Don Giovanni

 

Operas by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Die Schuldigkeit des ersten Gebotes (1767) Apollo et Hyacinthus (1767) Bastien und Bastienne (1768) La finta semplice (1769) Mitridate, re di Ponto (1770) Ascanio in Alba (1771) Il sogno di Scipione (1772) Lucio Silla (1772) La finta giardiniera (1775) Il re pastore (1775) Thamos, König in Ägypten (1779) Zaide (1780) Idomeneo (1781) Die Entführung aus dem Serail (1782) L'oca del Cairo (1783) Lo sposo deluso (1784) Der Schauspieldirektor (1786) The Marriage of Figaro (1786) Don Giovanni (1787) Così fan tutte (1790) La clemenza di Tito (1791) The Magic Flute (1791)

Don Giovanni (K.527; complete title: Il dissoluto punito, ossia il Don Giovanni, literally "The Rake Punish'd, or Don Giovanni") is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte. It was premiered in the Estates Theatre in Prague on October 29, 1787.

Of the many operas based on the legend of Don Juan, Don Giovanni is thought to be beyond comparison. Da Ponte's libretto was billed like many of its time as dramma giocoso: "giocoso" meaning comic, and "dramma" signifying an operatic text (an abbreviation of "dramma per musica"). Mozart entered the work into his catalogue as an "opera buffa". Although often classified as comic, it's a unique blend of comic (buffa) and drama (seria). Subtitled "drama giocoso," the opera blends comedy, melodrama, and supernatural elements.

The Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard wrote a long essay in his book Enten/Eller (Either/Or) in which he argues that Mozart's Don Giovanni is the most perfect opera ever produced. The finale, in which Don Giovanni refuses to repent, has been a captivating philosophical and artistic topic for many writers including George Bernard Shaw, who in Man and Superman, parodied the opera (with explicit mention of the Mozart score for the finale scene between the Commendatore and Don Giovanni).

A screen adaptation of the opera was made under the title Don Giovanni in 1979, and was directed by Joseph Losey. Some of the great Don Giovannis on the opera stage have been the basses Ezio Pinza, Cesare Siepi and Norman Treigle, and the baritones Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and Thomas Hampson.

As a staple of the standard operatic repertoire, it appears as number seven on Opera America's list of the 20 most-performed operas in North America^[1].

Composition and premieres

The libretto was finished in June 1787 and the score was completed on October 28 of the same year. The opera was performed in Prague one day after the completion of the score with the full title Il Dissoluto Punito ossia il Don Giovanni Dramma giocoso in due atti. When the opera was performed in Vienna on May 7, 1788, the following parts were added along with corresponding recitatives: Don Ottavio's aria Dalla sua pace (composed on April 24 for the tenor Morella, K.540a), Elvira's aria Mi tradì quell'alma ingrata (composed on April 30 for the soprano Cavalieri, K.540c) and the duet between Leporello and Zerlina Per queste tue manine (composed on April 28, K.540b).

Performance practices

The final ensemble was generally omitted till the mid 20th century, and does not appear in the Viennese libretto of 1788. Mozart also made a shortened version. However, the ensemble is always performed in full today. Another "historic" approach is to cut Don Ottavio's aria Il mio tesoro, which was substituted in the Viennese premiere for the tenor Francesco Morella with Dalla sua pace. One or the other of these arias is still often left out. The duet, Per queste tue manine, composed specifically for the Viennese premiere, is still often cut in performance.

Don Giovanni and other composers

The sustained popularity of Don Giovanni has resulted in extensive borrowings and arrangements of the original. The most famous and probably the most musically substantial is the operatic fantasy, Réminiscences de Don Juan by Franz Liszt. The minuet from the Finale of Act I makes an incongruous appearance in the manuscript of Liszt's Fantasie on Two Motives from Mozart's "Marriage of Figaro", and Sigismond Thalberg uses the same minuet, along with Deh vieni alla finestra, in his Grand Fantaisie sur la serenade et le Minuet de Don Juan, Op. 42. Deh vieni alla finestra also makes an appearance in the Klavierübung of Ferruccio Busoni, under the title "Variations-Studie nach Mozart" (Variation-study after Mozart). Beethoven, Danzi and Chopin each wrote a series of variations on the duet between Don Giovanni and Zerlina, Là ci darem la mano.

The music from Don Giovanni has also featured in a number of movie soundtracks, including It Happened in Brooklyn, Parting Glances, Some Girls, Madagascar Skin, Il Cermonie, and The Bonfire of the Vanities. The aria Il mio tesoro is used as the main theme to the classic Ealing comedy Kind Hearts and Coronets. In addition, Là ci darem la mano is performed in Babette's Feast between one virginal female lead, Philippa, and her suitor, the opera singer Achille Papin, at a moment of romantic indecision that mirrors the circumstances of the opera.

Roles

Setting: A city in Spain in the early 17th century.		Premiere, 29 October 1787 Estates Theatre, Prague (Conductor: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
Don Giovanni, a young, extremely licentious nobleman	baritone	Luigi Bassi
Il Commendatore (Don Pedro)	bass	Giuseppe Lolli
Donna Anna , his daughter, betrothed to Don Ottavio	soprano	Teresa Saporiti
Don Ottavio	tenor	Antonio Baglioni
Donna Elvira, a lady of Burgos abandoned by Don Giovanni	soprano	Catarina Micelli
Leporello, Don Giovanni's servant	bass	Felice Ponziani
Masetto, lover of Zerlina	bass	Giuseppe Lolli
Zerlina, a peasant girl	soprano	Teresa Bondini (born: Saporiti)
Chorus: peasants, servants, young ladies, musicians

Synopsis

Don Giovanni, a young nobleman, after a life of amorous conquests, meets defeat in his three encounters: with Donna Elvira, whom he has deserted but still follows him; with Donna Anna, whose father, the Commendatore, Giovanni kills in escaping from an unsuccessful attempt at seduction and as a result postpones her marriage to Don Ottavio; and with Zerlina, whom he vainly tries to lure from her fianceé, the peasant Masetto. All vow vengeance on the Don and his harassed servant Leporello. Elvira alone weakens in her resolution and attempts reconciliation and hope that the Don reforms. Don Giovanni's destruction and deliverance to hell are effected by the cemetery statue of the Commendatore, who had accepted the libertine's invitation to supper.

Act I

The garden of the Commendatore

Leporello is keeping watch outside Donna Anna's house. Don Giovanni, Leporello's master, has crept into the house in order to rape Donna Anna. (Leporello aria: "Notte e giorno faticar -- I work night and day"). Donna Anna appears, chasing a masked Giovanni. She wishes to know who he is and she cries for help. (Trio: "Non sperar, se non m'uccidi - You shan't flee, unless you kill me"). The Commendatore, Anna's father, appears and challenges Giovanni to a duel while Donna Anna flees for help. Giovanni stabs the Commendatore, kills him, and escapes unrecognized. Anna, upon returning with her fiancé, Don Ottavio, is horrified, and Don Ottavio swears to avenge his betrothed's father. (Duet: "Fuggi, crudele fuggi -- Flee, cruel one, flee").

A public square outside Don Giovanni's palace

Giovanni and Leporello arrive and hear a woman speaking of having been recently spurned and calling for revenge (Elvira aria: "Ah, chi mi dice mai -- Ah, who could tell me"). Giovanni starts to flirt with her but, as she turns to look at him, recognizes her as a recent conquest, Donna Elvira. Realizing this, he shoves Leporello forward, ordering him to tell Elvira the truth, and then hurries away.

Leporello endeavours to console Elvira and unrolls a list of Don Giovanni's lovers. Comically, he rattles off their number and their country of origin: 640 in Italy, 231 in Germany, 100 in France, 91 in Turkey, and 1,003 in Spain. (Leporello aria: "Madamina, il catalogo è questo -- My little lady, this is the catalogue"). In a frequently-cut recitative, Elvira vows vengeance.

When she leaves, a marriage procession with Masetto and Zerlina enters. Don Giovanni and Leporello arrive soon after. Giovanni immediately is attracted to Zerlina, and he attempts to remove the jealous Masetto by offering to host a wedding celebration at his castle. On realizing that Giovanni means to remain behind with Zerlina, Masetto becomes angry (Masetto aria: "Ho capito! Signor, sì -- I understand! Yes, dear sir"). Don Giovanni and Zerlina are soon alone and he immediately begins his seductive arts. (Duet: "Là ci darem la mano -- There we will entwine our hands").

Elvira arrives and thwarts the seduction (Elvira aria: "Ah, fuggi il traditor -- Flee from the traitor!"), followed shortly by Ottavio and Anna who are plotting vengeance on the still unknown murderer of Anna's father, when they run into Giovanni. Anna, unaware that she is speaking to her attacker, pleads for his help. Giovanni readily promises it, and asks - with great concern - what cruel man would dare to disturb her peace; obviously, he still sees a chance with Anna. But the Don is out of luck again: Elvira returns and announces Giovanni's recent betrayal of her. Giovanni answers her reproaches by declaring to Ottavio and Anna that Elvira is insane. (Quartet: "Non ti fidar, o misera -- Don't trust him, oh sad one"). With Giovanni's departing oath to help find the Commendatore's murderer, Anna suddenly recognizes Giovanni as her seducer and also his murderer. (Anna aria: "Or sai chi l'onore -- He is the one who robbed me of my honour"). Ottavio, not convinced, determines to keep an eye on his friend. (Ottavio aria: "Dalla sua pace -- On her peace.")

Leporello, still half-determined to leave, informs Don Giovanni that all the guests of the peasant wedding are in Giovanni's house, that he distracted Masetto from his jealousy, but that the Zerlina post-seduction return had spoiled everything. However, Don Giovanni remains cheerful and tells Leporello to organize a party. (Giovanni's champagne aria: "Fin ch'han del vino -- Finally, with the wine."). He hurries off to his palace.

Zerlina follows the jealous Masetto and tries to pacify him. (Zerlina's aria: "Batti, batti o bel Masetto -- Beat me, oh lovely Masetto"), but just as she manages to persuade him of her innocence, the Don's voice startles her, making her want to flee. Masetto's trust evaporating in an instant, the jealous groom hides and wants to see for himself what Zerlina will do when Giovanni arrives. In vain, Zerlina hides from the Don's, but he continues the seduction before stumbling upon Masetto. Confused but quickly recovering, Giovanni claims Zerlina was very sad that Masetto was away from her, and he returns her temporarily. He then leads both to the bridal chamber, which has been lavishly decorated. Leporello has also invited three masked guests (the disguised Elvira, Ottavio, and Anna) who plan to catch Giovanni red-handed, if possible.

Ballroom

As the merriment proceeds, Don Giovanni leads Zerlina away, while Leporello distracts Masetto. When Zerlina's cry for help is heard, Leporello dashes off to warn his master. Don Giovanni tries to fool the onlookers by dragging his servant into the room with drawn sword and accuses him of seducing Zerlina. Elvira, Ottavio and Anna unmask, claiming that they now know all. The guests do not believe Giovanni and attack him, but he fights his way through the crowd and escapes...

Act II

Outside Elvira's house

Leporello threatens to leave Giovanni, but the Don calms him with a peace offering of money. (Duet: "Eh via buffone -- Come on, buffoon"). Wanting to seduce Elvira's maid, Giovanni persuades Leporello to exchange cloak and hat with him. Elvira comes to her window. (Trio: "Ah taci, ingiusto core -- Ah, be quiet unjust heart"). Seeing an opportunity for a game, Giovanni hides, sending Leporello out in the open dressed as Giovanni and, from his hiding place sings a promise of repentance, expressing a desire to return to her. Elvira is convinced and descends to the street. She thinks that Leporello (who is wearing his master's clothes) is actually Giovanni. Leporello leads her away to keep her occupied while Giovanni attempts to seduce her maid while accompanying himself on the mandolin. (Giovanni aria: "Deh vieni alla finestra -- Come to the window").

Before Giovanni can complete his seduction of the maid, Masetto and his friends arrive, searching for Giovanni. Giovanni (dressed as Leporello) convinces the posse that he also wants Giovanni dead, and joins the hunt. After separating the group (Giovanni aria: "Metà di voi qua vadano -- Half of you go this way"), Giovanni "confiscates" all the firearms and beats up the unarmed Masetto, then flees laughing. Zerlina arrives and consoles Masetto. (Zerlina aria: "Vedrai carino -- Come dear one").

A dark courtyard

Leporello abandons Elvira. (Sextet: "Sola, sola in buio loco -- Alone in this dark place"). As he tries to escape, Ottavio arrives with Anna, consoling her in her grief. Just as Leporello is about to slip through the door, which he has difficulty finding, Zerlina and Masetto open it and, seeing him in his Giovanni regalia, catch him before he can escape. When Anna and Ottavio notice what is going on all move to surround Leporello, threatening him with death. Elvira tries to protect the man whom she thinks is Giovanni, claiming that he is her husband and begging for pity. The other four ignore her, and Leporello removes his cloak to reveal his true identity. While everyone is so taken aback in the confusion, Leporello is able to escape (Leporello aria: "Ah pietà signori miei -- Ah, pity me, my lords"). Given the circumstances, Ottavio is convinced of Giovanni's guilt and swears vengeance (Ottavio aria: "Il mio tesoro -- My treasure").^[2] while Elvira is furious at Giovanni for betraying her. (Elvira aria: "Mi tradì quell'alma ingrata -- That ungrateful wretch betrayed me").

A graveyard with the statue of the Commendatore.

Leporello tells Don Giovanni of his near-death experience, and Giovanni taunts him, throwing in a story of his own, one of a near-success with a woman in love with Leporello. But the servant is not amused, and Don Giovanni laughs aloud at his servant's protests. The voice of the statue warns Giovanni that his laughter will not last beyond sunrise. At the request of his master, Leporello reads the inscription upon the statue's base: "Vengeance here awaits my murderer." The servant trembles, but the unabashed Giovanni orders him to invite the statue to dinner, threatening to kill him if he does not. (Duet: "Oh, statua gentilissima -- Oh most kind statue"). The statue nods its head and responds affirmatively.

Donna Anna's room.

Ottavio pressures Anna to marry him, but she thinks it inappropriate so soon after her father's death. He accuses her of being cruel, and she assures him that she loves him, and is faithful. (Anna aria: "Non mi dir -- Tell me not").

Don Giovanni's chambers

Giovanni revels in the luxury of a great meal and musical entertainment (during which the orchestra plays then-contemporary late 18th century -- including a reference to the aria "Non più andrai" from Mozart's own Le nozze di Figaro), while Leporello serves. (Finale "Già la mensa preparata -- Already the meal is prepared"). Elvira appears, saying that she no longer feels resentment for Giovanni, only pity. ("L'ultima prova dell'amor mio -- The final proof of my love"). Surprised by her lack of hatred, Giovanni asks what it is that she wants, and there follows her desperate plea that he change his life. This is met only with one reply: "Brava!", as Giovanni taunts her and then ignores her, praising wine and women as the "essence and glory of humankind". Hurt and angered, Elvira gives up and leaves. A moment later, her scream is heard from outside the walls of the palace, and she returns only to fleeing through another door. Giovanni orders Leporello to see what has upset her; upon peering outside, the servant also cries out, and runs back into the room with the news that the statue has appeared as promised. An ominous knocking sounds at the door. Leporello, paralyzed by fear, cannot answer it, so Giovanni opens it himself, revealing the statue of the Commendatore. ("Don Giovanni! a cenar teco m'invitasti - Don Giovanni! You've invited me to dine with you"). It exhorts the careless villain to repent of his wicked lifestyle, but Giovanni adamantly refuses. The statue sinks into the earth and drags Giovanni down with him. Hellfire surrounds Don Giovanni as he is carried below.

Donna Anna, Don Ottavio, Donna Elvira, Zerlina, and Masetto arrive, searching for the villain. They find instead Leporello under the table, shaken by the horrors he has witnessed and which he describes to the others. Since the conflict is over, Anna and Ottavio choose to wait until Anna's year of grieving is over before marrying; Elvira will spend the rest of her life in a convent; Zerlina and Masetto will finally go home for dinner; and Leporello will find a new master at a tavern.

The concluding chorus delivers the moral of the opera - "So ends he who evil did. The death of a sinner always reflects his life." In the past, this ensemble was sometimes omitted by conductors who claimed that this concluding chorus was never really considered to be a part of the opera. However, this approach has not survived, and today's conductors almost always perform the complete opera as composed by Mozart.

Noted arias

• "Notte e giorno faticar" - Leporello in Act I, Scene I
• "Là ci darem la mano" - Don Giovanni & Zerlina in Act I, Scene II
• "Ah! chi mi dice mai" - Donna Elvira in Act I, Scene II
• "Madamina, il catalogo è questo" - Leporello in Act I, Scene II
• "Ah, fuggi il traditor" - Donna Elvira in Act I, Scene III
• "Ho capito, signor, si" - Masetto in Act I, Scene III
• "Fin ch'han dal vino" - Don Giovanni in Act I, Scene V
• "Batti, batti, o bel Masetto" - Zerlina in Act I, Scene V
• "Dalla sua pace" - Don Ottavio in Act I, Scene IV
• "Don Ottavio...Or sai chi l'onore" - Donna Anna in Act I, Scene IV
• "Deh, vieni alla finestra" - Don Giovanni in Act II, Scene I
• "Meta di voi qua vadano" - Don Giovanni in Act II, Scene I
• "Vedrai, carino" - Zerlina in Act II, Scene I
• "Ah, pieta! Signori miei!" - Leporello in Act II, Scene II
• "Il mio tesoro" - Don Ottavio in Act II, Scene II
• "In quali...Mi tradi quell'alma ingrata" - Donna Elvira in Act II, Scene III
• "Don Giovanni, a cena teco m'invitasti" - Don Giovanni, Leporello & Commendatore in Act II, scene IV
• "Troppo mi...Non mi dir" - Donna Anna in Act II, Scene V

Media

Recordings

• Rene Jacobs (2007) - Harmonia Mundi, Johannes Weisser (Don Giovanni), Lorenzo Regazzo (Leporello), Alexandrina Pendachanska (Donna Elvira), Olga Pasichnyk (Donna Anna), Kenneth Tarver (Don Ottavio), Sunhae Im (Zerlina), Nikolay Borchev (Masetto), Alessandro Guerzoni (Il Commendatore), Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, Berlin RIAS Chamber Chorus

Awards: Gramophone Record of the Month (October 2007), Classics Today 10/10)

References

• Plot taken from The Opera Goer's Complete Guide by Leo Melitz, 1921 version.
• Preface by Schünemann to a complete orchestral and vocal score published in 1974 by Dover publications, Inc., NY

Notes

1. ^ OPERA America's "The Top 20" list of most-performed operas
2. ^ It is at this point in the Vienna production of the opera that Zerlina manages to recapture a protesting Leporello, dragging him by the hair, calling for Masetto. Threatening him with a razor, she ties him to a stool as he attempts to sweet-talk her out of hurting him. (Duet: "Per queste tue manine - For these hands of yours"). Zerlina runs to find Masetto and the others, and, once more, Leporello manages to escape just before she returns. This scene, marked by low comedy, is almost never performed.

External links

• Opera Guide Synopsis - Libretto - Highlights
• Opera in a nutshell Soundfiles (MIDI)
• (Italian) Original libretto
• Libretto in English
• Piano-Vocal Score of Don Giovanni from Indiana University
• The 1979 film in the Internet movie database
• Video Performances of Don Giovanni A free selection of videos to view online.
• Don Giovanni - Harmonia Mundi 2007 The new recording of Don Giovanni

Donate to Wikimedia