17 July 2026
Barossa Arts Centre
Tanunda
Opera
I was lucky enough to win tickets to all five of the State Opera SA productions in Adelaide this year. While organising those tickets, I noticed that Don Giovanni would be performed in the Barossa. Since I had been lucky enough to win the tickets to all the other performances for the year, and since we knew we were unlikely to get away for a long holiday in 2026, I suggested to my husband that we buy the tickets for Don Giovanni and have an overnight stay in the Barossa to see the show and enjoy a two-day mini-break. So, that's what we did.
It was my first time at the Barossa Arts Centre and it was a lovely mid-size venue. The acoustics were good and my only minor thought was that it would have been nice if the seats had been a little more tiered to improve the view, especially if a tall person was seated in front of you.
The performance was excellent from start to finish. The set was static, but it was used to great effect throughout so nothing more was needed. The 1950s setting for the production worked well, though I did miss the statue of the Commendatore coming to life; the posters and the ghost then coming in didn't have quite the same dramatic effect for me as the statue moving I have seen done in other productions. The singers were all top-notch. All embodied their characters well. Of particular note was the great comedy between Christian Haotian Qi and Kiran Rajasingam as Don Giovanni and Leporello. The women all sang beautifully, though I especially enjoyed Cathy-Di Zhang as Zerlina, and there was excellent balance between the vocalists and the orchestra. My husband is not as keen an opera-goer as me, but even he said he enjoyed the show a lot and that it was the performance he's liked the best of the three operas we've seen so far this year. I am giving this one 5 stars.
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