Now that it's been made public via Met Opera twitter, I can lament the loss of Mariusz Kwiecien, who was to have opened Thursday's first performance as our Don Giovanni. Instead, he has been benched due to an injury at today's final dress.
The person the Met's chosen to replace him in the DG debut is not even his understudy, Duane Croft, who I thought was quite stunning in his gifted, last minute cover today. Mr. Croft was sitting in the audience among several hundred other covers, dancer understudies, and some students, founders and other lucky ducks who were able to get free tickets to the final dress rehearsal.
Suddenly, he was called from his sit and rushed to the stage this afternoon - in his street clothes, no less - to continue as Don Giovanni after Mariusz was hurt in the first scenes. As the show progressed, wardrobe peeps got him into Don Giovanni's costume, and by the end of the first act, he was wigged (thank god, because a balding Giovanni was not really working aesthetically, though the voice and acting were both quite sound).
Duane Croft was really good, it was a pleasure to watch his older, darker, different interpretation of Giovanni, especially in the final scene when he descends to hell. That said, I only hope that Mariusz heals quickly; he has put so much time, effort, and caring into his character. Everyone on the team has poured their life's blood into the rehearsals for this production - from the Directors to the dance covers, the principals to the stage managers. I am just so saddened by this unforeseen complication and the frustration that Mariusz must feel. Luckily, I am surrounded by incredibly professionals, and as the old adage goes:
The show must go on!
