‘Don Giovanni’ in Aix-en-Provence
Isabel Leonard debuts as Donna Elvira this summer at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, in a new production of Mozart’s Don Giovanni. Ms. Leonard stars in the role on July 6, 8, 10, 13, 15, 17, 19 & 21 in performances conducted by Jérémie Rhorer, with stage direction by Jean-François Sivadier. The cast also features Philippe Sly in the title role, Nahuel di Pierro as Leporello, Eleonora Buratto as Donna Anna, and Pavol Breslik as Don Ottavio.
Production preview from the Festival: A thousand and three female conquests in Spain alone! Don Juan has been alternately portrayed as a sex addict, a champion of freedom or as a “great lord but wicked man”. Of all the manifestations of this myth, Mozart’s opera seems the most timeless thanks to the clash it creates between laughter and terror, between joyful comedy and metaphysical fable. From the opening notes of this comic opera, where the terrible grandeur of the music of the Commendatore turns into the frantic race of the seducer, contrast reigns supreme. And the libertine dances above the abyss: Don Giovanni will only be stopped by the stone statue that invites him to a banquet at which no earthly food is eaten. More than two centuries after it was first created, this highpoint of the operatic canon – which has historic links with the Festival d’Aix – retains all its power. In this new production, the energy of a young cast enthused by the ultra-theatrical staging of Jean-François Sivadier and the ultra-Mozartian conducting of Jérémie Rhorer, make for a dazzling feast of seduction and desire. And a headlong rush into the abyss.