Don Giovanni according to Ivo van Hove: a puritan despite himself?

By Pierre Liscia-Beaurenaut, 18 June 2019

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“the cast had plenty of talent and passion”

Reviewed at Opéra national de Paris: Palais Garnier, Paris on 16 June 2019

Mozart, Don Giovanni

Opéra national de Paris

Philippe Jordan, Conductor

Ivo van Hove, Director

Jan Versweyveld, Set Designer

An D'Huys, Costume Designer

Étienne Dupuis, Don Giovanni

Jacquelyn Wagner, Donna Anna

Nicole Car, Donna Elvira

Philippe Sly, Leporello

Elsa Dreisig, Zerlina

Ain Anger, The Commendatore

Stanislas de Barbeyrac, Don Ottavio

Mikhail Timoshenko, Masetto

Chœurs de l'Opéra national de Paris

Orchestre de l'Opéra national de Paris

Pomp meets ping-pong: Nixon in China lands again in Paris

David Karlin, 14th March

Excellent vocal acting from Thomas Hampson, Renée Fleming, Xiaomeng Zhang and a magnificent orchestral performance conducted by Kent Nagano can't make Valentina Carrasco's production fully grip.

***11

Thomas Adès’ high-flying Exterminating Angel in Paris

Erwan Gentric, 29th February

The French premiere of the British composer's opera will be the undisputed high point of the Grande Boutique's season: a perfect confluence of music, staging and cast.

*****

Shock and awe in Paris with Bernstein's A Quiet Place

David Karlin, 9th March

In the expert hands of both director Warlikowski and conductor Kent Nagano, the sequel to Bernstein's Trouble in Tahiti proves to be even darker and more dramatic.

*****

A long road to nowhere for Igor at the Bastille

Mark Pullinger, 1st December

Barrie Kosky's makes a limited impact in his debut at Opéra de Paris, apart from an hallucinogenic Polovtsian Dances.

***11

Les Indes galantes: with Alarcón, Rameau conquers the Bastille

Philippe Ramin, 28th September

The new production of Les Indes galantes at Opéra Bastille is exceptional, from the vocal cast to the choreography by Bintou Dembélé. But the stand-out performance of the evening comes from conductor Leonardo Garcia Alarcón.

*****

Carthage carnage: Tcherniakov's Trojans flops at the Bastille

Mark Pullinger, 25th January

Tcherniakov reduces Berlioz' epic to little more than Circle Time therapy, a poor way to mark the composer's anniversary year.

**111

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Pierre Liscia-Beaurenaut

Amoureux des arts, Pierre Liscia-Beaurenaut évolue parallèlement dans les univers de la littérature et de la musique. Ancien khâgneux du Lycée Henri IV, lauréat du Concours Général en Histoire, il a étudié le violon à l'Université des Arts de Berlin et au Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Lyon. Féru d'orchestre et d'opéra, il a su trouver son équilibre sur Bachtrack où, parallèlement à ses études musicales, il anime la chronique « L'Abécédaire d'un jeune violoniste », consacrée à ses tribulations dans le microcosme très fermé des musiciens classiques.