Opera della Luna has gone back to its country house roots this summer with a new production of Don Giovanni, which opened at the Iford Festival, near Bath, before moving to the picturesque Courteenhall Estate, near Northampton.

The intimacy of the performance area, with the seating arranged around three sides of a square stage, gave potency and intensity to this darkest of Mozart’s comic operas, enhanced by the cast’s seamless interaction with the audience.

Director Jeff Clarke has ensured a suitably explosive and menacing treatment of the more sinister elements of the opera, and the opening scene, with the attempted seduction of Donna Anna and the subsequent murder of the Commendatore, is powerful and compelling, while Donna Anna’s grief and Donna Elvira’s unrequited love are handled movingly and sensitively.

But he was also keen to highlight the opera’s comic origins, and the result is a production that bears all the Opera della Luna hallmarks — a lively, glorious romp that bristles with energy and purpose, with plenty of laugh-out-loud moments, a witty and daring new translation and some surprise twists.

Among an exceptional cast, Duncan Rock — who appears to have wandered in from Pirates of the Caribbean — is an imposing presence as the Don, while Ross McInroy is full of fun as Leporello, Victoria Joyce is a classy Donna Anna and Rhian Lois delightful as the flighty Zerlina. The Orchestra of the Swan, conducted by Geoffrey Paterson, gave spirited accompaniment.