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The Arts Intel Report

A Cultural Compass
For the World Traveler
A Cultural Compass
For the World Traveler

Don Giovanni, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Ryan McKinny and Ailyn Pérez in Kasper Holten’s production of Don Giovanni, pictured in a performance at Houston Grand Opera.

Sept 13 – Oct 15, 2023
135 N Grand Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90012, USA

The British artist Es (for Esmeralda) Devlin builds stage sets on the scale of airplane terminals. Lesser talents can look lost in them while a showboat like Benedict Cumberbatch (as Hamlet) or rockstars like Beyoncé and Adele simply revel in the possibilities for self-display. For Kasper Holten’s recent revival of Mozart’s Don Giovanni at the Royal Opera, Devlin created an off-kilter, split-level Seville splashed with diabolical animations and projections by Luke Halls. Lucas Meachem steps up to the spectacle’s challenges and opportunities at the head a strong international cast. The top-drawer Mozartean James Conlon conducts. A simulcast of the opening-night performance will be broadcast free at La Mirada Community Regional Park and on the Santa Monica Pier. —Matthew Gurewitsch