Don Giovanni reaches out his hand to the Commendatore. The waves of fate crash over them, it is a question of continuing to live or dying in hell. The operatic circle that had begun with the murder comes to a close.
The production begins with the death of Don Giovanni: the seconds freeze into an endless moment, expand, become a time loop in the face of death. What lasts only for a moment in reality, in Don Giovanni’s mind becomes a journey through his memories, flings him from one image to the next and feeds on his visions of what he has experienced.
In this, he is driven by the question: how could it ever have come to this?
Don Giovanni stumbles into a room – ceilings, walls, clothes, all of the same pattern. Mirror images of himself enter the stage. They spring from his memory and are transformed into the particular characters, multiply or disappear, just as he sees it. The confusion as to who is truly who is turned into a principle.
Waving between hubris and excessive demands, Don Giovanni tries to remain in control and to defend his vision of absolute freedom.
Director: Alicia Geugelin – Studied conducting, piano & musical theatre directing. Was nominated for Pavasari, the Latvian National Theatre Prize. Worked at Hamburg State Opera and Opéra National de Montpellier, among others. Winner of the Warnke Prize, winner of the Start Off Competition. Alumna of the Claussen-Simon Foundation and the AMH.
Stage Design: Christin Schumann – Studied scenography in Hanover. Assistantships at Theater Bremen, Schauspielhaus Zürich and in film. From 2018 to 2020 permanent set assistant at Theater Osnabrück. Own work, among others, at Opera Stabile of the Hamburg State Opera, Regensburg Theatre and Opéra National de Montpellier.
Costume Design: Pia Preuß – Trained as a fashion tailor, then studied media culture and musicology in Cologne. 2019 Bachelor in Costume Design at HAW in Hamburg, currently studying for a Master’s degree there. Work at Deutsches Schauspielhaus Hamburg, Thalia Theater and Opéra National de Montpellier, among others.
Dramaturgy: Elise Schobeß – Studied musicology, political science and dramaturgy. Since 2019 artistic doctorate at the HfMT Hamburg on postdramatic musical theatre. Productions at Hamburg State Opera, Opéra National de Montpellier and Steirischer Herbst Graz, among others. Alumna of the Studienstiftung and the AMH.
Opera Graz:
Don Giovanni: Dariusz Perczak
Leporello: Julian Kumpusch
Commendatore: Daeho Kim
Donna Elvira: Antonia Cosmina Stancu
Donna Anna: Katharina Melnikova
Don Ottavio: Pavel Silich
Répétiteur: Paul Willot-Förster, Maris Skuja
Arrangement: Steven Tanoto
Sound Design: Nick Acorne
Stage Manager: James Jolly
Photos (c) Susanne Hassler
