Review: DON GIOVANNI, Royal Opera House

With the opening night delayed due to the death of Queen Elizabeth II and coming at a period of national mourning, this latest revival of Kasper Holten's take on Don Giovanni is as cathartic an experience as it gets.

Despite its murderous opening, Mozart's titular Spanish lothario is far more enamoured with the petit mort than the actual mort. We first meet him as he leaves the house of his latest lover, Donna Anna. Her father takes umbrage at what he perceives to be his daughter's defilement and is killed by the philanderer. It's fair to say that not many comedies start out this way.

Soon after, Giovanni's roving eye settles on the virgin bride Zerlina who is about to get married in his manor. Ignoring the well-worn wisdom of not defecating where you dine, he seduces her, much to the displeasure of her intended. Elvira, a woman he married and abandoned in another town, finds out the Don's location and, before you know it, the libido-on-legs is being hunted by his wife and her maid, Donna Anna and her cuckolded fiancé, and Zerlina's disgruntled groom.

Love Island has nothing on the amorous antics displayed in Holten's expressive work, here directed by Greg Eldridge, with sex and lust (both male and female) sharply explored by Lorenzo Da Ponte's libretto especially in the scenes between Elvira (Irish mezzo-soprano Paula Murrihy) and the husband she still loves, played by Italian baritone Luca Micheletti. The pair show commendable chemistry from the off and are superbly choreographed by Signe Fabricius.

Giovanni gets remarkably few arias of his own; instead, his rambunctious love life is exquisitely visualised through Es Devlin's revolving stage including a two-floor setup which echoes the split-stage design she created for Salome (currently at the ROH until October 1).

Aided and abetted by Bruno Poet's evocative lighting, Luke Halls' immersive video projections and Anja Vang Kragh's gorgeous costumes, the combined effect is sheer eye candy which, at times, becomes intense and moving. When Giovanni attempts to seduces Zerlina, the lights change to portray clouds signalling her heavenly rapture while the murder of Donna Anna's father is underlined through lighting which flips from pleasant pastel colours to a lurid crimson.

Down in the pit, Constantin Trinks ably amps up the tempo as the story progresses and the plot thickens. In an enjoyable and memorable twist, orchestra musicians join the actors during the masquerade ball with the only music coming from the stage. This surprisingly simple and engaging touch is just one example of how Holten holistically embraces the many facets of opera to present a work which is more than the sum of its parts.

In the final scene, the ghosts of Giovanni's past come back to haunt him and he is forced to stare his final fate in the face. He may be being dragged to hell but, thanks to the superlative efforts of cast and crew, this production is sheer heaven.

Don Giovanni will be at the Royal Opera House until 26 September.

Photo Credit: Marc Brenner

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