Partially funded by Rasmuson Foundation Project Grant

Leporello is played by the puppet Wilhiem and manipulated by Catherine Shnek

Donna Elvira is played by the puppet Donna Elvira and manipulated by Tammy Sitar

Donna Anna is played by the puppet Neda and manipulated by Tammy Sitar

Commendatore is played by the puppet Orpheus and manipulated by Brian Hutton and Tammy Sitar

Stoic Mute is played by the puppet Canio and manipulated by Brian Hutton

Zerlina is played by the puppet Melissa and manipulated by Tammy Sitar and Brian Hutton

No ordinary string section at this opera

Puppets express passion of 'Don Giovanni'

By MARK BAECHTEL
Anchorage Daily News

Published: March 4th, 2005
Last Modified: March 4th, 2005 at 04:55 AM

In Room 14 of the Ship Creek Center on Fourth Avenue, as the crowds swirl through during Fur Rondy, the cast and crew of one of the smallest theatrical productions in Anchorage are working on the lighting, cues and music for a production that is mere days away.

"Small" in this case refers to neither the production's budget (though none of its "actors" are being paid) nor the size of the cast it employs (though the "cast" numbers only seven and the crew is even smaller). It refers to size. The proscenium arch is barely five feet above the stage, and the actors -- marionettes all -- stand a little over 2 feet each.

As any production feverishly preparing for its premiere, there are a few glitches in this rehearsal. A can light flips off its mounting, plunging part of the stage into darkness, and one of the main characters takes a header off a wall, landing with a wooden clatter. Behind the theater wall, Buzz Schwall, the impresario responsible for bringing this diminutive production of the opera "Don Giovanni" to the stage, sighs.

"This is why I like to use union people," he says.

Though stage and cast a

In the "Don Giovanni Puppet Show," Don Giovanni invites the statue of the Commendatore to dine with him, as his squire, Leporello, looks on, horrified. The production, a three-scene version of Mozart's masterpiece, will be presented on nights when the Anchorage Opera takes a break from its full-scale performances. Photography Oliver Korshin

Though stage and cast are small, what is not is Schwall's ambition: The production is a three-scene version of Mozart's moody, intense jeremiad against libertinism. The performances this weekend will occupy the same stage space as Anchorage Opera's full-scale production of "Don Giovanni" during dark nights -- when the opera suspends its performances both to bridge traditionally slow nights and to give its cast and crew a chance to rest from their massive undertaking.

If your previous experience with puppets consists of the British act Punch and Judy or watching "Sesame Street" with your toddler, you're in for a surprise. This "Don Giovanni" has much of the drama, violence, betrayal, pageantry and -- of course -- soaring music that the full-sized production has, plus a few twists.

One of the things that has made Schwall's production possible, aside from the cooperation of the opera company, is a project grant he was awarded in October by the Rasmuson Foundation in its latest round of awards in support of the arts.

The money made it possible for him to hire Yngvil Vatn Guttu, education director for Alaska Theatre of Youth, to direct the acting and music. He also hired stage manager Heather Griffin, videographer Jeff Silverman and costume designer and puppeteer Tammy Sitar, as well as additional puppeteers Katherine Shenk and Brian Hutton. The Anchorage Opera's own Ed Bourgeois has served as the production's story consultant.

Schwall began talking with Bourgeois about the project last August, and though Bourgeois green-lighted it at the time, rehearsals didn't start until January, after the grant money flowed in. In addition to hiring his crew, Schwall -- who trained as a maker of marionettes in the Czech Republic -- had to make two new cast members from scratch. Don Giovanni and Donna Elvira are new additions to Schwall's stable of marionettes, the other roles being filled by puppets such as "Melissa," who in this production is playing the ingenue peasant girl Zerlina.

Don Giovanni seduces the peasant girl Zerlina, who is on her way, bouquet of roses in hand, to be married to someone else in "Don Giovanni puppet Show," created by Buzz Schwall. Photography Oliver Korshin

"In the past, she's played much more forceful roles," Schwall says. "But in this production, she's much more ... demure."

Schwall and the other cast members talk about the marionettes' acting chops with absolutely straight faces, and watching as the dress rehearsal unfolds, it's easy to see why. In the hands of experienced puppeteers, the figures gradually lose their strange, stiff cartoonishness and begin to seem more fluid and expressive, as if the figures were masks worn by the puppeteers, extensions of their bodies, and not merely jointed assemblages of wood dangling from strings.

"The more you work with and watch the puppets, the more you forget -- and they seem to forget -- that they're puppets," Vatn Guttu says. "It's something about how the puppeteers project their energy. They make it so a block of wood can transmit emotion to the audience."

A drunken banquet unfolds, food falling from a plate, tankards and wine glasses scattering. Leporello hides, grim and goggle-eyed behind a chair as the Don's terrified aria begins and he is pulled toward his fate. Vatn Guttu watches, her fingers motionless on her Powerbook's keyboard.

"There's something about a marionette," she says. "It's meditative and kind of dreamy. Eventually, the audience begins to trust them as if they were real."

Arts editor Mark Baechtel can be reached at 257-4323 or mbaechtel@adn.com .

DON GIOVANNI PUPPET SHOW is at 4 p.m. Sunday, March 6, and 7 p.m. Monday, March 7, in Discovery Theatre. Tickets: $10, available at CarrsTix.

Leporello (played by Wilhem) reads the score for Don Giovanni

Commendatore (played by Orpheus) challenges Don Giovanni to defend his daughters honor. His attempt is futile and fatal.

Zerlina (played by Melissa) is Giovanni's young target.

Giovanni and Leporello escape from mob to a cemetery. Meeting the Commendatore's statue and invite him to dinner.