart's opera "Don Giovanni" starting at 7:30 p.m. The show is part of the Texarkana Regional Arts and Humanities Council's programming for the season.
Expect The Muses to present "Don Giovanni" in a way so even those without prior opera experience will be able to follow along and be wrapped up by the beauty of the entire presentation, said Deleen Davidson, general director for The Muses.
"It is a classic tale of the philandering nobleman and his damage that he inflicts on women throughout the area and throughout his many years of conquest," the director said. Eventually, he receives justice and a comeuppance.
"It is the Don Juan story," Davidson said of a tale that touches on universal experiences and archetypes created through Mozart's libretto.
With the groundwork of Mozart's written opera, it's up to the troupe to figure out how to present "Don Giovanni" for a contemporary audience. As the opera can extend beyond three hours, The Muses will present a version about an hour and forty-five minutes long in two acts.
"It makes the impact greater when it all happens at once," Davidson said.
For several reasons, she explained, they perform "Don Giovanni" in Italian, the language of composition. For one thing, doing so maintains the authenticity. Professional singers also come from all over the world and have learned it in this language.
"They will all come here being prepared in the same school, so to speak," Davidson said.
Also, English supertitles projected alongside the stage will enable viewers to "follow the story blow by blow" and understand what's happening on stage, she says, noting that for The Muses with blackbox theater as the starting point the core element in presentation will always be the voices and the performers themselves.
"After you start with that concept, then it goes into theater of the imagination," Davidson said. That means they'll add elements that are suggestive of certain things in the opera. In the case of Don Giovanni, it's a costuming palette of black and white with red.
"The chorus will all be barefoot. They represent the villagers," Davidson said, noting the symbolism of no shoes means they were serfs who lived off the land.
Although there's a more modern look to the costumes, you won't be able to pin it down to any one era. "We want this basically to be any time period," Davidson said.
For this Muses production, they're bringing a large cast of eight principal performers, Davidson said. It's a production that needs serious performers in each of these roles, she said. The voicing is unusual with four deep baritones, one tenor and three female sopranos.
Two prior Muses shows in Texarkana were more like opera cabarets. Also, completely unique to this production will be the element of dance in various spots during the opera. This represents the female spirit, says the Muses director.
Be ready for something accessible, beautiful, interesting and unusual, Davidson said. For those who aren't sure of opera, it will be wholly positive.
With opera in the Regional Arts Center, the audience is right up close to the performers. Performers stand nearby, and one can hear everything.
"It's an amazing experience. We call this the Olympics of singing," Davidson said about opera. Muses will be delighted to have new audience members for this intimate experience with one of Mozart's most famous compositions.
"If you have never experienced live opera in this kind of setting, it will absolutely be different from what you're expecting it to be," said Davidson. She invites people to attend even if they've had bad opera experiences in the past, encouraging them to join The Muses for an experience with this special world.
"We think it's going to be a terrific night and invite everyone to come and share it with us," Davidson said.
(Tickets: $15 advance, $20 at the door, $10 for students. Contact the Perot Theatre to buy tickets in advance: 903-792-4992 or buy at TRAHC.org.)