DON GIOVANNI

A universal myth: without regret, this predator is born free to self-destruct

Don Giovanni is a serial seducer, an obsessive-compulsive narcissist, who flaunts society's rules and brings about his own downfall. We follow him on his round of amorous exploits in the company of his shrewd servant Leporello until, hounded by the ghost of the man he murdered in the first scene, he finishes up dining with him and defying his command to repent. To adapt the words of Bizet's Carmen: he was born free and free he will die (“libre elle est née et libre elle mourra”).

Mozart's audacious opera Don Giovanni was his second joint undertaking with librettist Lorenzo de Ponte (after Figaro and before Così). It has been delighting audiences ever since its premiere in 1787.

Don Juan ranks alongside Don Quixote and Faust as one of Europe's founding myths, an archetypal figure who always provides food for thought and new ideas. By depicting a cold-blooded sexual predator, Don Giovanni affords a chance, in our #MeToo age, to set society in front of a mirror and show just how widespread misogynous conduct is.

This forceful drama, in which tragedy and comedy blend, combines enchanting music with a central character of fascinating psychological complexity. We will see it in an attractive production by the Frankfurt Opera, signed by director Christof Loy. It lays stress on the characters' inner lives and shows Don Giovanni on a 24-hour hunting spree, now a desperate and lonely anti-hero, always eluded by success.

With the support:

DRAMMA GIOCOSO IN TWO ACTS
Libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte.
World premiere: 29/10/1787 in Prague.
First Barcelona performance: 18/12/1849 at the Teatre Principal.
First performance at the Gran Teatre del Liceu: 21/02/1866.
Last Liceu performance: 2/07/2017.
Total number of Liceu performances: 87.

Approximate running time 2h 55m

First act 1h 30m
Interval 20m
Second act 1h 5m

Artistic profile

Director musical: Josep Pons
Stage director: Christof Loy
Repositor: Axel Weidauer
Set: Johannes Leiacker
Costume: Ursula Renzenbrink
Lighting: Olaf Winter
Fencing Master: Thomas Ziesch
Stage Director Assistant: Salva Bolta
Costume Assistant: Lisa Daessler
Production: Oper Frankfurt
Symphony Orchestra and Chorus of the Liceu Opera Barcelona
Director of the Chorus: Conxita Garcia
Concertino: Kai Gleusteen
Conductor Assistant: Emmanuel Niubò
Musiscal assistants: Véronique Werklé, Rodrigo de Vera, David-Huy Nguyen-Phong and Jaume Tribó

Cast

Don Giovanni	Christopher Maltman
Il Commendatore	Adam Palka
Donna Anna	Miah Persson
Don Ottavio	Ben Bliss
Donna Elvira	Véronique Gens
Leporello	Luca Pisaroni
Masetto	Josep-Ramon Olivé	24th,26th,31th October and 2th,5th,8th November
	Toni Marsol	28th October
Zerlina	Leonor Bonilla	24th,26th,31th October and 2th,5th,8th November
	Sara Blanch	28th October

Cast change

On the performance of October 28th, the roles of Zerlina and Masetto are sing by Sara Blanch and Toni Marsol, due to a possible positive of Leonor Bonilla. Meanwhile, and following Health Department protocols, Josep-Ramon Olivé is also isolated as a preventive measure despite of being negative in his PCR test, as Bonilla and Olivé share plenty of scenes together.