MUSIC

Abu Dhabi Classics returns with Mozart’s don Giovanni

Abu Dhabi Classics brings Mozart’s famed opera Don Giovanni to Emirates Palace

Aspurned lover, a duel and a dead man await guests at an operatic performance this month. The Vienna State Opera will be performing Mozart’s Don Giovanni as part of the Abu Dhabi Classics festival on February 8.

The concert will be hosted for one night only at Emirates Palace and is considered to be one of Mozart’s greatest works. The two-act comic opera, which features a libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte, first premiered in 1787 in Prague to positive reviews.

Inspired by the legend of fictional character Don Juan, the opera tells the story of Don Giovanni (this is an Italian opera after all), a libertine lover who seduces the wrong woman. After being rebuffed by an already engaged Donna Anna, Giovanni then duels (and kills) the girl’s father, but it is his refusal to repent that leads to some very serious consequences – including being threatened by the dead man’s graveyard statue.

German conductor Patrick Lange will lead the opera, while Italian baritone Alessio Arduini plays Don Giovanni and Russian soprano singer Irina Lungu is Donna Anna. February 8

Emirates Palace, West Corniche Road, Abu Dhabi, 7pm, Dhs30 to Dhs750. Tel: (800) 555. Taxi: Emirates Palace. abudhabiclassics.ae