Further pushing forward the reopening of musical events beginning tentatively to take place across Europe, the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra and Choir has announced that it will close its season with a staged Don Giovanni. The performance will take place at Stockholm’s Berwaldhallen on Saturday June 13, and while there won't be an audience, it will be broadcast live for free on Berwaldhallen Play. 

The performance will be conducted by Music Director Daniel Harding, who as reported by Gramophone last week will be reunited with his orchestra this coming Friday, June 5 for their first performance together since lockdown - a live-streamed concert featuring Mahler, Purcell, Bach and Sibelius. 

The cast for Mozart’s opera will feature baritone Peter Mattei, sopranos Malin Byström, Johanna Wallroth and Mari Eriksmoen – and tenor Andrew Staples, who as well as singing will also direct. Scenography will be by Bengt Gomér and Helle Carlsson.

Reflecting on his proposed staging, Staples says the coronavirus and the theme of separation will form a part of the concept. 'One of the things this situation has taught me is how much I rely on my electronic devices. In this staging we explore the darker side of a reliance on screens and remote images, allowing us to examine Don Giovanni’s need for intimacy and adapt that idea to our own current situation. We imagine a world similar to ours now, where the characters maintain a physical distance and satisfy their craving for validation through their proximity to screens. In this world Don Giovanni is less concerned with physical contact. Instead, he desires to capture and curate the moment of seduction. This obsession is perhaps part of our covid-19 world, but it serves to highlight a dependency that is already becoming normal for many of us.'

Staffan Becker, Berwaldhallen General Manager, commented: ‘At a time when we need music more than ever, I am proud of what we have achieved in Berwaldhallen this Spring. The orchestra, choir and whole team adapted quickly to the situation and continued to bring live concerts to our audiences. To close our season with Don Giovanni, at a time when too many concert halls and opera houses remain dark, is a unique and extraordinary moment.’