Don Giovanni
Dramma giocoso (playful drama)
by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Premiere: July 24, 2025
The notorious seducer Don Giovanni charms, indulges in life’s pleasures, and takes the world (and the ladies!) by storm. Driven by insatiable desire, he continues his pursuit of new conquests until the day comes when he is called to account for his actions.
This is how the theme of the opera Don Giovanni has often been portrayed throughout the ages. In Confidencen’s production, director Deda Christina Colonna looks at the work with different eyes and offers a fresh perspective, revisiting the nuances present at its first performance. She explains:
“Traditionally, the lead character in Mozart’s Don Giovanni is portrayed as cruel, violent, callous and a brutally sex-driven character, often bordering on the vulgar. But what is it that makes such a character so irresistible to women as diverse as Donna Anna, Donna Elvira, Zerlina and all the others in Leporello’s catalogue aria?
If we look at Don Giovanni through the lens of time, we discover a much more nuanced figure. In my production, I want to return to the original emotional palette of the opera, thereby accomplishing the dialog between stage and orchestra pit.”
The festival’s artistic director, Peter Spissky, has hand-picked the singers and the Confidencen Festival Orchestra, performing on period instruments. He explains:
“It has long been my dream to stage Don Giovanni at Confidencen. It will be exciting to experience the versatile, swinging and energetic band and cast at Confidencen in the meeting with Mozart’s iconic masterpiece. Our intimate theater will help to revive the magical atmosphere you could experience at the premiere on that October day in 1787 in Prague.”
Come and let yourself be seduced!
Artistic team
Musical direction: Peter Spissky
Director: Deda Christina Colonna
Set design: Christer Nilsson
Costume design: Anna Kjellsdotter
Cast
Don Giovanni: Timothée Varon. On August 5 performed by Johannes Weisser
Leporello: Erik Rosenius
Donna Anna: Jessica Elevant
Donna Elvira: Helena Schuback
Don Ottavio: Conny Thimander
Zerlina: Kine Sandtrø
Masetto/The Commendatore: Rocco Lia
Choir: Julia Johnson, Binny-Supin Yang, William Ottow and Petter Stenebo (Confidencen Young Artist Program)
Confidencen Opera & Music Festival Orchestra under direction of Peter Spissky
Libretto: Lorenzo Da Ponte
Operan is performed in Italian and texted in Swedish
Duration: Approximately 3 hours and 10 minutes including one intermission
Performances:
July 24 Premiere!
July 26
July 28
July 30
August 1
August 3
August 5
August 7
August 9
August 10
August 12
An extra big thanks for generous support from the Czech Embassy in Stockholm.
Don Giovanni is performed during the Confidencen Opera & Music Festival that takes place between July 24 – August 22 2025.
Photo cembalo: Bruno Ehrs
Symposium: Don Giovanni – Then and Now
July 23 at 2 p.m.
Mozart’s Don Giovanni has sparked fascination and debate since its sensational premiere in Prague in 1787. This symposium begins with a historical introduction by musicologist Magnus Schneider Tessing, offering context and insight into the opera’s origins and early reception.
Following this, conductor and researcher Mark Tatlow moderates a round table discussion with stage director Deda Cristina Colonna and the festival’s artistic director Peter Spissky. Together, they explore the artistic ideas and interpretive choices behind this year’s production at Confidencen.
An engaging behind-the-scenes look at how the past informs the present in the world of opera.
Opera Introduction
One hour before the performance, a 15-minute introduction will be given in the Confidencen Room by the festival’s artistic director, Peter Spissky. Free entrance.
Post performance-talks 3 & 10/8
You are warmly welcome to stay in the auditorium after the performance for a panel discussion featuring some of the opera’s singers and musicians.
