The Chinese Don Juan brings 'Eco-Opera' to Spain

Don Juan is one of opera's most famous characters and instantly recognisable worldwide.

Written by Spaniard Tirso de Molina, The Trickster of Seville or The Playboy of Seville has entranced theatre-goers for almost three centuries.

And the Shanghai-based Eco Company brought it to life in Spain with a fully Chinese cast singing in Italian and a world premiere at the Almagro Classical Theatre Festival, a town close to Ciudad Real, a couple of hours' drive from Madrid.

"As a Chinese actor, being able to play Don Juan here in Spain is very special for me," actor Ren Ting tells CGTN before the play.

"My Don Juan is my own Don Juan, my interpretation of Don Juan, a Chinese Don Juan," he continues. "We hope to bring different sensations and a new experience to Western audiences."

Mozart gave the work one of its most acclaimed iterations with Don Giovanni – a shared cultural treasure, says director Zhou Zhengzhong.

"I don't want to say 'Chinese culture and Spanish culture, what's the difference?' – I try to say, okay, there's a common thing because we fall in love with Mozart's music and Tirso De Molina's play."

Zhou, the driving force behind the work, is also a professor at Shanghai Conservatory of Music, bringing Don Juan home with a new, sustainable proposition that may just be the future of opera.

What is 'Eco-Opera'? 

"The eco means economy, ecologic, and ecosystem," explains Zhou. "I think in the future, the opera shouldn't be a luxury."

The company had stripped down the normal symphony orchestra to just four instruments – a piano, a single cello, a Spanish flamenco guitar and a Chinese bamboo flute creating a unique and original sound.

Zhou says the work invites reflection on the sustainable development of our planet.

It's contemporary, interactive and original, with minimal props that if thrown away, wouldn't even fill the single wheelie-bin that's on stage pre-performance.

CGTN met a theater commissioning team and experts at the play who helped explain the concept further.

"Eco-opera, exactly, it means an economical, pared-down version of opera," begins Rachel.

"So doing everything in a way that is good for the environment, sustainable, you can tour, but tour in a sustainable way that is not quite so expensive, both in terms of the carbon footprint and in terms of the production materials and everything, it's got multiple meanings, eco."

Sophie, standing next to Rachel, was impressed after the show.

"Oh, it was fantastic, fantastic," she said. "I mean we have such an amazing group of performers and you have only four instruments playing, it's intense, but to keep this together with the singing and the minimal props and everything is really really fantastic. Something that can be taken around the world much more easily.

"Especially these days with the climate and everything, you know, it's really really important when you're planning touring and all of these things we have to think very differently now, so yeah, it's fantastic!"

So how was it received by the Spanish audience?

"Maravillosa," one member of the audience says after a seven-minute standing ovation.

"I loved it," says another.

A Chinese Don Juan and the future of opera all in one unforgettable evening.