DON GIOVANNI (Royal Opera)*****

 

By Megan

Link: https://stream.roh.org.uk/packages/don-giovanni/videos/don-giovanni-1

Available until: 15^th August 2021

Don Giovanni is not like Mozart’s other main characters. There are some who do things which aren’t the best idea like the characters in Così fan tutte. There are characters who get themselves into really serious difficulties like the title character in Idomeneo (who makes a promise he really regrets) and Tito in La clemenza di Tito (who expects his best friend not to want to kill him). Even in the lighter operas, the characters get themselves into serious trouble. But we like all these main characters and we hope for a happy ending for them.

LE NOZZE DI FIGARO (Royal Opera)*****

By Sophie 

Link: https://stream.roh.org.uk/packages/the-marriage-of-figaro-2015/videos/the-marriage-of-figaro-2015 

Available until: 4^th April 2021

Le nozze di Figaro can be very difficult to classify as an opera. It’s not a tragedy, though some of the characters feel that way at times. It’s certainly romantic as there is at least one happy couple at the end (I’m not admitting to any more than that, but I’m not ruling it out). Many would call it a comedy, though it is possible to put on a production of Figaro that focuses on the more serious elements and although it’s compelling as both a romantic and a dramatic piece, it’s not necessarily always overwhelmingly funny.

DON GIOVANNI (Wiener Staatsoper)****

 

By Cal

Link: https://play.wiener-staatsoper.at/event/503f1870-b9b8-42dd-b305-53da32279365/play

Available until: Wiener Staatsoper productions seem to be available for about 24 hours. There is another broadcast on 14th February.

Wiener Staatsoper continues its series of livestreams (mostly but not exclusively Mozart) with the opera many people (including me) consider to be his greatest: Don Giovanni. (Though you’ve got to admit, it has some very close competition.)

LE NOZZE DI FIGARO (Wiener Staatsoper)*****

 

By Louise

Link: https://play.wiener-staatsoper.at/calendar

Available until: There is another broadcast on 11^th February at 6pm (probably 5pm in the UK) but I didn’t watch it live so it’s available for at least a while after broadcast.

Note: The subtitles are automatically set to German, but they are also available in English and Italian.

Le nozze di Figaro is probably my favourite opera. The music is really beautiful, the story is really good and the characters are great so it is quite difficult not to enjoy Figaro, but every so often you see a production that is really really special. This is one of them.

COSI FAN TUTTE (Scottish Opera/Theatre Royal Glasgow)****

 

By Megan

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MFdnPptcSw

Available until: 7^th February 2021

Scottish Opera’s production of Cosi fan tutte is really lighthearted and fun but it does take the story seriously and shows the characters as real people. The title is usually translated as ‘So do all women’ but this production seems to focus on the fact that everyone makes mistakes. So it’s like Cosi fan tutti. ‘Tutti’ means all males but it’s also used for a mixture of men and women.

DON GIOVANNI (Royal Opera)*****

 

By Louise

Link: https://stream.roh.org.uk/packages/don-giovanni-2019/videos/don-giovanni

Available until: 27^th December 2020

The Royal Opera have been really wonderful for keeping us entertained during the pandemic. They stream their past productions online for a very small price, as well as putting on socially-distanced shows for a very small or no audience, which can be watched online.

This production of Don Giovanni is probably my favourite ROH streamed production so far, but I did enjoy all the other productions a lot. It is a beautiful opera musically anyway and it has lots of interesting characters, but in Kasper Holton’s production – revived by Jack Furness - they are especially interesting because he has shown the characters in ways I have never seen them before. The ending is really interesting too.