Don Giovanni: Open-Air Opera in Paris

Summer is well and truly here so make the most of it with a memorable evening of opera under the stars. A sumptuous production of Don Giovanni, as part of the annual Opéra en Plein Air tour, will pervade some of France’s most beautiful monuments. This classic work, which German composer Richard Wagner dubbed “the opera of all operas,” features music by Mozart and Italian libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte.

The character of Don Giovanni is based upon that of Don Juan, the fictional libertine. He is an arrogant, manipulative and sexually promiscuous nobleman – also a remorseless murderer. His past eventually catches up with him, when he encounters something he cannot kill, beat or outwit.

As is the case each year, the production will take place in the Cour d’Honneur of the Hôtel National des Invalides on Paris’s Left Bank. Built in the 1670s, at the request of Louis XIV, this monument originally housed disabled war veterans before finding fame as Napoléon’s final resting place. Today, its gleaming golden dome remains a standout feature of the Parisian skyline.

Opéra en Plein Air, Hôtel National des Invalides, September 9-13, 9pm. Tel: +33 1 82 28 19 59 (Opéra en Plein Air, information only) Tickets: €42-95 (Online only)

From France Today magazine