A new interpretation of Mozart’s opera. A celebration of music, video art and innovative technology directed by the renowned Danish director Kasper Holten and conducted by Maestro Carl Heinz Steffens from Germany, who serves as the musical director of the State Opera in Prague and the chief conductor and artistic advisor of the Norrköping Symphony Orchestra. In the era of ME TOO Holten offers a new and surprising angle that sharpens the feeling that the entire opera is a journey into the depths of Don Giovanni’s complex soul. In this fascinating production, guest opera soloists from Argentina, Romania, China, Malta and Greece will appear together with Israeli opera singers, an orchestra and an Israeli opera choir. March 17-29, 2023 at the Tel Aviv Opera House
‘Don Giovanni’ – one of the greatest operatic hits – stands at the center of the trio of operas that Mozart wrote together with the librettist Lorenzo de Ponte (Aside from ‘That’s what they all do’ and ‘Laggy marriages’). This is the most dramatic opera of the three and it masterfully combines comedy, tragedy and music full of sensitivity and insight into the greatest lover of all who passionately pursues many women, but fails time and time again.
The famous Danish director Kasper Holten, who served as the artistic director of the Royal Covent Garden Opera House in London, chose to focus in this production on the psychological nature of the opera (as he also did in the film he directed in 2009 based on this opera). He placed the opera in the Victorian period, where sexuality and passions were suppressed below the surface and the style was modest and conservative. Against this restrained background, where even removing a glove from a woman’s size may be interpreted as a provocative act – Jobni’s predatory libido seems even more coarse and violent. In this way Holten manages to direct the spotlight to the seduction process itself and not only to the destructive results of Jobni’s conquests.
The end of the opera has received many and varied interpretations over the years, and in this sense as well, Holten offers a new and surprising angle that sharpens the feeling that the entire opera is a journey into the intricacies of Don Giovanni’s complex soul.
The emotional layers are translated onto the stage through Video Mapping technology – through which a combination of a large-scale set and a projection system is created that works in full coordination with the movement of the stage structure to create three-dimensional images. The production stage is designed as a maze, which, like Jobni’s fickle temper, can turn upside down in an instant. The structure on the stage simulates a mansion with multiple corridors and doors that create a winding and deceptive structure. The spectacular video-art work constitutes another visual layer that sharpens the dramatic messages: it consists of abstract images that are projected onto the stage structure and create another layer in Jobni’s world, one that increases the sense of blurring between reality and hallucination.
The spectacular costumes for this production were created by the renowned costume designer Anya Van Kraag, who last season designed the costumes for the acclaimed production of La Traviata performed at the Israeli Opera. For Don Giovanni, Van Kraag created grandiose costumes that express the full splendor of the Victorian era: “In terms of costumes, we wanted the women that Don Giovanni conquers to be marked by ink stains: their dresses start out completely clean and later, after being with Don Giovanni They are stained, while their owners are blindfolded, blind to what is happening. This is our interpretation of his actions, it connects to the MeToo campaign, which is completely political and resonates in the public atmosphere today, which sees such actions as something negative, powerful and destructive.”
This is the first time that the conductor Carl Heinz Steffens will conduct the Israeli opera. Born in Germany, Steffens is the music director of the Prague State Opera and principal conductor and artistic advisor of the Norrköping Symphony Orchestra. As an opera conductor, he conducted productions at the opera houses of Berlin, Prague, Oslo and La Scala in Milan. He also regularly conducts leading symphony orchestras all over the world, and won the applause of the Israeli audience when he conducted the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.
The production will feature the Israeli Opera Choir under the direction of Itay Berkovic, the Opera Orchestra: the Rishon Lezion Israel Symphony Orchestra and a leading team of soloists from Israel, known from Israeli opera productions, and from around the world, all of whom are appearing for the first time on the stage of the Israeli Opera: Argentinian baritone German Enrique Alcantara and Israeli baritone Oded Reich will alternately sing the main role of Don Giovanni, the Italian baritone singers Paolo Bordonia, one of the top singers in the world today in the roles of Mozart and Rossini, and Guido Dacini will sing the role of Le Forello, the Israeli soprano singers Ella Vasilevicki and the Romanian Julia Maria Dan will perform the role of Donna Anna, Yael Levita And Israel’s Anat Cerny will perform the role of Donna Elvira, the tenor singer from China Long Long, one of the leading tenor singers of the new generation in the world today who appears on all major opera stages today, and the tenor singer from Malta Niko Darmanin will perform the role of Don Otabio, the Israeli baritone singers Yair Polishuk and Noam Heinz will perform In the role of Mazto, the Israelis Daniela Skorka and Tal Ganor will play the role of Tsarina and the Greek bass singer Petros Magoules will appear in the role of the Komandatora.
The performance dates of the opera Don Giovanni
Friday | 03/17/2023 | 1:00 p.m
Sunday | 03/19/2023 | 19:30 | Premiere
Monday | 03/20/2023 | 20:00
Tuesday | 03/21/2023 | 20:00
Wednesday | 22/03/2023 | 20:00
Friday | 03/24/2023 | 1:00 p.m
Saturday | 03/25/2023 | 20:00
Sunday | 03/26/2023 | 20:00
Monday | 03/27/2023 | 18:00
Wednesday | 03/29/2023 | 20:00
Ticket prices: NIS 195-445
An hour before the start of each show, there is an introductory lecture of about half an hour in the hall, admission to the lecture is free for ticket holders that evening
