
Don Giovanni
Suave, Shameless and Doomed.
Lecherous nobleman, Don Giovanni has had infamous exploits (he keeps a catalog). He kills the father of one of his victims and now, his continued debauchery will seal his fate. Who will exact revenge and make him pay the price for his misdeeds?
Act I
The home of Donna Anna. Leporello complains about his work as a servant, while his master pursues an amorous adventure. Don Giovanni, masked, hurries out of the house, chased by Donna Anna, and then by the Commendatore, her father, who draws his sword to free his daughter from this unknown intruder. Don Giovanni deals the Commendatore a mortal blow. Donna Anna is overcome with grief. She returns with her fiancé Don Ottavio, who tries to comfort her, and they swear to avenge her father.
In the morning Giovanni and Leporello overhear a woman’s lament. Giovanni approaches to seduce her, and then realizes she is Donna Elvira, whom he has already seduced and abandoned. He manages to escape her, leaving Leporello to explain that she is but one entry in a formidable catalogue of conquests.
Later they come upon a jovial working-class wedding. Giovanni flirts with Zerlina, the bride, and invites the entire party to his villa. The groom, Masetto, is duly disgruntled, but distracted by Leporello. Giovanni and Zerlina are left alone – until Elvira interrupts and sweeps Zerlina away. Anna and Ottavio enter, asking Giovanni’s help in finding the killer of Anna’s father. Elvira interrupts again, denouncing Giovanni; but he claims she is mad. Suddenly Anna recognizes in Giovanni’s speech the voice of her father’s murderer and her attacker. Back in her boudoir, she describes the scene to Ottavio, and they both swear vengeance again.
At Giovanni’s home, Zerlina tries to calm a jealous Masetto. Giovanni leads them both back to the party. Three masked figures (Anna, Elvira, and Ottavio) make their entrance. The dancing begins. Giovanni leads Zerlina into an adjoining room and when her screams are heard, everyone rushes to her aid. Giovanni seizes Leporello and tries to blame him, but no one is deceived. Anna, Elvira, and Ottavio unmask and denounce Giovanni as the Commendatore’s assassin. Giovanni flees.
Act II
The foyer of Donna Elvira’s hotel. Giovanni and Leporello exchange clothes so that Giovanni can woo her pretty housekeeper. Elvira falls for the trick, and Giovanni sings a melting serenade to the maid. Masetto arrives with a band of peasants on the hunt for Don Giovanni. Giovanni divides them up and sends them off, and gives Masetto a beating. Zerlina hears his groans and comes to console him.
Leporello, still disguised as Giovanni, is trying to shake Elvira when Anna, Ottavio, Zerlina, and Masetto surprise him and demand his death. Leporello reveals his identity, begs for mercy, and manages to escape. Ottavio swears vengeance. Elvira reflects on her betrayal and her enduring love.
Giovanni and Leporello hide in the funeral chapel. They hear a solemn voice and realize it is coming from the Commendatore, whom Giovanni orders Leporello to invite to supper. The Commendatore’s ghost nods his assent.
Ottavio hints at his forthcoming marriage to Anna, and she reproaches him for speaking of it so soon after her father’s death.
Giovanni seats himself for supper. Elvira enters, demanding that he mend his ways. He sends her away, and her shriek is heard in the corridor, only to be echoed by Leporello’s: the Commendatore has come to dine. He confronts Giovanni with his horrifically guilty conscience. Giovanni is tortured but declares he will not repent. The Commendatore exacts his revenge. The other characters deliver the moral of the story: the lives and deaths of evildoers are always the same.

Ryan Speedo Green
Bass-baritone
Don Giovanni
Ryan Speedo Green
Hometown: Suffolk, VA
2024 Season:
Don Giovanni, Don Giovanni
SFO Debut:
Don Basilio, The Barber of Seville, 2022 (August 10 & 20)

Teresa Perrotta
Soprano
Donna Anna
Teresa Perrotta
Hometown: Orlando, FL
2024 Season:
Donna Anna, Don Giovanni
SFO Debut:
Alice, Falstaff, 2022 (August 16 & 25)
Past Seasons:
Carmen, 2022
Helena, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 2021
The Lord of Cries, 2021
Eugene Onegin, 2021
Santa Fe Opera Apprentice: 2021, 2022

Rachael Wilson
Soprano
Donna Elvira
Rachael Wilson
Hometown: Las Vegas, NV
2024 Season:
Donna Elvira, Don Giovanni (SFO Debut)

David Portillo
Tenor
Don Ottavio
David Portillo
Hometown: San Antonio, TX
2024 Season:
Don Ottavio, Don Giovanni
Italian Singer, Der Rosenkavalier
SFO Debut:
Jon Harker, The Lord of Cries, 2021

Nicholas Newton
Bass-baritone
Leporello
Nicholas Newton
Hometown: San Diego, CA
2024 Season:
Leporello, Don Giovanni
Jacob, The Righteous
SFO Debut:
Don Basilio, The Barber of Seville, 2022 (July 2-13 & August 1, 6 & 26)
Past Seasons:
Carmen, 2022
Tristan und Isolde, 2022
M. Butterfly, 2022
Santa Fe Opera Apprentice: 2022

Liv Redpath
Soprano
Zerlina
Liv Redpath
Hometown: Edina, MN
2024 Season:
Zerlina, Don Giovanni
Sophie, Der Rosenkavalier (August 15)
SFO Debut:
Zerbinetta, Ariadne auf Naxos, 2018
Santa Fe Opera Apprentice: 2017

William Guanbo Su
Bass
Masetto
William Guanbo Su
Hometown: Beijing, China
2024 Season:
Masetto, Don Giovanni (SFO Debut)

Soloman Howard
Bass
Commendatore
Soloman Howard
Hometown: Washington, D.C.
2024 Season:
Commendatore, Don Giovanni
SFO Debut:
Commendatore, Don Giovanni, 2016
Past Seasons:
Colline, La bohème, 2019
The Bonze, Madama Butterfly, 2018
Duke of Verona, Roméo et Juliette, 2016

Harry Bicket
Conductor
Harry Bicket
Hometown: Liverpool, England
Endowed by Wyncote Foundation, as recommended by Frederick R. Haas & Rafael Gomez
2024 Season:
Don Giovanni
SFO Debut:
Agrippina, 2004
Past Seasons:
Pelléas et Mélisande, 2023
Orfeo, 2023
Carmen, 2022
The Marriage of Figaro, 2021
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 2021
Così fan tutte, 2019
Candide, 2018
Alcina, 2017
Roméo et Juliette, 2016
La finta giardiniera, 2015
Fidelio, 2014
Radamisto, 2008
Platée, 2007

Stephen Barlow
Director
Stephen Barlow
Hometown: London, England
2024 Season:
Don Giovanni
SFO Debut:
Tosca, 2012
Past Seasons:
The Barber of Seville, 2022

Yannis Thavoris
Scenic & Costume Designer
Yannis Thavoris
Hometown: Thessaloniki, Greece
2024 Season:
Don Giovanni
SFO Debut:
Tosca, 2012

Christopher Akerlind
Lighting Designer
Christopher Akerlind
Hometown: Hartford, CT
2024 Season:
Don Giovanni
SFO Debut:
The Rake’s Progress, 1996
Past Seasons:
The Barber of Seville, 2022
M. Butterfly, 2022
Lucia di Lammermoor, 2017
Vanessa, 2016
The Impresario & Le Rossignol, 2014
Dr. Sun Yat-sen, 2014

Mitchell Harper
Choreographer
Mitchell Harper
Hometown: London, England
2024 Season:
Don Giovanni
SFO Debut:
The Barber of Seville, 2022