Don Giovanni is based on the legendary character of Don Juan, one of opera's most shameless and charming seducers.
From the opening scene, the reckless libertine and his bumbling attendant Leporello crash from one shocking situation to the next. Finally, mocking the statue of the Commendatore in the graveyard seals his fate as Don Giovanni stubbornly refuses to repent for his behavior and his soul is damned.
Combining comic elements of 'opera buffa' and tragic opera, the light-heartedness in the story and music is brief and is swiftly followed by moral outrage and the thirst for revenge.
West Australian Opera Chorus
West Australian Symphony Orchestra
Sung in Italian with English surtitles.
Musical spotlight
'Madamina, il catalogo è questo' (Catalogue Aria) one of Mozart's most famous arias sung by Leporello about Don Giovanni's notorious exploits.
This recording is used by kind permission of Universal Music Australia.