‘I cannot begin to tell you how excited I am about débuting as Don Giovanni for WNO - it is a dream come true for me.’
In Spring 2018 we welcomed Gavan Ring to WNO, who as you can tell from the quote above was thrilled to perform the lead role in Don Giovanni, a role that many baritone voices consider a classic and highly aspiring role to play. Gavan, from Kerry, Ireland, had his first experience of opera at the age of five when his mother played a tape of The Three Tenors Pavarotti, Domingo and Carreras in the car. It captured his imagination and since then he has had a love for music. He continued this love and went on to begin classical singing lessons at the age of 12. Before he became a professional singer, Gavan studied to be a primary school teacher, but he quickly realised that this was not his passion and decided to pursue a career in what he loved, music. He went on to complete a Masters in Performing Art at the Royal Irish Academy of Music and also completed a PHD in Early Twentieth Century Gaelic Opera.
Although it was Gavan’s début with WNO, he is no stranger to the opera world. He has previously performed all over the world with roles such as Dancaire Carmen (Opera Royal de Versailles), Figaro Il Barbiere di Siviglia (Glyndebourne Tour & Opera North), Ping Turandot (Opera North) and Guglielmo Cosi fan tutte (Opera North). Don Giovanni was however top of Gavan’s list of roles to play and we were incredibly excited to welcome him to the company and to perform his dream role with us.
Don Giovanni is a charismatic and arrogant man who seduces his way around Europe. When one of his conquests ends in murder, it looks like his luck in about to turn. He finds himself on the run pursued by disgruntled ex- lovers, fiancées and a force from beyond the grave. When he refuses to show remorse, vengeance in inevitable and leads to his ultimate demise.
After bounding into rehearsals in January 2018 Gavan could not wait to begin performing and touring around the country as a part of our Spring Season. He made his WNO and Don Giovanni debut when we opened in Cardiff on Thursday 22 February 2018 and toured with the Company to Birmingham, Bristol, Llandudno, Milton Keynes, Plymouth and Southampton.