WHY have London Underground signs been sighted across the University of York campus over the past few months?

The answer lies in William Descrettes and Simone Ibbett-Brown’s updated production of Mozart’s darkly comic opera Don Giovanni, the first University of York Opera Society show to be staged away from the Heslington site in the society’s young life of seven years.

Hedonistic lothario and perpetual womaniser Don Giovanni (played by Jake Muffett) will make a bid to seduce unsuspecting audiences at the Grand Opera House, York, on January 25.

In this innovative re-imagining of Mozart’s classic tale of lust, lies and retribution, Descrettes and Ibbett-Brown set the action on a council estate in dingiest east London.

The costumes and Olly Wood’s set design leave no doubt that this is the grimiest of surroundings and so it is little surprise that so many women fall victim to Giovanni’s charms when he and his feisty female companion, the long-suffering Leporello (Stephanie Wake-Edwards), sweep into this dank corner of the capital and spark a chain of events set to alter the lives of these city-dwellers forever.

A principal cast of eight and an ensemble of nine will be joined by a full 40-piece orchestra, directed by Alexander Conway, filling the Grand Opera House pit to capacity, while the production will use an English translation by Jeremy Sams, first performed by the ENO (English National Opera) in 2012.

Most significantly of all, Don Giovanni marks a key milestone in the society’s mission to bring opera in York to a wider audience, hence the decision to perform at the Grand Opera House, even if it is for one night only.

“It is sad that it has to be only one performance because we’ve put so much into it and the cast has worked so hard, but it’s worth it because it’s such an incredible theatre for us to be playing in,” says co-director Simone.

“Last year, we did The Marriage Of Figaro in the spring in the Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall in a semi-staged performance and Orpheus In The Underworld for two nights in the summer in the theatre, television and film department’s 200-seater theatre at the Heslington east campus, so this is a big step forward for us.”

• University of York Opera Society presents Don Giovanni at Grand Opera House, York, on January 25 at 7.30pm. Tickets: £21, concessions £15, students £11, available from atgtickets.com/york or on 0844 871 3024. You can follow the production’s progress @dongiovanniyork