“The Don Giovanni opera will come differently, bringing backstage on stage. The singers will come on stage as they do in rehearsals with sports jackets and everyday clothes,” says Austrian director Papke
TIRANA, May 16 – Don Giovanni, an opera buffa in two acts composed by Mozart is coming to the National Theatre of Opera and Ballet in a special adventurous version brought to Tirana by Austrian director Christian Papke. Scheduled to make its premiere on Saturday, May 18 the opera is a Austrian-Albanian cooperation staged on the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the National Theatre of Opera and Ballet. A cast of Albanian and Kosovo opera singers including Armand Likaj, Mariana Leka, Riad Ymeri are performing in the opera which will stage for three consecutive evenings on May 18, 20 and 22 at 19.00. The symphonic orchestra of the Opera House is conducted by Austria’s Ekhart Wycik.
Speaking to reporters in Tirana, Austrian director Papke says the Don Giovanni opera will come to the public in Albania in a quite different version which he considers a great adventure. “The Don Giovanni opera will come differently, bringing backstage on stage. The singers will come on stage as they do in rehearsals with sports jackets and everyday clothes. The wonderful music by Mozart will remain the same while the public will not watch a classical opera with a grand set or customer design,” says Papke, adding that he has cooperated with Opera House director Maestro Zhani Ciko to adjust it to the taste of the Albanian public.
“What’s more important is that I am staging this opera with a wonderful cast of soloists who are all Albanians,” added Papke.
Don Giovanni is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It is based on the legends of Don Juan, a fictional libertine and seducer. Although sometimes classified as comic, it blends comedy, melodrama and supernatural elements.
The opera is brought to Tirana with the support of the Austrian embassy in Tirana and comes after performances by Austria’s Aron Quartett in three Albanian cities earlier this month. Several other Austrian musicians have performed in Tirana during this year.
