Pure resourcefulness and gritty enthusiasm are the foundational elements on which Melbourne-based Lyster Opera survives.

Since 2016, the company has provided a valuable platform for young and emerging artists to hone their skills, while giving audiences in Melbourne and across regional Victoria opportunities to experience opera up close at affordable prices.

Opening Saturday at South Yarra’s Irene Mitchell Studio, a new travelling production of Mozart’s Don Giovanni makes a strong case for the work’s ability to reveal its seductive nature outside the grandeur of major opera stagings, demonstrating also the art form’s continuing relevance for younger generations drawn to opera.

Nicholas Beecher in Lyster Opera’s Don Giovanni. Photo © Phil Thomson

Directed by the company’s artistic director Jamie Moffat, its bargain-basement budget does not stand in the way of an enjoyable production that balances drama and comedy without fuss. The edges can sometimes appear rough, but the integrity of Mozart’s masterful score and its dramatic chemistry come through commendably.

That balance, or budget, is nowhere more telling than when the scene is set for the Don’s final demise and an ornate French Empire carver is carried out, followed by a collapsable campsite table...