Dynamic and kaleidoscopic, it is no wonder why director Kasper Holten’s Don Giovanni has been revived so many times. It juggles deftly comedy, tragedy, and even horror ensuring a concrete, albeit safe, start to the Royal Opera House’s 22/23 season.
Perhaps its endurance is thanks to its thoroughly modern outlook. The romantic Don Giovanni, an Übermensch lothario whose sole priority is to chase women, is nowhere to be seen. Here he is slimy and reptilian like, whose damnation is condemnation for his sins; his fitting fate is as satisfying to watch as it is famous.
For the most part of the performance the stage is drenched in dim light with a naked spotlight following Giovanni as he philanders and seduces. It leaves him isolated, a solipsist, in the surrounding darkness.
The psychology of the serial womaniser is laid bare through Es Devlin’s multifaceted set. Her revolving house manifests something altogether more uncanny. The space doesn’t add up; with staircases that lead to nowhere and rooms that appear from nothing, the world of Don Giovanni is more like the labyrinthine liminal space that is the Overlook Hotel from The Shining.
The set also lays the groundwork for the ensuing horror. The three ghostly women who linger in the space slowly closing in on him are delightfully devilish. Clad in murky grey, their purgatorial presence is an electrifying touch. Coincidentally, Devlin’s work can be seen concurrently in Salome, also playing at the Royal Opera House, and at the National Theatre’s production of The Crucible which has just opened.
But it is a shame that the more subtle design elements are drowned out by the visually noisy projection. Everything from the Commendatore’s scarlet blood to Giovanni’s unfathomably long list of his lovers’ names is splattered across the stage in one big aesthetic cacophony. The moments where it is used effectively are defanged of their spectacle.
Revival director Greg Eldridge conjures a Blackadder-like chemistry between Luca Micheletti’s Giovanni and Christopher Maltman’s Leporello. The former slithers around with luscious black hair and flowing blue coat. The latter stumbles around after him as a bumbling sidekick. But their performances are never silly; Maltman’s Leporello is raked with guilt something he reflects in his confident yet contemplative vocal performance. Micheletti’s vocals are creamy and sultry, it is no wonder everyone falls in love with Don Giovanni.
Maria Bengtsson’s Donna Anna is another highlight with a silky smooth yet formidable voice. She sways effortlessly between hot blooded indignation to fiery desire.
Words by Alexander Cohen
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Image credit: “Royal Opera House” by Wootang01 is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0.