Shanghai Opera House's to premiere Mozart's masterpiece Don Giovanni

A highlight of the ongoing China Shanghai International Arts Festival, Shanghai Opera House's new production of Don Giovanni will premiered at Shangyin Opera House from Nov 15-17.

Artists from Shanghai Opera House will join hands with singers from Italy, Spain and Canada in the new production under the baton of Maestro Xu Zhong(許忠), president of Shanghai Opera House.

Don Giovanni, conducted by Mozart, the composer himself, premiered at the original National Theatre in Prague in today's Czech Republic in 1787. With lyrics written by Lorenzo da Ponte, the opera in two acts tells the story of Don Juan, the notorious libertine and his eventual descent to hell.

Mozart, one of the few "all-rounders" in the music history, was proficient in the creations of all genres and styles of music, said Xu, the conductor. Mozart composed more than 20 operas in his lifetime, and pushed the development of Italian comic opera to an unprecedented height, and Don Giovanni is one of the three most celebrated pinnacle masterpieces of his.

Yang Jingze(楊競澤), director of the production, is also designer of the stage setting. Inspired by the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles in Paris, he designed a sleeve structure featuring two mirror frames. By folding, splitting, rotating, and resetting the two retro-style frames he managed to create a versatile stage that retains the classical forms, and is at the same time full of novel visual elements and fresh vitality.