THE RAKE PUNISHED OR DON GIOVANNI Will Come to the Melbourne Opera
Performances run 26 April - 3 May at the Athenaeum Theatre Melbourne.
Melbourne Opera will stage a timely production of Don Giovanni (The Rake Punished) from 26 April - 3 May at the Athenaeum Theatre.
This staging strikes at the heart of Don Giovanni's narcissism and brutality, refusing to brush over his assaults as mere elements of the dramma giocoso. Instead, it gives voice and agency to the women he has wronged. Universally acknowledged as one of the greatest operas ever written, this time Don Giovanni will see justice finally served.
Director Suzanne Chaundy will once again show her deft touch in directing the operatic stage.
“It is a complete misreading of Mozart and Da Ponte's intent to see Don Giovanni as a rebel hero. Only his narcissism places him in that role. This production will focus the story on the trio of powerful and vengeful women who bring Don Giovanni to justice on behalf of the many, many women listed in the heinous catalogue of his ‘conquests',” says Suzanne Chaundy, who is making her United Kingdom opera directing debut in July.
“Justice is coming to Don Giovanni just as it caught up with recent high profile sex offenders like the former Prince Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein, and as many would picture justice coming to other offenders from the Epstein Files.”
Three of Australia's best sopranos will join forces in passionate revenge. Lee Abrahmsen (“Die Meistersinger”, The Ring Cycle) as Donna Anna for her own assault and for the death of her father, Eleanor Greenwood (Turandot, The Ring Cycle) as conflicted wife Donna Elvira, and Soprano Rebecca Rashleigh (Herald Sun Aria Winner 2018, The Ring Cycle) is the peasant bride Zerlina, whom the Don attempts to seduce the night she marries Masetto. Masetto is performed by Stephen Marsh, who has just returned from the Deutsche Oper Berlin.
Taking on the role of Don Giovanni is international baritone Christopher Tonkin. “It certainly is an interesting time to be playing such a character as Don Giovanni. Art has always been a commentary on deeper issues and this is a very important conversation to have,” says Christopher, who has appeared throughout the United Kingdom, Europe, Asia and Australasia and performed major roles with Opera Australia, Melbourne Opera and many other leading opera companies.
Soprano Lee Abrahmsen was genuinely surprised by the sheer scale of the role of Donna Anna. “Vocally, it's a major undertaking. Donna Anna leads every ensemble high above the stave and sings one of Mozart's longest and most emotionally charged recitatives. Add the psychological weight she carries, and it becomes a role of remarkable stamina, nuance and depth,” says Lee.
Henry Shaw, winner of the OCCA Best Emerging Talent Award 2025, is singing Don Giovanni's servant Leporello. Bass Eddie Muliaumaseali'i joins the cast as the murdered Commendatore, who drags Don Giovanni to the hell that he deserves. Tenor Henry Choo is singing Don Ottavio, betrothed to Donna Anna.
Green Room Award nominated conductor Raymond Lawrence will conduct, delivering some of Mozart's most famous and most loved music. Highlights include ‘Catalogue Aria' (Madamina, il catalogo è questo), the seductive duet ‘Là ci darem la mano' and the rapid Champagne Aria (Fin ch'han dal vino).
In August, Melbourne Opera will stage Il Trovatore starring leading international soprano Helena Dix and Rosario La Spina, who won a 2026 Green Room Award for Outstanding Performance in a Leading Role for Melbourne Opera's Samson et Dalila.
The company's ambitious staging of Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (2025) was a major winner in the inaugural OperaChaser Critics Awards (OCCAs), announced in February.
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