Beginning this Thursday at the Gaiety in Dublin for three nights, and then Cork Opera House for two nights, Opera Theatre Company presents a new production of Mozart’s Don Giovanni with a translation by the renowned Dublin writer Roddy Doyle.

Fergus Sheil, Artistic Director of OTC – and conductor of the production – explains how the collaboration came about:

Opera Theatre Company has done a lot of Mozart’s operas, but never Don Giovanni before, and I was really keen to do it – it’s my favourite! When we thought about how we might do it – and how we might do it in Ireland – we thought, first of all, that we’d sing it in English, and in order to do that we wanted to create a new English version of it. I spoke to Roddy Doyle – I was really excited that he was up for the project. We’ve been talking about it for a year and a half and Roddy has come up with this amazing translation!

Mezzo-soprano Tara Erraught, who plays Donna Elvira, commented, ‘I think that this special Dublin touch… could really be firecracker good… really, really snappy!’

Don Giovanni tells the tale of a ‘womaniser’, his thirst for pleasure and his complete lack of regard for human consequences. Welsh baritone David Kempster, who plays the title role, adds, ‘I think there’s a bit of Don Giovanni in all men… but of course living a life the way Don Giovanni does would be so complicated, you’d have a heart attack after one day of it!’

Gripping from the opening murder where Don Giovanni kills Donna Anna’s father as he escapes from her bedroom, the action continues with bravado, seduction, betrayal and revenge. 

Featuring the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, Kempster, Erraught and Flavin, Daire Halpin (Zerlina); John Molloy (Leporello), Brendan Collins (Masetto), Alexander Sprague (Don Ottavio) and Jonathan May (Commendatore), the performances take place in the Gaiety as part of the Dublin Theatre Festival on 29 September, 1 and 2 October, and at the Cork Opera House on 5 and 7 October.

The production marks OTC’s first ever presentation at the Gaiety, and the return to Cork Opera House is part of the company’s 30th anniversary celebrations. 

For full details and tickets, visit https://goo.gl/dEtAQS