The »opera of all operas«, directed by Kirill Serebrennikov at the Schiller Theatre! After the tale of love and loss in Così fan tutte and the social disparities between servants and
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The »opera of all operas«, directed by Kirill Serebrennikov at the Schiller Theatre! After the tale of love and loss in Così fan tutte and the social disparities between servants and masters in The Marriage of Figaro, Serebrennikov now completes Mozart’s Da Ponte trilogy with arguably the most dangerous of the three operas . . .
A gentleman who’s a playboy, a servant who’s tired of serving, and a long list of cheated women: Don Giovanni takes what he wants and knows how to throw a magnificent party. The servant Leporello grumbles under his master’s seductive exploits, as he’s the one who has to clean up afterward, comforting and even enlightening the duped. But when Don Giovanni kills the Commendatore in a duel over the honour of his daughter Donna Anna, even Leporello has had enough. But his master is already onto his next victim: Zerlina. It is only his former lover Elvira who refuses to countenance his betrayal and tries to warn the other women about the philanderer—of course in vain. Seducing and deceiving, Don Giovanni simply enjoys gambling with his life, until the ghosts of the past come to haunt him . . .
With Don Giovanni, Mozart and Da Ponte successfully created a masterwork of the operatic canon. In this dramma giocoso or ‘lighthearted drama’, they achieved—through Mozart’s sophisticated psychological composition, spellbinding melodies, and brilliant instrumentation—an extraordinary study of human nature that, in Kirill Serebrennikov’s fearless hands, brings up compelling questions about sex, the power of seduction, the pursuit of individual freedom, and the right to defy societal norms.
BY THE WAY
Those curious to see more of Mozart, Da Ponte, and Serebrennikov can also see The Marriage of Figaro with us.
In the music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, there is a bittersweet note that people have been struggling to describe for centuries. Is it a sense of joy in the depths?
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In the music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, there is a bittersweet note that people have been struggling to describe for centuries. Is it a sense of joy in the depths? Or is it a melancholy in the sweetness? Composed at the same time as The Marriage of Figaro, Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 22 is a work that carries precisely that character, and which the Norwegian pianist Christian Ihle Hadland takes on with verve: rousing and dance-like, without a single humdrum moment. With just as much lightness as Mozart, we also have Elena Kats-Chernin’s Dance of the Paper Umbrellas to start the programme. And with Franz Schubert’s Fourth Symphony, its ‘Tragic’ sobriquet belies the dramatic, stirring journey that awaits the audience. This is preceded by Grażyna Bacewicz’s rapidfire Overture for Orchestra. It’s a real roller coaster of springtime emotions!
I had such a great experience debuting with NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester @Elbphilharmonie! I had the additional surprise of having my wonderful colleague Anton Barakhovsky lead the program.
