"Don Giovanni"

Son follows secret star in new production

A billy goat is part of "Don Giovanni", as is baritone Davide Luciano.

(Bild: Salzburger Festspiele, Thomas Manhart)

Castellucci's "Don Giovanni" is celebrating its comeback at the Salzburg Festival this year. However, changes to the production are almost exclusively of an animal nature.

Three years ago, he enchanted the audience at the Salzburg Festival with his appearance: Josef, a Tauernscheck goat from Lower Austria. The goat, who resided at Lake Fuschl during the event, celebrated his debut as an extra on stage in Romeo Castellucci's "Don Giovanni". Josef was undoubtedly the secret star of the Mozart opera, which was re-staged for this year's edition of the festival with almost the same cast and under the direction of director Romeo Castellucci. 

But Joseph will no longer be taking to the stage this year. The animal will be replaced - by his son. In contrast to the play, however, this change happened without any great drama. After all, the main role kills the father of "Donna Anna" right at the beginning. A symbol of what makes him tick. He is bent on destruction and damnation. And that is exactly where he finds his personal redemption.

"Things take time"
"I dug really deep inside myself for this. It's lucky that I have a relatively complicated past. That helps to find Don Giovanni's restlessness," explains baritone Davide Luciano, when asked how an artist prepares to portray such a character. He made his debut in 2013 as Leporello, Don Giovanni's servant.

The fact that there are no ground-breaking innovations in the new production doesn't really seem to bother anyone. Artistic Director Markus Hinterhäuser said "that things take time". Castellucci emphasizes: "One could continue to work on the opera for a lifetime. It remains complex and multi-layered this time too."