Oct. 11 (Bloomberg) -- La Scala's new ``Don Giovanni'' is nihilist, minimalist and high-risk.

Blank walls, black-and white-costumes and a total absence of frippery characterize Peter Mussbach's somber take on Mozart's work, heralding closer links between the Milanese house and the distant Berlin Staatsoper. With Daniel Barenboim as the new La Scala guest conductor and guiding musical light, it makes sense for the head of his Berlin house to stage an opera in Milan.

Mussbach's emotionally chilly intellectualism is light years away from the period costume dramas favored under the 14 years of Riccardo Muti's Scala era and entirely in keeping with French manager Stephane Lissner's new direction for the hallowed house. Equally in tune with Lissner's taste for renewal is the presence of 25-year-old Venezuelan prodigy Gustavo Dudamel on the podium.

This is only Dudamel's second-ever crack at opera -- the first was Donizetti's ``L'Elisir d'Amore'' in Berlin earlier this year -- and as such, a phenomenal gamble for La Scala. The bet pays off. What Lissner has won is a sensation, the implausible spectacle of a monstrously gifted youngster giving vastly more than his age or experience should make possible.

Dudamel's ``Don Giovanni'' is startlingly reflective, characterized by lugubrious tempi, flashes of impetuous speed and an iron grip on proceedings. Despite some hairy moments, Dudamel never loses control. He maintains his equilibrium. This in itself is a major achievement. Dudamel has truckloads of talent, absolute assurance, an elegant technique and something to say.

What's the Hurry?

None of that is enough to justify the presence of a novice at the helm of this opera in this house. A global hunger for new stars is to blame. Dudamel has burst onto the scene like a supernova and the world's biggest music institutions are falling over one another to woo him. Why should he refuse? The offers are irresistible and he has enough artistry and energy to keep up.

But in 20 years' time, Dudamel's ``Don Giovanni'' will be a great deal better, and he will still be a young conductor. What's the hurry? Dudamel still has a lot to learn. There would be something wrong if he didn't.

Mussbach's staging takes a dig at star culture too, sketching a world which depends upon the darkly dynamic presence of Don Giovanni at its center. When the Don is sucked away in a puff of sulfurous stage smoke by the silver-painted Commendatore, the cast is left limply bereft. This is not a new view of the piece.

Donna Anna is willingly ravished by the seducer as the opera begins, Donna Elvira is a sex-hungry vamp, cuckolded bridegroom Masetto is truly violent to his fragile Zerlina. Don Ottavio, dressed as a sinister, buttoned-up version of Don Giovanni, is a twisted figure, and only the grudging servant Leporello preserves a measure of humanity as the diabolical night wears on.

Unlikable Partygoers

It would all be less tedious if there were the slightest indication that Mussbach had any affection for his characters. Instead, we are served up an unlikable bunch of self-absorbed partygoers caught in an empty world where eroticism is the only currency.

This, too, is robbed of meaning through repetition. The promise of love, the true seducer's trump card, is reduced to the lure of physical pleasure. Mussbach's handiwork is unimpeachable, but he bleaches out both pathos and wit, leaving us a bleak and gloomy Don.

Sensational singing saves the evening from drudgery, most notably Carlos Alvarez's irresistibly sensual Don Giovanni, Carmela Remigio's smoldering yet refined Donna Anna, and Ildebrando D'Arcangelo's charismatic Leporello.

``Don Giovanni'' performances at La Scala are on Oct. 16, 17, 19 21, 28 and 30 and on several dates in November. For more information, go to http://www.teatroallascala.org.

(Shirley Apthorp is a critic for Bloomberg News. The opinions expressed are her own.)

To contact the writer of this story: Shirley Apthorp at sarabande@compuserve.com.

Last Updated: October 11, 2006 06:24 EDT