Don Giovanni: an opera just for Christchurch

Don Giovanni 
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte
Christchurch Symphony Orchestra and Chapman Tripp Opera Chorus
Conductor, Wyn Davies
CBS Canterbury Arena, Christchurch
August 21-24

New Zealand Opera returns to Christchurch next month with Mozart’s Don Giovanni, one of the most performed and most popular works of all.

The tale of a hedonistic womaniser who will stop at nothing to exercise his free will to make a conquest (librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte was a friend of Casanova), it remains a very contemporary piece, with its questioning of social convention and the moral code.

Don Giovanni is NZ Opera’s first main-stage production in Christchurch and the city will be the only venue for the work. It will be the first opera staged in Christchurch since Southern Opera joined the company last year.

“Christopher Doig initiated Southern Opera’s move to become part of the national company,” NZ Opera general director Aidan Lang says, “so with Don Giovanni we’re paying special tribute to Chris.”

Cantabrians will play a big part in the production. “From singers in the Christchurch-based Chapman Tripp Opera Chorus, to musicians in the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, to the production’s director, Christchurch-born Sara Brodie, we are embracing the wealth of artistic talent in Canterbury.” 

Working with a grand, visually imposing set, Ms Brodie will take a fresh and incisive approach to this enigmatic work.

“Sara also has a reputation for getting great theatrical results from her singers,” Mr Lang says. “So with a cast that includes top New Zealand singing actors Jonathan Lemalu and Anna Leese, along with British baritone Mark Stone as Don Giovanni, what you see on stage will be thrilling, while Mozart’s dramatic music will sound as sublime as ever under the baton of our effervescent director of music Wyn Davies.”

Mr Stone says of his role as the Don: “As with all great pieces, the possibilities for Don Giovanni are endless, which is why it will continue to be performed forever. If Mozart is Shakespeare, then Don Giovanni is his Hamlet – an eternal work which continues to ask questions of performers and audiences.”

Don Giovanni is presented in association with the Christchurch Arts Festival. It is sung in Italian with English subtitles.

Creative team
Conductor, WYN DAVIES
Director, SARA BRODIE
Set designer, JOHN VERRYT
Costume designer, ELIZABETH WHITING
Lighting designer, JEREMY FERN

Cast
Don Giovanni, MARK STONE
Leporello, JONATHAN LEMALU
Donna Elvira, ANNA LEESE
Donna Anna, LISA HARPER-BROWN
Don Ottavio, NICKY SPENCE
Commendatore, RICHARD GREEN
Masetto, ROBERT TUCKER
Zerlina, AMELIA BERRY