UPDATE: You can also download a PDF ebook version of this comic right here.
Every so often, the nice folks at the Portland Opera invite a bunch of cartoonists (incl. yrs. truly) to come watch dress rehearsals and sketch whatever we want.
On Monday, the Opera invited us to the dress rehearsal of "Don Giovanni." (Everyone's Twitter posts from the evening are collected at #pdxgiovanni. The Opera posted everyone's sketches here.) As usual, I speed-drew a "live comics adaptation" of the show, during the show. When the lights came up, I put down my pen.
The resulting comic is after the jump. Click on any panel to enlarge.
Overture! Buncha folks sittin'. Emo Girl in the middle there (Anna, the Commendatore's daughter) may prove important
Sure enough, Anna is seduced by Don Giovanni. Don is a nobleman / sex addict in need of serious counseling. And Don's servant Leporello has had enough of his crap.
Well.
Anna's dad the Commendatore disapproves. So Don kills him in a duel
Anna makes her fiancé Ottavio swear vengeance on her father's killer BUT DON WAS WEARING A MASK
Don drags Leporello ... to a train station, I think? Another old flame, Elvira, is there looking for Don
Elvira figures it out. It gets awkward
Leporello distracts Elvira with the surefire "Would You Believe My Boss is the Wilt Chamberlain of 18th Century Italy" Maneuver
And then suddenly OH HAY A PEASANT WEDDING IN PROGRESS
OH JUST GO AHEAD AND SEDUCE THE PEASANT BRIDE DON
BUT WAIT Donna Elvira turns up to spoil Don's fun
And then! Enter start-of-show conquest Anna and fiancé Ottavio, in mourning over the Commendatore (and unable to recognize Don, because masks). Elvira talks crap about Don to Ottavio. Don talks crap about Elvira to Anna.
Anna figures out like a minute after Don leaves that he totally killed her dad in that duel. Ottavio? Nonplussed.
Meanwhile, Don keeps talking like a sex addict and Leporello keeps whining
And in a shocking development, Don has created some mistrust between the peasant bride and groom
The peasant bride is doing what she can (sexually) to throw the peasant groom off the scent
The distraction doesn't last long though because THE PEASANT GROOM HAS JEALOUS NOTIONS
... and then Don shows up to throw the peasant bride and groom a masquerade ball. As it turns out, it's A MASQUERADE BALL FULL OF FRENEMIES
Don makes his play with the peasant bride; pretty much every grudge-holder from earlier in the opera calls out Don; END OF ACT ONE
ACT TWO. Don and Lep are lounging around in their skivvies. Leporello is ripped. Don is f*cking nuts
Incredibly, Don's stupid plan to disguise Lep as Don so Don can seduce Elvira's maid while Lep seduces Elvira ... actually works
Just as Don is about to score with the help, the peasant groom busts in with an armed mob
Don gets the groom alone and whups his ass
The peasant bride ministers to the groom with, um, the healing power of song
And then everyone gangs up on Leporello-disguised-as-Don just as HE'S about to score with Elvira
Leporello unmasks ... and now suddenly they're all at a funeral for Anna's dad
Ottavio gets his big number
Elvira kind of says what we've all been thinking
Don Giovanni responds to this about like you'd expect
And then the Commendatore's ghost speaks
Don's reaction is kind of unexpected
Don gets ready for his Dinner with Death while Anna sings about vengeance and waiting to wed or something
Don enjoys his "dinner," is generally a dick
Elvira shows up, is mocked
AND THEN THE COMMENDATORE'S GHOST SHOWS UP WITH A SPECIAL MESSAGE FOR DON
THE END
___________________
You can also download a PDF ebook version of this comic right here.
As ever, thanks to the Portland Opera for throwing these mad comic-artist live-tweet dress-rehearsal shindigs. "Don Giovanni" (well worth your time) plays Nov. 2, 4, 8 and 10 at the Keller Auditorium. You can get half-price tickets for the Thursday, Nov. 8 performance at this link if you use the password MOZART.
- #pdxgiovanni Twitter hashtag from the evening
- All #pdxgiovanni tweets collected by Storify
- Photos from the evening by Byron Beck
SKETCHES BY OTHER COMICS FOLK IN ATTENDANCE:
- The Portland Opera's collection of everyone's sketches
- Joelle Jones: [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ blog post ]
- Barry Deutsch: [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] [ blog post ]
- Matt Grigsby
- Lucy Bellwood
- Adrian Wallace: [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] [ 4 ]
- Becky Hawkins
Comments