The Royal Opera opened its 2026/27 season on 10 September with a sixth revival of Kasper Holten’s 2014 staging of Don Giovanni, Mozart and Da Ponte’s comedy of a serial seducer that turns, without warning, into a tragedy. Revival director Greg Eldridge keeps Es Devlin’s revolving mansion and Luke Halls’ projections at the centre of the evening, and that is where the critics part company: some found the visual invention dazzling, others thought it crowded out the drama. They agree far more readily on the cast, and above all on Aigul Akhmetshina, whose role debut as Donna Elvira is singled out almost everywhere, with warm words too for Gordon Bintner’s Don, Roberto Tagliavini’s Leporello and Bogdan Volkov’s Don Ottavio.
The verdict: nine notices in so far — one four-star review, five three-star ones and three outlets that published no rating at all. Among those that score, the average is 3.2 out of 5, and the split is not about the singing but about the staging: almost every critic admires Es Devlin’s revolving set and Luke Halls’ projections, and several of them think the spectacle gets in the way of the drama.
What are critics saying about DON GIOVANNI?
LondonTheatre.co.uk
"this sumptuous production is an artistic and technical triumph"
Reviewer: Julia Rank
"The revival is led by Canadian bass-baritone Gordon Bintner, who isn’t quite the dark, brooding archetype and instead brings a sneering Bullingdon Club-esque arrogance to the role that’s sadly all too recognisable. His singing is smooth and his physicality assured. He’s accompanied by Roberto Tagliavini, who is nicely sardonic as Leporello, the Don’s servant and lookout who wants a bit of the action himself."
The Guardian
"reality recedes in visually dizzying Mozart tour de force"
Reviewer: Clive Paget
"Gordon Bintner plays Giovanni as a jaded Lothario, his bass-baritone at its ringing best when singing full out. He’s well paired with Roberto Tagliavini’s beefy-voiced, hangdog Leporello. As Donna Elvira, Aigul Akhmetshina offers power and passion in a standout performance. Rachel Willis-Sørensen delivers plenty of decibels as Donna Anna, though she could use a touch more flexibility at the very top. Bogdan Volkov is her sweet-toned Ottavio, especially effective in the two big arias. Giulia Semenzato sings extremely prettily as Zerlina, Dingle Yandell is a clarion, characterful Masetto and Andreas Bauer Kanabas a forceful Commendatore."
Bachtrack
"Don Giovanni spins round again to open The Royal Opera’s season"
Reviewer: Mark Pullinger
"Gordon Bintner’s rakish Don was certainly defiant; a testy tinder-box who can also turn on the charm. Bintner sang in this production at Canadian Opera Company two years ago and looked completely at ease here. His baritone both snarled and seduced, the Champagne Aria a manic trip, his Serenade cooing, despite baritone and mandolin briefly going their separate ways. Roberto Tagliavini provided the perfect comic foil as Leporello, very much relishing the buffo aspects of the role. His Catalogue Aria was a highlight, his rounded bass well projected."
BroadwayWorld
"Psychologically and visually compelling Don Giovanni, with a strong cast, brings mixed reactions from the audience"
Reviewer: Cheryl Markosky
"The other big star of the show is designer Es Devlin's incredible, Escher-like set. Right from the start the overture becomes a great deal more than introductory music. Names of the multitude of women the sex-addicted Don Giovanni has seduced are scrawled, by means of clever projections from video designer Luke Halls and admirable lighting by Bruno Poet, across a grey stone stately house that revolves and morphs into a versatile interior space over two levels."
OperaWire
Reviewer: Mike Hardy
"There are further, (but infinitely less severe), contrasting character traits for another of Giovanni’s conquests, Donna Elvira, performed here by Aigul Akhmetshina. She was equally enraged and, by turn, infatuated with him throughout. Her arias perfectly mirrored her emotional instability, shifting between furious rage and deep, lingering affection. Making her debut in this role, this is entirely new territory for Akhmetshina. She started off with a measured degree of caution, but it wasn’t long before that glorious, unique vocal beauty flowed that marks her out as the mezzo of our time. Her establishing aria, “Ah, chi mi dice mai,” where she vengefully sings of her abandonment, was accomplished. She later performed “Ah, fuggi il traditor” warning the peasant girl Zerlina to reject his advances."
London Unattached
"A Punchy Don Giovanni to Open the Royal Opera Season"
Reviewer: Dr Adrian York
"The singing of American soprano Rachel Willis-Sørensen was the night’s female vocal highlight, gaining a spontaneous ovation after her first aria. Willis-Sørensen was playing Donna Anna, whom Don Giovanni attempts to rape at the start of the opera, killing her father, the Commendatore, in the process. She has a powerful upper register, impressing both with the drama of ‘Ma qual mai s’offre oh Dei – What is this I behold?’ and in the sublime duet ‘Ah, vendicar, se il puoi, giura quel sangue ognor! – Ah, swear to avenge that blood if you can!’ with her fiancée Don Ottavio."
Also reviewed by: The Stage (Yehuda Shapiro, three stars, "Don Giovanni review at Royal Opera House, London: technically complex"), The Telegraph (Ivan Hewett, three stars, "The Royal Opera’s ambitious new season opens with a powerful Don Giovanni") and the Financial Times ("The Royal Opera’s new season opens with a hell-for-leather Don Giovanni"), whose reviews sit behind paywalls.
For more of what the critics made of this week in London, read our roundups of Golden Boy at the Almeida Theatre and Fire Fire at the Arcola Theatre.
Don Giovanni runs at the Royal Opera House until Thursday 15 October 2026.
