It’s always special to see an opera performed in the very theatre that gave its premiere, even if only via a screen. Mozart’s Don Giovanni premiered at Prague’s Estates Theatre (then the Nostitz Theatre) in October 1787 and was rapturously received. “Connoisseurs and musicians alike agree that Prague has never heard anything to equal it,” reported Die Oberpostamtzeitung. The opera has a cherished place in the capital’s cultural history and has received over twenty productions at the Estates, but this new staging is the first to be entrusted to an entirely non-Czech directorial team, led by Alexander Mørk-Eidem.
Mozart enjoyed great success in Prague. Don Giovanni was commissioned after Le nozze di Figaro had proved such a huge hit at the Nostitz in January 1787 (a bigger hit than in Vienna) and his final opera La clemenza di Tito premiered at the theatre in 1791, months before the composer’s untimely death. The Estates is tiny, seating just 635 (closer to 800 in Mozart’s day) and from the brief glimpses at the start of the stream one realises what an intimate experience it must be watching opera there. If the theatre looks familiar, that could be because Miloš Forman shot scenes there for his Oscar-winning film Amadeus.
Just 34 players crowded the pit as Karsten Januschke launched into the tempestuous D minor chords with whiplash arm movements. The overture was certainly better played than at the 1787 premiere, where the orchestra was largely sight-reading parts that were still wet with the copyist’s ink. Although played on modern instruments, the small forces of the Prague National Theatre Orchestra aided clarity. Ironically, given the opera’s Prague history, Januschke largely opted for the 1788 Vienna revision, with the new arias Mozart composed, Don Ottavio’s “Dalla sua pace” and Donna Elvira’s “Mi tradì quell'alma ingrata”, and the big cut to the closing sextet.
Januschke’s Prague cast was reliable, although his hectic tempi hampered his singers. Pavol Kubáň’s firm baritone gave Giovanni plenty of bite, but his Champagne Aria (poured from Leporello’s hip-flask) was barked frantically and there was little seductive about his loud “Là ci darem la mano”... although it clearly worked on this Zerlina as she ended up minus her knickers and with the Don buried under her skirts. Miloš Horák was a likeable Leporello, his bass-baritone slightly darker than Kubáň’s. It was a shame Richard Samek lost Ottavio’s “Il mio tesoro” because he sang very well, a more muscular tenor than usually heard. Jana Sibera was a splendid Donna Anna, not a huge voice, but well-controlled in the notorious “Non mi dir”. Alžběta Poláčková was a nicely venomous Elvira, but the once-sweetness of her soprano has soured, alas, in an uneven performance. Lenka Máčiková’s feisty Zerlina was the most interesting of the ladies; well sung but also very knowing – she cries for help even though Giovanni is nowhere near her to “frame” him and is quick to spot Leporello in disguise. Lukáš Bařák was a reedy Masetto.