Don Giovanni: Mozart’s Darkly Comic Masterpiece Returns to Tobacco Factory Theatres

Don Giovanni brings Mozart breathtakingly close at Tobacco Factory Theatres this autumn

Tobacco Factory Theatres and Opera Project are proud to announce the return of opera to Bristol this autumn with Mozart’s thrilling masterpiece Don Giovanni, running from 23 September – 3 October 2026.

Completing Opera Project and Tobacco Factory Theatres’ acclaimed exploration of Mozart and Da Ponte’s operatic trilogy, following The Marriage of Figaro and Così fan tutte, Don Giovanni brings one of opera’s most dramatic, darkly comic and musically exhilarating works into the intimacy of the Factory Theatre’s unique in-the-round space.

Sung in English and performed with singers, musicians and audiences just feet apart, the production offers an unusually immediate encounter with Mozart’s extraordinary score and Da Ponte’s darkly compelling story.

Within minutes of the opera opening, Don Giovanni is involved in a duel with the Commendatore, whose daughter Anna he has abducted. The Commendatore is killed, setting in motion a series of brutal escapades that culminate in Giovanni inviting the dead man’s statue to dinner. To the Don’s disbelief, the statue accepts, and the opera hurtles towards its famous final reckoning.

A story of seduction, murder and divine retribution, Don Giovanni centres on a man driven by his desire for sexual conquest and the devastating consequences for those around him. Yet Mozart and Da Ponte imbue the darkness with extraordinary comedy, particularly through the fast and furious interplay between Giovanni and his long-suffering servant Leporello.

Conductor Jonathan Lyness describes Don Giovanni as a dramma giocoso, a form combining “comedy, melodrama and the supernatural”, and an opera whose musical sophistication and dramatic intensity set it apart.

“The relationship between singers and audience, and between singers and musicians, is entirely different at Tobacco Factory Theatres than anywhere else,” said Lyness. “This is not opera as we normally think of it. The orchestra isn’t hidden in a pit – they’re essentially on stage collaborating with the singers.”

That proximity puts audiences at the heart of Mozart’s drama. Singers perform just feet away, surrounded on all sides by the audience, while Jonathan Lyness’ orchestral arrangement brings the musicians directly into the action.

A spectacular line-up of singers includes Sam Pantcheff, who appeared as Guglielmo in last season’s Così fan tutte, as Don Giovanni; Welsh bass Emyr Wyn Jones as Leporello; and the return of Melissa Gregory, last season’s Dorabella, as Giovanni’s passionate nemesis Donna Elvira.

The production sees the return of Richard Studer as director and designer. Studer made his professional debut with Don Giovanni at Bristol Old Vic in 1994 and now returns to the opera more than three decades later. Jonathan Lyness conducts another of his acclaimed orchestral arrangements.

Opera Project and Tobacco Factory Theatres have worked together for more than 20 years, developing a distinctive approach to presenting large-scale opera in the intimate Factory Theatre and bringing audiences unusually close to both singers and musicians.

It is the combination of this extraordinary work and the relationship between performer and audience at Tobacco Factory Theatres that makes the production particularly exciting.

“What sets Don Giovanni apart is its dramatic intensity, its musical sophistication, and the simply magnificent supernatural supper scene that forms the climax of the opera,” he said.

Don Giovanni runs at Tobacco Factory Theatres from 23 September – 3 October 2026.

🎟️ Tickets start from £38with concessions available. Early booking is strongly recommended. Visit tobaccofactorytheatres.com to book.