The Royal Opera's 2019/20 Season Opens with Don Giovanni

23 July 2019

The Royal Opera’s 2019/20 Season opens with Don Giovanni

Kasper Holten’s visually striking production of Mozart’s Don Giovanni opens The Royal Opera’s 2019/20 Season, returning for its third revival since its 2014 premiere. Featuring a spectacular set designed by the award-winning Es Devlin, ingenious video designs by Luke Hall and beautiful costumes by Anja Vang Kragh the production accentuates the beauty and invention of Mozart’s dazzling

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tragicomedy and casts the impulsive and charismatic title character as an artist who thrives on an audience enticed by his creative gifts.

Don Giovanni is the second of Mozart’s landmark collaborations with librettist Lorenzo da Ponte (after Le nozze di Figaro and before Così fan tutte) and has beguiled and entranced audiences since its premiere in Prague in 1787. Perfectly poised between tragedy and comedy, the opera combines glorious music with fascinating characters, not least the seductive and complex anti-hero.

Uruguayan bass-baritone Erwin Schrott returns to The Royal Opera as the seductive Don Giovanni, while Italian bass Roberto Tagliavini makes his Company debut as his long-suffering servant Leporello. Swedish soprano Malin Byström returns as Donna Anna, the role she sang in the production’s premiere in 2014, appearing alongside German tenor Daniel Behle (except 3 and 10 October) and Italian tenor Emanuele d’Aguanno (3 and 10 October; Royal Opera debut) as Don Ottavio, Greek soprano Myrtò Papatanisu as Donna Elvira and Croatian baritone Leon Košavić as Masetto. The role of the Commendatore will be sung on 13, 16, 19 and 28 September and 3 October by British bass Brindley Sherratt and on 22 and 25 September and 8 and 10 October by Greek bass Petros Magoulas in his Royal Opera debut. Louise Alder makes her Royal Opera House main stage debut as Zerlina, following her Royal Opera debut in 2015 at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, Shakespeare’s Globe as Eurydice in Rossi’s Orpheus. German conductor Hartmut Haenchen conducts all performances.

Don Giovanni opens on 16 September 2019, with subsequent performances on 19, 22, 25 and 28 September, and 3, 8 and 10 October 2019. The Royal Opera presents a Schools’ Matinee performance of Don Giovanni on 13 September 2019, supported by The Taylor Family Foundation. Don Giovanni will be shown live in UK cinemas on Tuesday 7 October with an encore screening on Sunday 13 October. The production will also be broadcast to cinemas around the world.

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS 1. For further information or interview requests please contact Antonia Channer and Ann Richards

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2. For images or press ticket requests please contact Hannah Last

DON GIOVANNI

16, 19 and 25 September and 8 and 10 October 2019 at 7pm 22 September 2019 at 6pm 28 September and 3 October 2019 at 12pm

Co-production with Israeli Opera, Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona, and Houston Grand Opera Sung in Italian with English surtitles

Credits

Music Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Libretto Lorenzo da Ponte Director Kasper Holten Set designer Es Devlin Video designer Luke Halls Costume designer Anja Vang Kragh Lighting designer Bruno Poet Choreographer Signe Fabricius

Performers

Conductor Hartmut Haenchen Don Giovanni Erwin Schrott Leporello Roberto Tagliavini* Donna Anna Myrtò Papatanasiu Don Ottavio Daniel Behle (except 3 mat, 10 October) Emanuele d’Aguanno (3 mat, 10 October) Donna Elvira Christine Rice Zerlina Louise Alder Masetto Leon Košavić

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The Commendatore Brindley Sherratt (13, 16, 19, 28 mat September; 3 mat October) Petros Magoulas* (22 and 25 September, 8 and 10 October)

Royal Opera Chorus Orchestra of the Royal Opera House

*Royal Opera debut

About The Royal Opera The Royal Opera, under the artistic direction of Antonio Pappano, Music Director, and Oliver Mears, Director of Opera, is one of the world’s leading opera companies. Based in the iconic Covent Garden theatre, it is renowned both for its outstanding performances of traditional opera and for commissioning new works by today’s leading opera composers, such as Harrison Birtwistle, Mark-Anthony Turnage and Thomas Adès.

About the Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House’s aim is for many more people to enjoy and engage in exceptional ballet and opera. As The Royal Ballet, The Royal Opera and the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, we bring together the world’s most extraordinary ballet and opera artists in more than 500 performances every year: live events that thrill, move and excite, and that transport people to other worlds though music, dance and theatre.

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