| Credited cast: | |||
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Christopher Maltman | ... | Juan |
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Mikhail Petrenko | ... | Leporello |
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Elizabeth Futral | ... | Elvira |
| Maria Bengtsson | ... | Anna | |
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Eric Halfvarson | ... | The Commander |
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Peter Lodahl | ... | Ottavio |
| Katija Dragojevic | ... | Zerlina | |
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Ludvig Bengtson Lindström | ... | Masetto |
| Rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
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Péter Hercz | ... | Onstage singer #5 |
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Anna Herczenik | ... | Onstage singer #3 |
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Ina | ... | Self |
| András Korcsmáros | ... | The Tramp | |
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András Káldi Kiss | ... | Onstage singer #1 |
| Peter Linka | ... | Chief Detective | |
| József Tálos | ... | Detective | |
The successful artist and playboy Juan is a notorious seducer of women, through his ability to be just what a woman dreams of: Charming, charismatic, strong, sensitive, sexual. Driven by a restless urge to conquer new women, use them, and throw them away, he has hired his friend Leporello to help create a masterpiece: A filmed database of all the women whose dreams Juan has shattered. We follow Juan and Leporello through 24 compressed hours. Juan seduces the young upper-class girl Anna, but ends up accidentally killing her father, a powerful police commissioner. The two friends run away, but Juan's constant need to seduce new women keeps interrupting their flight. As the police gains in on them, Juan also steals the young bride Zerlina from her groom Masetto, and soon a feverish manhunt is on for Juan. Written by Malene Blenkov
I doubt that "Juan" will win many new converts to opera, but it's great fun for the already converted, an ingenious attempt (mostly successful) to update Mozart's opera to the smart-set of Budapest — people who fall hopelessly in love and thrive on delusion using cell phones, TV monitors, video cams and Mac laptops.
Frankly, I wouldn't wish Italian opera sung in English on my worst enemy; I would have preferred a "Juan" sung in Italian, but I guess English is the world language of update. One aspect of the film I did not enjoy was the English subtitles: why use them when everyone sang loud and clear? For me the best singer was Mikhail Petrenko (Leporello) followed by Christopher Maltman as Juan who looks sexy enough to conquer 1003 women in Spain.
Leporello's aria "One thousand and three" blew me away: his use of a Mac laptop and Mac software to display Juan's conquests is utterly brilliant.