Update: Don Giovanni review – reality recedes in visually dizzying Mozart tour de force

A report from The Guardian — Culture focuses on “Update: Don Giovanni review – reality recedes in visually dizzying Mozart tour de force” and sets out the main development contained in the supplied source material.

Royal Opera House, London This revival of Kaspar Holten’s 2014 staging puts the focus on the Don’s psychology. The report also notes that Aigul Akhmetshina’s Elvira is a standout performance in a strong cast Post #MeToo and #TimesUp, Mozart and Da Ponte’s tale of a predatory sex addict feels more pertinent than ever. Kaspar Holten’s 2014 staging , revived here with care and clarity by Greg Eldridge, may not be played in modern dress – Anja Vang Kragh’s semi-stylised costumes and Es Devlin’s Escher-inspired revolving set locate the action somewhere between 1850 and 1900 – but the contemporary resonances come over loud and clear. If only it wasn’t so frustratingly inconsistent. In Holten’s hands the overture becomes a visual as well as a musical tour de force. Luke Halls’ video design starts small, scrawling a single woman’s name on the grey stone facade. Soon, however, the trickle swells to a torrent as a catalogue of sexual conquests appear ahead of our eyes. Projections are a constant throughout with scribbles, ink blots and splashes of blood spattering scenery and singers alike. In the famous Champagne Aria, images of buildings, rooms and staircases rotate at dizzying speed with the Don standing in the eye of the storm anticipating his latest binge. Remarkably, they rarely distract from the action, a testament to Bruno Poet’s dextrous lighting design.

Any statements, estimates or characterisations remain attributed to the people or organisations identified by the source. The excerpt alone does not provide a complete documentary record or necessarily include responses from every party involved.

Official statements or subsequent reporting may add context as the story develops. For now, this account is confined to information directly supported by the provided headline and excerpt.