SOMETIMES THE DEVIL IS A GENTLEMAN

Special Preshow talk with Professor Elaine Sisman answering "Is Don Giovanni Evil?"

Don Giovanni lives a life of debauchery and pleasure, seducing and abandoning women wherever he goes, helped by his faithful servant Leporello. But when a seduction goes horribly wrong, he finally finds himself in a situation he can’t charm his way out of.

Don Giovanni, Mozart and Da Ponte’s take on the familiar Don Juan legend, is a work ahead of its time. Colliding comedy and tragedy in a fluid, free-form music-drama, the opera has a breathless energy and impetus that’s impossible to resist – a wild musical ride that takes its audience quite literally to hell and back again. A score of contrasts and extremes includes the beguiling simplicity of Don Giovanni’s serenade and the high-wire virtuosity of Donna Anna’s arias.

Gerald Finley stars as the libidinous Don in Jonathan Kent’s sleek, contemporary staging, with Kate Royal as Donna Elvira and Anna Samuil as the vengeful Donna Anna.