Performance Details
Mozart's famous "Opera of Operas", Don Giovanni, is transformed into classic puppet theatre.Marionette shows are a long-standing tradition in Prague, with Don Giovanni at this theatre consistently rated as the most popular production. Don Giovanni has a unique attachment to Prague. It was while staying in the city in 1787 that W.A. Mozart completed the opera, and then personally conducted its world premiere at the magnificent Estates Theatre. This marionette theatre version tells the classic tale with tall puppets dressed in authentic 18th century period costume. The production pays homage to the Mozart era and is a joy to experience. In marionette theatre the story is recounted visually, with little or no spoken words. This makes the shows ideal for an international audience, for both adults and children.
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Act I begins with Leporello impatiently waiting for his master, Don Giovanni, to seduce the Commendatore’s daughter, Donna Anna. As Giovanni and Anna struggle, the Commendatore arrives and challenges Giovanni. In the duel, the Commendatore is killed so Giovanni and Leporello flee the scene. On their travel, they spot Donna Elvira who flirts with Giovanni. Uninterested, Giovanni gets Leporello to distract Elvira so he can escape. Zerlina and Masetto, a young couple about to marry, arrive in the square and Giovanni takes an immediate liking to Zerlina. He distracts Masetto so he can try to seduce Zerlina, but a furious Elvira arrives and takes Zerlina back to her fiancé.
Meanwhile, Anna has enlisted the help of her fiancé Ottavio to track down her father’s killer. Not knowing that it is Giovanni, Anna and Ottavio plead for his help. Elvira interrupts and reprimands Giovanni for his seductive ways; he retaliates by accusing Elvira of madness. As he chases her away, Anna realises that Giovanni is her father’s murderer.
Giovanni decides to throw a big wedding party for Zerlina and Masetto, but truthfully he wants to try and seduce Zerlina again. Elvira, Anna and Ottavio arrive at the party in masks, intent on exposing Giovanni. When Giovanni corners Zerlina, she screams for help and draws the attention of all the guests. Giovanni struggles to explain himself, and in the fray, Elvira, Anna and Ottavio remove their masks and tell the guests of his crimes.
Act II follows Giovanni and Leporello to the cemetery where they meet by the statue of the dead Commendatore. Giovanni keeps hearing the Commendatore’s voice and realises that it is the statue talking to him. He invites the statue to his house for dinner, which is accepted. Leporello is horrified but cannot do anything but obey his master.
During dinner, Elvira arrives at the house to persuade Giovanni to change his ways. When Giovanni refuses, she leaves – terrified to find the statue of the Commendatore at the door.
The statue warns Giovanni to repent for his sins or he will be punished. Again, Giovanni refuses to listen and turns the statue away. As promised, the statue breaks open the earth and engulfs Giovanni and his home in flames. Giovanni is sentenced to eternal damnation while Elvira, Leporello, Anna, Ottavio, Zerlina and Masetto realise that immoral people are always punished in the end. |
