Mozart: Don Giovanni

“Who I am you’ll never know”, says the infamous womanizer, and he is right: The character of Don Giovanni has been inscrutable and fascinating for centuries. Should we empathize with him? Or condemn him? Or maybe both at the same time? He is a complex and fascinating character, who, with Lorenzo Da Ponte’s libretto and Mozart’s music, presents an eternal and rewarding challenge for directors. This is not the first time that Iván Fischer has directed the opera: he is an expert on Don Giovanni both as a conductor and as a director. Once again, the cast will be amazing: artists from the world’s most prestigious opera houses, including several names and voices that BFO audiences will already know.

1787, 1982, 2010, 2025 and 2065 – the relationship between Don Giovanni and Iván Fischer in numbers. The first date needs no explanation: that was when the opera, Mozart and Da Ponte’s second collaboration, was performed in Prague. Mozart composed personal and profound music, for which he chose a controversial topic that the Viennese audience was less open to. “Prague has never heard the like”, wrote a contemporary critic. Although Mozart was commissioned for a comic opera, the genre of Don Giovanni is dramma giocoso or playful musical drama. Accordingly, the opera blends comic and serious elements. This duality, the constant layering of one upon the other, gives the opera its main strength. While Don Giovanni is singing a beautiful serenade under Donna Elvira’s balcony, we can constantly hear Leporello’s giggling in the background – in the opera’s most beautiful yet also most wicked scene.

But this duality is also there in the characters. Alongside Donna Anna, the obligatory seria character of the opera, Zerlina represents the buffa, while Elvira is a mixture of the two. Don Ottavio is absolutely serious, Masetto and Leporello are comic throughout, and Don Giovanni… Well, he always speaks in a tone that best serves his current purpose. As a chameleon, he is able to adapt to anyone.

The title role will be sung by South Tyrolean Andrè Schuen, who is praised by international reviewers for his “otherworldly legato”, unique ebony timbre, fresh, beautifully contoured voice and steady depth. His faithful sidekick will be played by Luca Pisaroni, who has previously sung Don Giovanni and appeared on the stage of the Met, Glyndebourne, La Scala and Covent Garden in several roles of the Da Ponte operas. After her performance as Donna Anna in the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Teatro La Fenice in Venice, and Berlin Staatsoper, Budapest audiences can now also hear Maria Bengtsson in the role. The role of Zerlina will be sung by “golden voiced” Giulia Semenzato, a specialist in the Baroque and Mozart repertoire. There will also be some returning singers: Miah Persson, Bernard Richter and Daniel Noyola will once again join the Iván Fischer Opera Company after their performance in Britten’s opera in 2022, Pelléas and Mélisande in 2023 and Ariadne auf Naxos in 2024, respectively. For Hungarian audiences, there is no need to introduce to Krisztián Cser, who has been awarded the Hungarian Golden Cross of Merit.

Iván Fischer first conducted Don Giovanni in 1982 in the famous production directed by Yuri Lyubimov. In early 2010, he also directed the opera, focusing on the protagonist’s perspective and his addiction to women and bodies. After that production achieving great success from New York to Edinburgh, we can expect a brand new concept in 2025.

And what about the number 2065? Just add up the items in Leporello’s Catalogue Aria, and you will see.

A joint production of the BFO, Müpa Budapest, the Ivan Fischer Opera Company, and the Vicenza Opera Festival.