Artiste: Anja Vang Kragh

A committed cast struggles to lend a spark of life to Kasper Holten's static staging of Mozart's first mature opera.

Kasper Holten’s much travelled and spectacular Don Giovanni gets a fresh and lively remount at Toronto’s Four Seasons Centre from a young cast headed up by Gordon Bintner. 

Lucas Meachem’s portrayal suggests a paraphrase of what another Hollywood Don Juan, Errol Flynn in 1949, said to his Leporello in excusing his escapades. “My dear friend, there’s a little bit of Don Giovanni in every man, and since I am Don Giovanni, there must be more of it in me!” 

Unimpeachable voices and fine playing light up The Royal Opera's latest revival of Kasper Holten's dark staging.

Kasper Holten's psychological take on the louche lothario remains controversial, but in its third revival, Erwin Schrott's powerful assumption of the title role is a delight.

Having offered a strong feminist reading of Wagner's Ring, could Kasper Holten do the same again for Die Meistersinger? Opera Australia's co-production had moments of excellence, but ultimately left the viewer with more questions than answers