Full-frontal nude Commendatores painted from head to foot in gold, Donna Annas and Elviras teetering about in high heels on lethal metal grille floors - Don Giovanni hasn't half suffered from 'directorial concepts' in its time. So the first thing to say about English Touring Opera's new production is that there's none of that stuff - director Jonathan Munby and conductor Michael Rosewell (there is a highly successful uniformity of approach between pit and stage) stick firmly to good storytelling, and allow Mozart and his librettist Da Ponte to make their own points without interference.

ETO's Don Giovanni is set in a fascist society during the 1930s. This means that it is quick, easy, and natural for people to whip out knives and guns as each confrontation between Giovanni and his enemies occurs. For instance, as spurned lover Donna Elvira confronts him one dark night, she draws something from her handbag. Is it a knife, or merely her nail file? But director Munby never forgets that there is humour too - Giovanni's botched attempt to seduce an unseen chambermaid is hilariously handled, and there's a splendid moment as he scatters banknotes into the pit, while commanding the orchestra to play well at his fateful final supper party. A paltry sum is obviously involved, as Giovanni is promptly rewarded by a chorus of wrong notes.

"I smell the scent of woman," Giovanni proclaims. "How perfect are your senses," replies Leporello sarcastically. Roland Wood and Jonathan Gunthorpe are an excellent double act as master and servant - Wood's Giovanni is certainly a s**t and a bully, yet you can see why women fall for him, while Gunthorpe's Leporello is plainly no angel himself. In a strong cast, there's characterful work, too, from Julia Sporsén (Donna Anna), Laura Parfitt (Donna Elvira), and Ilona Domnich (Zerlina).

If you've never seen Don Giovanni before, this production is an excellent introduction. Or if you're used to large-scale versions, this more compact alternative could well reveal detail that you've not heard before - especially in Mozart's score, which is played with both transparency and alert enthusiasm by the ETO orchestra.

There is another performance of Don Giovanni tonight, with Donizetti's Anna Bolena tomorrow. Tickets: 01242 572573 or online (www.everymantheatre.org.uk).