Don Giovanni at The Estates Theatre

The opera Don Giovanni, the Estates Theatre and the long-standing Mozart tradition are among the greatest glories of Prague’s cultural history. The Estates Theatre is globally unique in that it is the one and only preserved and still functional venue where a world premiere of a Mozart opera took place with the composer himself conducting. This premiere was – as is generally known – of the very “Opera of Operas”, Don Giovanni. And the Estates Theatre is all the more unique owing to the fact that this opera has been performed there for centuries. The world premiere of Don Giovanni on 29 October 1787 was a tremendous success and from Prague the new opera set out on its journey to global acclaim and admiration. Mozart’s “Prague” opera is one of the most frequently performed titles at the National Theatre. Mozart and Da Ponte’s opera is a work of Shakespearean multivalence, blending comedy and tragedy, “high” and “low”, giving rise to philosophical contemplations while at the same time affording entertainment replete with excitement and humour.