Don Giovanni, Royal Opera House

Kasper Holten , Director of Opera at the Royal Opera House, has revamped Mozart’s classic Don Giovanni in a new, head-turning interpretation. Booking is open for this new 2014 production, which throws the audience into the anti-hero seducer’s powerful worlds of illusion. Traditionalists too will be pleased to note it’ll be sung to Lorenzo Da Ponte’s original Italian Libretto, with English surtitles.

First staged in 1787, it tells the story of the young, rich Giovanni as he travels Europe on a tour of seduction and excess, until comeuppance bites back from beyond the grave. It’s a tricky opera to stage, with at one point no less than three groups of musicians on stage playing three different rhythms simultaneously, all as part of the action. We’re keen to see what approach Holten, whose modern cinematic adaptation of Don Giovanni ( Juan ) was released to acclaim in 2010, will take. But what’s certain is that Giovanni is in good hands: Copenhagen-born Holten was artistic director of the Royal Danish Opera for 11 years before moving to the ROH in 2011.

What’s more, distinguished Polish baritone Mariusz Kwiecień will be playing the title role, having performed it to critical distinction all over Europe and North America – even, famously, insisting on performing just two weeks after a back operation for a New York Met performance in 2011.

If you’re looking for a grand night of opera in one of London’s most lavish venues, with some spectacular staging and a real sense of fun, this is the performance to come and see. 

Tickets: £48 - £195

Address & Map: Bow Street, London WC2E 9DD

Nearest tube: Covent Garden, Holborn