On May 22nd the new Benevolence Opera Project, who present opera both as entertainment and as a platform for social engagement collaborate with Redwood Theatre to present Don Giovanni in a benefit supporting Redwood Women’s Shelter.

I asked Holly Chaplin /Donna Anna, Mary Ferrari /Donna Elvira, and Kathryn Rose Johnston /Zerlina to reflect on the changing ways we see Mozart’s famous 18th century opera about the famous seducer and its women.

Barczablog: Are we as a society making progress since Mozart’s time?    

Holly Chaplin /Donna Anna: Yes, but in a ‘two steps forward, three steps back’ kinda way. I hate to say it but I regularly come across people who just don’t understand the Me Too movement at all. I have listened to men from all walks of life talk about how the Me Too movement is a threat to them. They often say that they ‘can’t talk to women without being accused of something’.  As much as they don’t deserve my patience, I try my best to listen to these people and hopefully find away to help them understand. My years working in a hospital gave me this skill. I have gotten through to some, but just like ‘two steps forward/three steps back’ fashion, they tell me ‘you’re one of the good ones. (Major face palm)

Barczablog: How is the story different in 2026 than 1783  (or whatever date it premiered) There are differences for the three women: Elvira vs Anna vs Zerlina, class & marriage 

Mary Ferrari /Donna Elvira: Performing these works in 2026, especially for Redwood Women’s Shelter, changes the way we experience them. In Mozart’s time, women often had very little social or legal power, and seduction could easily become manipulation or coercion. Today, we speak far more openly about abuse, consent, and power imbalance, so audiences naturally hear these stories differently. Society has certainly made progress, yet many women are still escaping controlling or abusive relationships, which is why this performance remains painfully relevant today.

The three women in Don Giovanni experience oppression in very different ways depending on class and social position. Donna Anna has status and protection, Donna Elvira carries emotional vulnerability and obsession, while Zerlina is especially exposed because she is young and lower class. Those differences still exist in modern society, even if they appear in different forms.

Holly Chaplin /Donna Anna: This opera will continue to be produced because it will always remain relevant. Let me tell you a short story of Don Giovanni, but maybe instead of calling it Don Giovanni, let’s call it Harvey Weinstein, or Sean ‘P Diddy’ Combs..or R Kelly. You don’t really need to know much more about Don G as a character with those comparisons. We have Donna Anna, but let’s call her Amber Heard instead. We have Don Elvira, but she’ll be played by Kim Kardashian, and Zerlina will be played by Rihanna. That’s Don Giovanni in a nut shell. Amber, Kim and Rihanna all had very public Don Giovanni’s in their lives. 

Kathryn Rose Johnston /Zerlina: Thankfully in 2026 the conversation is a lot more open about assault than it was in the 1700’s. It is unfortunate though that these issues persist (would be nice if Don Giovanni was no longer a relevant story). Thankfully we have shelters to help women in these situations but the eventual goal is of course to lessen/eliminate this kind of behaviour in how we bring up the next generation.

I think the main difference is how it is viewed by audience. Things that were jokes back then, we now know are serious issues and treat them as such. The conversation is alive instead of taboo. Progress has been made, and with luck this production will get us a tiny step closer to getting our message across.

Holly Chaplin /Donna Anna: I am grateful that we have laws to protect victims of sexual assault, but everyone has heard a story about victims being screwed over by the justice system. Sexual assault cases remain to be some of the most difficult in the court of law. Media outlets will mention ‘holes in the story’ making any person who has to recount a traumatic event scared to do so. 

At the end of the day, I still know people who continue to have Me Too stories. I have a Me Too story. What I have to say generally about this; the patriarchy helps very few. Sexual assault can happen to anyone, regardless of who you are. We need to encourage everyone to speak out when they have been wronged because silence only helps the oppressor. 

Barczablog: Can this be funny? how did the comedy work in 18th century.
Must Don Giovanni die, both in the original (18th century social mores) and today? 

Holly Chaplin /Donna Anna: I think it is necessary for Don Giovanni to die…or to get thrown in jail. Otherwise we just watched this guy terrorize three women for two hours with no consequences! If I wanted to do that I could just listen to my friends tell me about their unfortunate tinder dates. 

Kathryn Rose Johnston /Zerlina: This brings up the questions of the death penalty upon which I will not comment. All I’ll say is that the world is a better place without people like the Don.

Mary Ferrari /Donna Elvira: The comedy also functions differently today than it did in the 18th century. Audiences at the time were often more accepting of certain behaviors from powerful men, whereas modern audiences examine those behaviors much more critically. Today, the humor only truly works when we also recognize the darkness and cruelty beneath it.

Holly Chaplin /Donna Anna:  I believe Donna Anna’s assault was a result of Don Giovanni’s thrill seeking behaviour of wanting to knock a woman of high standing down. My heart breaks for Anna. She experiences two traumas in one day, and then people have the audacity to describe her character as crazy! Her music is definitely my favorite but it’s also the most violating to witness. In the recit before Or sai chi l’onore, Anna recounts what happened the night she was assaulted, followed by her father’s murder. This particular recit makes me question if this opera can actually be presented as a comedy anymore because it is the farthest thing from funny. 

Kathryn Rose Johnston /Zerlina: I have to assume Elvira’s interjections were meant to be comedic (the Woman waiting for the man to call her back trope). I see now the struggle of her love vs. Her want to protect others in her position. Context can sometimes negate humour as there are moments we now feel a little guilty laughing at (the Catalogue Aria springs to mind). The main thing we gain from their class differences are the similarities in the experiences of people in different social classes; we are all human.

Barczablog: Compare the music in the three roles. Who has the prettiest tunes, who did Mozart want us to love?  How do you feel about the music Mozart gave each of you?

Mary Ferrari /Donna Elvira: Musically, Mozart gave each woman extraordinary depth and individuality. Elvira’s music is passionate and conflicted, Anna’s is noble and dramatic, and Zerlina’s is warm, charming, and deeply human. Mozart clearly loved all three women musically and gave each of them emotional truth and dignity.

Kathryn Rose Johnston /Zerlina: I feel Zerlina has more to her than meets the eye (or ear). While much of her music is simple, she darts around to different harmonies in ensemble pieces, and even takes the lead in spots of the Act one finale after being assaulted. She is strong and despite being a peasant, knows that she deserves to be treated with dignity. Her music is the brightness of the opera.

Mary Ferrari /Donna Elvira: At the same time, Mozart and Da Ponte’s three operas such as The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni, and Così fan tutte also reflect the limitations of their society. In these works, women are often manipulated, tested, abandoned, or trapped within systems controlled by men. Even when the women are strong, social power usually still belongs to the men. However, I do not believe Mozart mocked women or treated them lightly. Musically, he gave women some of the most beautiful, emotionally truthful music ever written. That is why modern audiences continue to connect so deeply with these operas today. We are not simply watching an 18th century story; we are also confronting issues of power, gender, desire, and abuse that still exist in modern society.

Kathryn Rose Johnston /Zerlina: The thing I find most fascinating (as a recit loving gal) is the division of secco and accompanied recit in each character and how it represents each women’s class. Donna Anna has mostly accompanied recit being higher class and Zerlina only secco (speech like) as she is the lowest class. Elvira gets a bit of both. Their music is indicative of the different archetypes represented in each of the three women and highlights how women of all classes and personalities can be victimized by assault.

Barczablog: Who gets the worst treatment by the Don? 

Holly Chaplin /Donna Anna: Definitely Donna Elvira in the second act. You pity her for still loving him, then you have to suffer the second hand embarrassment when he mocks and taunts her while he eats his dinner. It’s the hardest to watch in my opinion. 

Mary Ferrari /Donna Elvira: Don Giovanni portrays a remorseless, power driven abuser whose charm and authority are used to manipulate, control, and exploit those around him.

Kathryn Rose Johnston /Zerlina: I can’t place a value on how he affects each of them as they all have valid complaints, but I think killing Donna Anna’s father adds insult to injury.

Barczablog: What Mozart roles have you sung or are preparing to sing after this.
And how do you feel about the way women were treated by Mozart (or by librettist Da Ponte in his 3 operas).

Mary Ferrari /Donna Elvira: I have learned the role of Queen of the Night from The Magic Flute, and I hope to perform it in the future. For me, the role is far more than just dramatic high notes. She is a woman expressing power, rage, pain, and desperation at the highest emotional level.

Holly Chaplin /Donna Anna: I have sung a few Mozart roles; Zerlina, Fiordiligi, Cecilio, Queen of the Night, and I am currently looking at Konstanze and Countess. As for how Mozart portrays women, that’s a complicated question. I actually like how Mozart portrays women, however, I think centuries of patriarchal institutions/directors/teachers have made light of the struggles of women. That’s probably how Don Giovanni morphed into a comedy. I can spar all day about Cosi’ ending but that requires a beer. 

Kathryn Rose Johnston /Zerlina: Besides Zerlina, I have sung Susanna (Le nozze di Figaro), Servilia (La clemenza di Tito), Ilia (Idomeneo) and Bastienne (Bastien und Bastienne).

Holly Chaplin /Donna Anna: What I love about Mozart’s operas are that he never does anything for no reason. Now what the ‘reason’ is, will be up for debate til the end of time. I can only drone on with my take..! 

Donna Elvira and Donna Anna are both part of higher society, per the use of “Donna” YET it seems to me like Elvira is somehow lower than Anna. I think Elvira is meant to be older, and from an Andrew Tate perspective, has lost some of her value. With Don G being a thrill seeker, it makes sense that he would be bored of his actual wife. Maybe she is chasing him around to ensure that she gets his pension from the army when he inevitably succumbs to his risky behaviour? Elvira also has the most explosive anger toward the Don, but then she gets very weepy in the act 2 sextet…maybe pregnancy hormones? 

Kathryn Rose Johnston /Zerlina: I think (and hope) that Mozart was a feminist. Many of his works were ahead of their time in the way they dealt with class struggles and gender-roles. The very fact that he chose to set stories that pushed the boundaries of what people in his time deemed acceptable feels like good ally-ship. I have always felt valued whenever I have been lucky enough to be a woman in a Mozart piece.

Holly Chaplin /Donna Anna: I think Zerlina being low class and young was meant to show how regular, everyday women were accustomed to the little egos of men. She sings Batti Batti to her husband Masetto. Let me paraphrase this translation; Hit me, my Masetto. Pull my hair, carve out my eyes and I’ll kiss you afterwards…it is possible that she’s calling his bluff because she finishes the aria with the text ‘non hai core’(have no heart/you don’t have the heart to) It’s possible that Zerlina and Masetto are in a very toxic relationship that includes gaslighting and infidelity, or that she’s stuck in an abusive relationship and saw Don Giovanni as a way out. I guess the director ultimately gets to decide! 

Mary Ferrari /Donna Elvira: Mozart did not write women as decorative characters; he gave them psychological complexity and extraordinary emotional intensity. In many of his operas, the women carry some of the most honest and deeply human moments in the music.

Holly Chaplin /Donna Anna: This opera is basically an essay on how to make a character unlikable. The opera starts with the very fresh aftermath of him assaulting Donna Anna, and then kills her father. You can ask ‘well maybe he went through something to act the way he does’…then we meet Donna Elvira, showing his pattern of garbage behaviour. Then we get to see him in action when he starts after Zerlina. This man is trash. The end. 

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Benevolence Opera Project & Redwood Theatre Present Don Giovanni A One-Night-Only Opera Event Supporting the Redwood Women’s Shelter, Toronto, on Friday, May 22 at 8:00 PM at the Redwood Theatre, 1300 Gerrard St East.

This special one-night-only performance features Canadian Baritone Alexander Hajek in the titular role of Mozart’s electrifying masterpiece of seduction, power, and consequence, on Friday, May 22 at 8:00 PM at the Redwood Theatre. Featuring some of Canada’s finest operatic talent, this intimate production invites audiences into a thrilling “chess match” of wit, desire, and morality—brought vividly to life in the vibrant Redwood Theatre space.

A pre-performance talk will be given at 7:15 PM by Opera Canada’s Michael Jones, offering insight into the opera’s enduring legacy and themes.

Cast & Creative Team:
Don Giovanni — Alexander Hajek
Leporello — Luke Noftall
Masetto — James Coole-Stevenson
Commendatore — Andrew Tees
Donna Anna — Holly Chaplin
Don Ottavio — Cameron Mazzei
Donna Elvira — Mary Ferrari
Zerlina — Kathryn Rose Johnston
Musical Director & Pianist — Brahm Goldhamer
Narrator & Producer — Ryan Hofman

Event Details:
Date: Friday, May 22
Time: 8:00 PM (Pre-talk at 7:15 PM)
Location: Redwood Theatre, 1300 Gerrard St E., Toronto

Tickets start at $50 and are available at:
https://www.theredwoodtheatre.com/event-details/don-giovanni