Opposing forces at Covent Garden

Don Giovanni has variously been described as a tale of Faustian over-reaching, an essay on the dangers of political freedom, and even an investigation into repressed homosexuality. With its conflict between the libertine anti-hero -who simultaneously incites and repels our sympathies- and the law-abiding masses, the opera portrays a tension between decadence and conservatism, freedom and control, which is similarly enacted in the score's own delicate balance between comedy and tragedy. Covent Garden was itself the site of such a cultural clash at the opening night of the new season, when all 2,200 tickets were bought by The Sun tabloid newspaper on behalf of its readers, in association with the Paul Hamlyn Foundation. In a welcome bid to widen audience participation, the production was also broadcast live to cinemas nationwide, enabling…