With the start of our 2016/17 Season just a few days away, we caught up with the Don Giovanni cast as they prepare for the opening night of Richard Jones’s new production on 30 September.

Mozart’s Don Giovanni is an exhilarating retelling of the Don Juan legend and follows the Don’s exploits as he lusts his way towards his dramatic downfall. We asked the cast to give us an insight into the opera’s characters and the rehearsal process so far…

“It’s such a great challenge playing Don Giovanni as the character changes depending on the situation he finds himself in. Here seductive; there violent; dismissive; arrogant; charming and everything in between: a real actor’s dream.”

Christopher Purves, Don Giovanni

“This is a moment in Zerlina and Giovanni’s duet where I am finally giving in to his charm. Zerlina in this show is very real and I’m finding I can identify with her very easily as she’s not too dissimilar from me.

I’m really enjoying living in the moment in rehearsals and exploring my reactions to events that occur around me. It’s been a really interesting acting challenge and Richard Jones is an amazing director for that.”

Mary Bevan, Zerlina

“This is the scene where Donna Elvira is trying to protect Zerlina from making the same mistake she made – that of loving Don Giovanni. She is extremely zealous in her determination to bring an end to Don Giovanni’s sexual corruption.

Donna Elvira has some of the best music in the opera (lucky me!) and is quite a driving force for the action. The conflict between her undiminished love for Don Giovanni and her morally strict, religious spirit makes her a very emotionally rich character.”

Christine Rice, Donna Elvira

“Don Ottavio has just been told by his fiancée, Donna Anna, that Don Giovanni is the man responsible for attempting to rape her at the beginning of the show. He can’t believe this is true – like everyone else, he has fallen under Don G’s spell and thinks him a noble man.

Ottavio isn’t the most likeable character, so playing him is quite tricky. I’m enjoying the challenge of playing a feeble man of inaction rather than the sword-wielding, heroic love-interest (the normal tenor role, not my real-life persona!).”

Allan Clayton, Don Ottavio

Performances of Don Giovanni run from 30 September – 26 October, with at least 500 tickets available at every performance for £20 or less (plus booking fee)*.

*Booking fees of £1.50 per ticket, or a maximum of £6 per transaction, apply.