Don Giovanni of 1787 is one of three operas that Mozart wrote with the librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte (the others being Le nozze di Figaro and Così fan tutte). It tells of the eponymous hero, or rather antihero, who effortlessly conquers thousands of women. Although in the process he makes many enemies, the ladies he has cheated have a habit of coming back for more or trying to save him, and in the end he is responsible for his own downfall. When the ghost of the Commendatore who he...

At times, opera can also be the art of nostalgia and of longing, referring not just to the voices. Liceu has once again restaged in its scene its own production of L’elisir d’amore, one of the most successful productions of the theatre, which has toured around bringing dignity to Liceu’s name.  The staging is signed by Mario Gas as stage director, who started his relationship with this title over 30 years ago. That production was the grandmother of the one...

This tragic lovestory between youngsters of two rivalizing families is a beloved subject in literature and opera plots. The young Polish director Barbara Wysocka is in charge of this new production of Gaetano Donizetti's masterpiece Lucia di Lammermoor in Munich. She transfers the original medieval story into the modern times: the United States during the 60s with some references to well known Hollywood movies. The stage design by Barbara Hanicka brings the audience into a demolished...