Premiered in 1787, “Don Giovanni” exposes the timeless theme of a man hovering between vitality and destruction. Neither morality nor the law can stop this serial lover in his quest to conquer all women as he places his own pleasure above all other principles. Today, the rich depth of Mozart’s masterpiece still astonishes audiences with its mix of comedy and seriousness, pleasure and love, entertainment and murder. At the helm of this new Salzburg Festival production, in a near-live broadcast from the Great Festival Hall, director Romeo Castellucci promises to focus on the ambiguity and inner turmoil of this serial lover whose immoral behaviour condemns him to a deadly solitude. The exceptional cast – featuring Italian baritone Davide Luciano (Don Giovanni), Russian soprano Nadezhda Pavlova (Donna Anna) and Finnish bass Mika Kares (the Commendatore) – is accompanied by the chorus and musicians of the musicAeterna ensemble, conducted by Vitaly Polonsky and Teodor Currentzis.

Donizetti’s bubbly romantic comedy about a spunky landowner, a hapless peasant, and the dubious love potion that may or may not bring them together never fails to delight audiences. In this performance from the Met’s Live in HD series, South African soprano Pretty Yende stars as Adina, imbuing her character with lovable warmth while tossing off effortless coloratura passages from beginning to end. Tenor Matthew Polenzani is Nemorino, Adina’s love-struck admirer, who pours out his heart in the moving aria “Una furtiva lagrima.” The cast also includes baritone Davide Luciano as the swaggering Sergeant Belcore and Ildebrando D’Arcangelo as the wily Dr. Dulcamara, and Domingo Hindoyan conducts Bartlett’s Sher’s charming and colorful production.