Royal Opera House, London
This revival of Kaspar Holten’s 2014 staging puts the focus on the Don’s psychology. Aigul Akhmetshina’s Elvira is a standout performance in a strong cast
Post #MeToo and #TimesUp, Mozart and Da Ponte’s tale of a predatory sex addict feels more pertinent than ever. Kaspar Holten’s 2014 staging, revived here with care and clarity by Greg Eldridge, may not be played in modern dress – Anja Vang Kragh’s semi-stylised costumes and Es Devlin’s Escher-inspired revolving set locate the action somewhere between 1850 and 1900 – but the contemporary resonances come over loud and clear. If only it wasn’t so frustratingly inconsistent.
In Holten’s hands the overture becomes a visual as well as a musical tour de force. Luke Halls’ video design starts small, scrawling a single woman’s name on the grey stone facade. Soon, however, the trickle swells to a torrent as a catalogue of sexual conquests appear before our eyes. Projections are a constant throughout with scribbles, ink blots and splashes of blood spattering scenery and singers alike. In the famous Champagne Aria, images of buildings, rooms and staircases rotate at dizzying speed with the Don standing in the eye of the storm anticipating his latest binge. Remarkably, they rarely distract from the action, a testament to Bruno Poet’s dextrous lighting design.