Mozart: Don Giovanni (complete opera recorded in 2010)

"Amazing production of Don Giovanni at Glyndebourne, a work of art in itself… Magnificent as the set is, this will also be a Don Giovanni to listen to for the orchestra. The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment are so good that they can generate almost demonic energy from the lighter timbres of period instruments. Vladimir Jurowski has rarely sounded more inspired". Opera Today

"The graceful purity of Kate Royal as Elvira ... gave lustre to Mozart's kaleidoscopic masterpiece". The Scotsman

"Suavely ruthless, Finley was both steely monster and molten charmer, singing with a firmness, clarity and stylistic elegance that I can't easily imagine surpassed". The Telegraph

For this 2010 production, the first new staging of the opera in 10 years, Glyndebourne welcome back the winning team of director Jonathan Kent and designer Paul Brown with Festival Music Director, Vladimir Jurowski conducting the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.

Set at a time of seismic social and cultural change - in a Fellini-esque vision of post-war life - Jonathan Kent's urgently propulsive production offers a 'white-knuckle rollercoaster ride' through the events of the Don's last day as they unfold in and around Paul Brown's magical 'box of tricks' set.

In the title role we also welcome back the great bass-baritone Gerald Finley. He has sung Don Giovanni to worldwide acclaim in New York, London, Paris, Vienna, Rome, Budapest and Prague. Finley is joined by Luca Pisaroni (Guglielmo in the 2006 Festival's Così fan tutte) as Leporello, Kate Royal (the Governess in Jonathan Kent's 2006 staging of The Turn of the Screw) as Donna Elvira, and the young Russian soprano Anna Samuil making her UK opera debut as Donna Anna.

Bonus features include rehearsal and backstage footage, interviews with the production staff and cast as well as a glimpse into the costume, design and technical departments at Glyndebourne.

The DVD will feature English, French and German subtitles.

The production will be revived next summer at the 2011 Glyndebourne Festival.

Kate Royal is an exclusive EMI Classics artist since 2006. She has made two solo recordings: Kate Royal with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields/Edward Gardner and Midsummer Night with the Orchestra of English National Opera/Edward Gardner. As a guest artist, she has recorded discs for the label with the Choir of King's College, Cambridge, Le Concert d'Astrée/Emmanuelle Haïm and Paul McCartney. Kate Royal's new album 'A Lesson in Love' (released in 2011), is an intimate recital with pianist Malcolm Martineau charting a young girl's journey of love and loss through a combination of German lieder, English and American songs and French melodies. Kate Royal returns to Glyndebourne in Summer 2011.

Designer Paul Brown

"Finley is a Don of remarkable self-assurance and narcissism, his impeccable diction and technically flawless singing an extension of this monstrous character...Pisaroni's great acting occasionally makes his singing imperfect, but the voice is grand and there will be few complaints...[Samuil's] singing is big-boned, fearless and has a nice unpredictability to it...The [OAE] plays with fire and passion...[Jurowski's] reading keeps the listeners on the edge of their seats." International Record Review, July 2011

"this Don, played by Gerald Finley, is a master of self-control: hands in tailored pockets and operating with a steely indifference to all...And Finley give this vision vocal assurance matching the clarity of Jurowski's conducting and the momentum generated by Kent within the ever-shifting Pandora's box of a design...Kate Royal is a deeply serious, thrillingly sung Donna Elvira, Anna Samuil an equally classy, flaring soprano of a Donna Anna." BBC Music Magazine, July 2011 ****

"[Finley's] assumption is completely convincing...his fear before the confrontation with the Commendatore in the supper scene is palpable. Finley sings as well as he acts, apart from an oddly unhoneyed serenade...The singing is fine and the OAE play like angels." DVD of the Month Gramophone Magazine, August 2011