For all its wonderful music, Don Giovanni is an opera which does not fare well in the theatre.

Mozart's strongly moralistic fable seems to oblige directors to impose their own "takes" upon its basically simple canvas, and it would admittedly be difficult these days to set it convincingly in the 16th century of its story.

Now ten years old, Katie Mitchell's Welsh National Opera production seems to update the tale to the Spain of General Franco, Don Giovanni thus becoming less of an aristocratic charmer, more of a fascist thug (Christopher Purves powerfully conveying his nastiness).

Rae Smith complements the sense of downtroddenness with sets which are drab and dingily lit, and there is a general air of depressed aimlessness in the vaguely directed movement of the characters.

Big visual moments are fudged, such as the famous three-orchestra scene in the Act I finale going for very little, so cluttered is the performing area, and the graveyard scene where the Commendatore's statue nods its head in response to the Don's reckless invitation to dinner ducks the problem by showing us simply a blank stage.

As if to compensate for the absence of charisma and glamour, conductor Michal Klauza persuades the WNO orchestra to a glitzy, smoothed-out account of the score. Donna Elvira's (the sparky, compelling Elizabeth Atherton) great vengeance aria "Ah fuggi il traditor" thereby loses its Handelian grittiness, and other great powerful pages slide past with little impact.

Amid a largely frumpy, wan set of principals, the sparkle of the chorus stands out, their wide-eyed gratitude as party guests perhaps making a political point about bread and circuses.

* Repeated tonight (7.15pm). Running time 3 hours 15 minutes.

Christopher Morley