The Scottish Chamber Opera dazzles again with its high-spirited rendition of Mozart’s Don Giovanni for the Edinburgh International Festival. Conducted by Maxim Emelyanychev, the show continues the SCO’s highly acclaimed series of Mozart operas at the festival. Part raunchy comedy, part high drama, Don Giovanni tells the story of a dissolute Spanish nobleman whose penchant for womanising and bloodshed brings him to a grisly end.
Act I opens with Don Giovanni murdering Il Commendatore after a failed attempt to bed the old man’s daughter, Donna Anna. Konstantin Krimmel plays a leonine, bombastic Don Giovanni, who is at times slick with charisma, at times laughably pompous. His Canzonetta in Act II (“Deh, vieni alla finestra”), sung with elegance and tenderness, is a particularly memorable moment.
The stand-out performer is Michael Sumuel as Don Giovanni’s long-suffering manservant, Leporello. The American bass-baritone plays his character with wry levity, showcasing both Leporello’s quippiness (which garnered plenty of laughs from the audience) and growing disdain for his master.
In Act II, Don Giovanni’s schemes start unravelling. He is pursued with a vengeance by a jilted lover, Donna Elvira, whom Janai Brugger plays with equal parts sinuousness and volatility. Other revenge-seekers include the hot-headed Masetto and the piquant, flighty Zerlina, given real chemistry by William Thomas and Hera Hyesang Park. In the denouement, Il Commendatore, played with icy dignity by Clive Bayley, returns to drag Don Giovanni into mortal account, ending the opera on a surreal note.
This rendition leaves it somewhat ambiguous whether the opening scene is a seduction or an assault. Donna Anna, played regally by a sweet, plaintive Louise Adler, maintains that she was duped by Don Giovanni, who used the cover of the night to act as her fiancé, Don Ottavio (played straight by a serious, kindly Giovanni Sala). But Donna Anna is shown flirting boldly with Don Giovanni at the start. Because the opera is unstaged, we can only take the characters’ word when they claim to be in disguise or concealed from view, meaning revelations of location and point-of-view are a constant comic source of surprise to the audience. Was Don Giovanni really hidden? By leaving the question open, the show cuts its light-heartedness with real unease.
The Scottish Chamber Orchestra performs with its usual high spirits and plenty of charm. Emelyanychev is an animated conductor who frequently “plays” with the leading characters, at one point raising a glass archly to Don Giovanni.
Overall, the Scottish Chamber Opera’s Don Giovanni is fun, sleek, and self-assured, delivering both lightness and psychological complexity.
Reviewer: Nazaret Ranea
Reviewed: 16th August 2026
North West End UK Rating: