Don Giovanni

Don Giovanni (Italian pronunciation: [ˌdɔn dʒoˈvanni]; K. 527; complete title: Il

Don Giovanni
dissoluto punito, ossia il Don Giovanni, literally The Rake Punished, namely Don
Giovanni or The Libertine Punished) is an opera in two acts with music byWolfgang
Opera by W. A. Mozart
Amadeus Mozart and Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It is based on the legends
of Don Juan, a fictional libertine and seducer. It was premiered by the Prague Italian
opera at the National Theater (of Bohemia), now called the Estates Theatre, on 29
October 1787.[1] Da Ponte's libretto was billed as a dramma giocoso, a common
designation of its time that denotes a mixing of serious and comic action. Mozart
entered the work into his catalogue as anopera buffa. Although sometimes classified
as comic, it blends comedy, melodrama and supernatural elements.

A staple of the standard operatic repertoire, Don Giovanni for the five seasons
2011/12 through 2015/16 was ninth on the Operabase list of the most-performed
operas worldwide.[2] It has also proved a fruitful subject for writers and
philosophers.

Portrait of Francisco D'Andrade in

Contents the title role by Max Slevogt, 1912

Composition and premiere

Librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte
Revision for Vienna Language Italian
Later performance traditions
Premiere 29 October 1787
Roles Estates Theatre,
Instrumentation Prague
Synopsis
Act 1
Act 2
Recordings
Cultural influence
Don Giovanni and other composers
See also
References
Sources
External links

Composition and premiere

The opera was commissioned as a result of the overwhelming success of Mozart's trip to Prague in January and February 1787.[3]
The subject matter may have been chosen in consideration of the long history of Don Juan operas in Prague; the genre of eighteenth-
century Don Juan opera originated in Prague.[4]

The libretto of Lorenzo Da Ponte was based closely on a libretto by Giovanni Bertati for the opera Don Giovanni Tenorio, first
performed in Venice early in 1787, although he was loath to admit this in memoirs written decades later.[5] Some of the most
important elements that he copied were the idea of opening the drama with the murder of the Commendatore (in earlier dramas, this
incident always appeared somewhere in the middle) and the lack of a specification of Seville as the setting, which had been
 customary in the tradition of Don Juan dramas since the appearance of the prototype
Don Juan drama El burlador de Sevilla by Tirso de Molina, written in the early 17th
century. For Bertati, the setting was Villena, Spain, whereas Da Ponte's libretto only
specifies a "city in Spain".[6] According to some sources, Giacomo Casanova
assisted in the writing.[7]

Don Giovanni was originally to have been performed on 14 October 1787 for a visit
to Prague of the ArchduchessMaria Theresa of Austria, niece of the EmperorJoseph
II, and her new husband, Prince Anthony of Saxony; however, the production could
Original playbill for the Vienna not be prepared in time and Le nozze di Figaro was substituted instead on the order
premiere of Don Giovanni of the emperor himself.[8] The score was completed on 28 or 29 October 1787 after
Da Ponte was recalled to Vienna to work on another opera. Reports about the last-
minute completion of the overture conflict; some say it was completed the day
before the premiere,[9] some on the very day. More likely it was completed the day before, in light of the fact that Mozart recorded
the completion of the opera on 28 October.[3]

The score calls for double woodwinds, two horns, two trumpets, three trombones (alto, tenor, bass), timpani, basso continuo for the
recitatives, and the usual string section. The composer also specified occasional special musical effects. For the ballroom scene at the
end of the first act, Mozart calls for two onstage ensembles to play separate dance music in synchronization with the pit orchestra,
each of the three groups playing in its own metre (a 3/4 minuet, a 2/4 contradanse and a fast 3/8 peasant dance), accompanying the
dancing of the principal characters. In act 2, Giovanni is seen to play themandolin, accompanied by pizzicato strings. In the same act,
two of the Commendatore's interventions ("Di rider finirai pria dell'aurora" and "Ribaldo, audace, lascia a' morti la pace") are
accompanied by a wind chorale of oboes, clarinets,bassoons, and trombones (with cellos and basses playing from the string section).

The opera was first performed on 29 October 1787 in Prague under its full title of Il dissoluto punito ossia il Don Giovanni –
Dramma giocoso in due atti (The Rake punished, or Don Giovanni, a dramma giocoso in two acts). The work was rapturously
received, as was often true of Mozart's work in Prague. The Prager Oberpostamtzeitung reported, "Connoisseurs and musicians say
that Prague has never heard the like," and "the opera … is extremely difficult to perform."[10] The Provincialnachrichten of Vienna
[11]
reported, "Herr Mozart conducted in person and was welcomed joyously and jubilantly by the numerous gathering."

Revision for Vienna

Mozart also supervised the Vienna premiere of the work, which took place on 7 May 1788. For this production, he wrote two new
arias with corresponding recitatives – Don Ottavio's aria "Dalla sua pace" (K. 540a, composed on 24 April for the tenor Francesco
Morella), Elvira's aria "In quali eccessi ... Mi tradì quell'alma ingrata" (K. 540c, composed on 30 April for the soprano Caterina
Cavalieri)[12] – and the duet between Leporello and Zerlina "Per queste tue manine" (K. 540b, composed on 28 April). He also made
some cuts in the Finale in order to make it shorter and more incisive, the most important of which is the section where Anna and
Ottavio, Elvira, Zerlina and Masetto, Leporello reveal their plans for the future Or
(" che tutti, o mio tesoro"). In order to connect "Ah,
certo è l'ombra che l'incontrò" ("It must have been the ghost she met") directly to the moral of the story "Questo è il fin di chi fa mal"
("This is the end which befalls to evildoers"), Mozart composed a different version of "Resti dunque quel birbon fra Proserpina e
Pluton!" ("So the wretch can stay down there with Proserpina and Pluto!"). These cuts are very seldom performed in theatres or
recordings.[13]

Later performance traditions

The opera's final ensemble was generally omitted until the early 20th century, a tradition that apparently began very early on.
According to the 19th-century Bohemian memoirist Wilhelm Kuhe, the final ensemble was only presented at the very first
[14] It does not appear in the Viennese libretto of 1788, thus the
performance in Prague, then never heard again during the original run.
ending of the first performance in Vienna without the ensemble as depicted in the film Amadeus must be an accurate portrayal.
Undoubtedly, this practice was sanctioned by Mozart himself. Nonetheless, the final ensemble is almost invariably performed in full
today.
Modern productions sometimes include both the original aria for Don Ottavio, "Il mio tesoro", and its replacement from the first
production in Vienna that was crafted to suit the capabilities of the tenor Francesco Morella, "Dalla sua pace". Elvira's "In quali
eccessi, o Numi ... Mi tradi per l'alma ingrata" is usually retained as well. The duet "Per queste tue manine" and the whole
accompanying scene involving Zerlina and Leporello from the V
iennese version is almost never included.

In modern-day productions, Masetto and the Commendatore are typically played by dif
ferent singers (unless limited by such things as
finance or rehearsal time and space), although the same singer played both roles in both the Prague and Vienna premieres, and the
final scene's chorus of demons after the Commendatore's exit gives the singer time for a costume change before entering as Masetto
for the sextet.[15]

Roles
Prague premiere cast, Vienna premiere cast,
Voice 29 October 1787[17] 7 May 1788[18]
Role Conductor: Conductor:
type[16]
Wolfgang Amadeus Wolfgang Amadeus
Mozart Mozart
Don Giovanni, a young, extremely licentious
baritone Luigi Bassi Francesco Albertarelli
nobleman
Il Commendatore (Don Pedro) bass Giuseppe Lolli Francesco Bussani

Donna Anna, his daughter soprano Teresa Saporiti Aloysia Weber[19]

Don Ottavio, Donna Anna's fiancé tenor Antonio Baglioni Francesco Morella
Donna Elvira, a lady of Burgos abandoned by
soprano Katherina Micelli Caterina Cavalieri[20]
Don Giovanni

Leporello, Don Giovanni's servant bass Felice Ponziani Francesco Benucci[21]

Masetto, a peasant bass Giuseppe Lolli Francesco Bussani

Zerlina, Masetto's fiancée soprano Caterina Bondini[22] Luisa Mombelli

Chorus: peasants, servants, young ladies, musicians, demons

Instrumentation
The instrumentation is:

Woodwinds: two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets and two bassoons
Brass: two horns, two trumpets, three trombones
Percussion: timpani
Strings: first violins, second violins, violas, cellos and double basses
Basso continuo in secco recitatives of harpsichord and violoncello (period performance practice often uses a
fortepiano only)
Mandolin[23]

Synopsis
Don Giovanni, a young,[24] arrogant, and sexually promiscuous nobleman, abuses and outrages everyone else in the cast until he
encounters something he cannot kill, beat up, dodge, or outwit.

Act 1
The overture begins with a thundering D minor cadence, followed by a short misterioso sequence which leads into a light-hearted D
major allegro.
Scene 1 – The garden of the Commendatore

Leporello, Don Giovanni's servant, grumbles about his demanding master and daydreams about being free of him ("Notte e giorno
faticar" – "Night and day I slave away"). He is keeping watch while Don Giovanni is in the Commendatore's house attempting to
seduce or rape the Commendatore's daughter, Donna Anna.[25] Don Giovanni enters the garden from inside the house, pursued by
Donna Anna. Don Giovanni is masked and Donna Anna tries to hold him and to unmask him, shouting for help. (Trio: "Non sperar,
se non m'uccidi, Ch'io ti lasci fuggir mai!" – "Do not hope, unless you kill me, that I shall ever let you run away!"). He breaks free
and she runs off as the Commendatore enters the garden. The Commendatore blocks Don Giovanni's path and forces him to fight a
duel. Don Giovanni kills the Commendatore with his sword and escapes with Leporello. Donna Anna, returning with her fiancé, Don
Ottavio, is horrified to see her father lying dead in a pool of his own blood. She makes Don Ottavio swear vengeance against the
unknown murderer. (Duet: "Ah, vendicar, se il puoi, giura quel sangue ognor!" – "Ah, swear to avenge that blood if you can!")

Scene 2 – A public square outside Don Giovanni's palace

Leporello tells Don Giovanni that he (Giovanni) is leading a rotten life; Don Giovanni reacts
angrily. They hear a woman (Donna Elvira) singing of having been abandoned by her lover,
on whom she is seeking revenge ("Ah, chi mi dice mai" – "Ah, who could ever tell me"). Don
Giovanni starts to flirt with her, but it turns out he is the former lover she is seeking. The two
recognize each other and she reproaches him bitterly. He shoves Leporello forward, ordering
him to tell Donna Elvira the truth about him, and then hurries away
.

Leporello tells Donna Elvira that Don Giovanni is not worth her feelings for him. He is
unfaithful to everyone; his conquests include 640 women and girls in Italy, 231 in Germany,
100 in France, 91 in Turkey, but in Spain, 1,003 ("Madamina, il catalogo è questo" – "My dear
lady, this is the catalogue"). In a frequently cut recitative, Donna Elvira vows vengeance.

Scene 3 – The open country

A marriage procession with Masetto and Zerlina enters. Don Giovanni and Leporello arrive Ildebrando D'Arcangeloas
soon after. Don Giovanni is immediately attracted to Zerlina, and he attempts to remove the Don Giovanni, Salzburg
Festival 2014
jealous Masetto by offering to host a wedding celebration at his castle. On realizing that Don
Giovanni means to remain behind with Zerlina, Masetto becomes angry ("Ho capito! Signor,
sì" – "I understand! Yes, my lord!") but is forced to leave. 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").

Donna Elvira arrives and thwarts the seduction ("Ah, fuggi il traditor" – "Flee from the traitor!"). She leaves with Zerlina. Don
Ottavio and Donna Anna enter, plotting vengeance on the still unknown murderer of Donna Anna's father. Donna Anna, unaware that
she is speaking to her attacker, pleads for Don Giovanni's help. Don Giovanni, relieved that he is unrecognised, readily promises it,
and asks who has disturbed her peace. Before she can answer, Donna Elvira returns and tells Donna Anna and Don Ottavio that Don
Giovanni is a false-hearted seducer. Don Giovanni tries to convince Don Ottavio and Donna Anna that Donna Elvira is insane
(Quartet: "Non ti fidar, o misera" – "Don't trust him, oh sad one"). As Don Giovanni leaves, Donna Anna suddenly recognizes him as
her father's murderer and tells Don Ottavio the story of his intrusion, claiming that she was deceived at first because she was
expecting a night visit from Don Ottavio himself, but managed to fight Don Giovanni off after discovering the imposture (long
recitative exchange between Donna Anna and Don Ottavio). She repeats her demand that he avenge her and points out that he will be
avenging himself as well (aria: "Or sai chi l'onore Rapire a me volse" – "Now you know who wanted to rob me of my honour"). In
the Vienna version, Don Ottavio, not yet convinced (Donna Anna having only recognised Don Giovanni's voice, not seen his face),
resolves to keep an eye on his friend ("Dalla sua pace la mia dipende" – "On her peace my peace depends").

Leporello informs Don Giovanni that all the guests of the peasant wedding are in Don Giovanni's house and that he distracted
Masetto from his jealousy, but that Zerlina, returning with Donna Elvira, made a scene and spoiled everything. However, Don
Giovanni remains cheerful and tells Leporello to organize a party and invite every girl he can find. (Don Giovanni's "Champagne
Aria": "Fin ch'han dal vino calda la testa" – "Till they are tipsy"). They hasten to his palace.
Scene 4 – A garden outside Don Giovanni's palace

Zerlina follows the jealous Masetto and tries to pacify him ("Batti, batti o bel Masetto" – "Beat, O beat me, handsome Masetto"), but
just as she manages to persuade him of her innocence, Don Giovanni's voice from offstage startles and frightens her. Masetto hides,
resolving to see for himself what Zerlina will do when Don Giovanni arrives. Zerlina tries to hide from Don Giovanni, but he finds
her and attempts to continue the seduction, until he stumbles upon Masetto's hiding place. Confused but quickly recovering, Don
Giovanni reproaches Masetto for leaving Zerlina alone, and returns her temporarily to him. Don Giovanni then leads both offstage to
his ballroom. Three masked guests – the disguised Don Ottavio, Donna Anna, and Donna Elvira – enter the garden. From a balcony,
Leporello invites them to his master's party. They accept the invitation and Leporello leaves the balcony. Alone, Don Ottavio and
Donna Anna pray for protection, Donna Elvira for vengeance (T
rio: "Protegga il giusto cielo" – "May the just heavens protect us").

Scene 5 – Don Giovanni's ballroom

As the merriment, featuring three separate chamber orchestras on stage, proceeds, Leporello
distracts Masetto by dancing with him, while Don Giovanni leads Zerlina offstage to a private
room and tries to assault her. When Zerlina screams for help, Don Giovanni drags Leporello
onstage from the room, accuses Leporello of assaulting Zerlina himself, and threatens to kill
him. The others are not fooled. Don Ottavio produces a pistol and points it at Don Giovanni,
and the three guests unmask and declare that they know all. But despite being denounced and
menaced from all sides, Don Giovanni remains calm and escapes – for the moment.

Act 2
Scene 1 – Outside Donna Elvira's house

Leporello threatens to leave Don Giovanni, but his master calms him with a peace offering of
money (Duet: "Eh via buffone" – "Go on, fool"). Wanting to seduce Donna Elvira's maid, and
believing that she will trust him better if he appears in lower-class clothes, Don Giovanni
orders Leporello to exchange cloak and hat with him. Donna Elvira comes to her window Luigi Bassi in the title role of
Don Giovanni in 1787
(Trio: "Ah taci, ingiusto core" – "Ah, be quiet unjust heart"). Seeing an opportunity for a
game, Don Giovanni hides and sends Leporello out in the open wearing Don Giovanni's cloak
and hat. From his hiding place Don Giovanni sings a promise of repentance, expressing a desire to return to her and threatening to
kill himself if she does not take him back, while Leporello poses as Don Giovanni and tries to keep from laughing. Donna Elvira is
convinced and descends to the street. Leporello, continuing to pose as Don Giovanni, leads her away to keep her occupied while Don
Giovanni serenades her maid with his mandolin. ("Deh vieni alla finestra" – "Ah, come to the window").

Before Don Giovanni can complete his seduction of the maid, Masetto and his friends arrive, looking for Don Giovanni in order to
kill him. Don Giovanni poses as Leporello (whose clothes he is still wearing) and joins the posse, pretending that he also hates Don
Giovanni. After cunningly dispersing Masetto's friends (Don Giovanni aria: "Metà di voi qua vadano" – "Half of you go this way. the
others, go that way"), Don Giovanni takes Masetto's weapons away
, beats him up, and runs off, laughing. Zerlina arrives and consoles
the bruised and battered Masetto ("Vedrai carino" – "You'll see, dear one").

Scene 2 – A dark courtyard

Leporello abandons Donna Elvira. (Sextet: "Sola, sola in buio loco" – "All alone in this dark place"). As he tries to escape, he bumps
into Don Ottavio and Donna Anna. Zerlina and Masetto also enter the scene. Everyone mistakes Leporello for Don Giovanni, whose
clothes he is still wearing. They surround Leporello and threaten to kill him. Donna Elvira tries to protect the man who she thinks is
Don Giovanni, claiming that he is her husband and begging the others to spare him. Leporello takes off Don Giovanni's cloak and
reveals his true identity. He begs for mercy and, seeing an opportunity, runs off (Leporello aria: "Ah pietà signori miei" – "Ah, have
mercy, my lords"). Don Ottavio is now convinced that Don Giovanni is the one who murdered Donna Anna's father (the deceased
Commendatore). He swears vengeance ("Il mio tesoro" – "My treasure" – though in the Vienna version this was cut).
In the Vienna production of the opera, Zerlina follows Leporello and recaptures him. Threatening him with a razor, she ties him to a
stool. He attempts to sweet-talk her out of hurting him. (Duet: "Per queste tue manine" – "For these hands of yours"). Zerlina goes to
find Masetto and the others; Leporello escapes again before she returns. This scene, marked by low comedy, is rarely performed
today. Also in the Vienna production, Donna Elvira is still furious at Don Giovanni for betraying her, but she also feels sorry for him.
[26]
("Mi tradì quell'alma ingrata" – "That ungrateful wretch betrayed me").

Scene 3 – A graveyard with the statue of the Commendatore.

Don Giovanni wanders into a graveyard. Leporello happens along

and the two are reunited. Leporello tells Don Giovanni of his brush
with danger, and Don Giovanni laughingly taunts him, saying that
he took advantage of his disguise as Leporello by trying to seduce
one of Leporello's girlfriends. The voice of the statue interrupts and
warns Don Giovanni that his laughter will not last beyond sunrise.
At the command of his master, Leporello reads the inscription upon
the statue's base: "Here am I waiting for revenge against the
scoundrel who killed me" (Dell'empio che mi trasse al passo
estremo qui attendo la vendetta). The servant trembles, but Don
Giovanni scornfully orders him to invite the statue to dinner, and Graveyard scene of act 2 (Prague, probably 1790s),
the earliest known set design for the opera
threatens to kill him if he does not. Leporello makes several
attempts to invite the statue to dinner but is too frightened to
complete the invitation (Duet: "O, statua gentilissima" – "Oh most noble statue"). Don Giovanni invites the statue to dinner himself.
Much to his surprise, the statue nods its head and responds af
firmatively.

Scene 4 – Donna Anna's room

Don Ottavio pressures Donna Anna to marry him, but she thinks it is 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 ("Non mi dir" – "T
ell me not").

Scene 5 – Don Giovanni's chambers

Don Giovanni revels in the luxury of a great meal, served by Leporello, and musical
entertainment during which the orchestra plays music from popular (at the time)
late-18th-century operas: "O quanto un sì bel giubilo" from Vicente Martín y Soler's
Una cosa rara (1786), "Come un agnello" fromGiuseppe Sarti's Fra i due litiganti il
terzo gode (1782) and finally, "Non più andrai" from Mozart's own The Marriage of
Figaro (1786). Leporello complains that he is sick and tired of hearing Mozart's aria
everywhere all the time.[27] (Finale "Già la mensa preparata" – "Already the table is
prepared"). Donna Elvira enters, saying that she no longer feels resentment against
Don Giovanni, only pity for him. ("L'ultima prova dell'amor mio" – "The final proof
of my love"). Don Giovanni, surprised, asks what she wants, and she begs him to
change his life. Don Giovanni taunts her and then turns away, praising wine and
women as the "support and glory of humankind" (sostegno e gloria d'umanità). Hurt
and angry, Donna Elvira gives up and leaves. Offstage, she screams in sudden terror.
Don Giovanni confronts the stone
Don Giovanni orders Leporello to see what has upset her; when he does, he also guest in a painting by Alexandre-
cries out, and runs back into the room, stammering that the statue has appeared as Évariste Fragonard, ca 1830–35
promised. An ominous knocking sounds at the door. Leporello, paralyzed by fear, (Musée des Beaux-Arts de
cannot answer it, so Don Giovanni opens it himself, revealing the statue of the Strasbourg)
Commendatore. With the rhythmic chords of the overture, now reharmonized with
diabolic diminished sevenths accompanying the Commendatore ("Don Giovanni! A
cenar teco m'invitasti" – "Don Giovanni! You invited me to dine with you"), the statue offers a last chance to repent, but Don
Giovanni adamantly refuses. The statue disappears and Don Giovanni cries out in pain and terror as he is surrounded by a chorus of
demons, who carry him down to Hell. Leporello, watching from under the table, also cries out in fear
.

Donna Anna, Don Ottavio, Donna Elvira, Zerlina, and Masetto arrive, searching for the villain. They find instead Leporello hiding
under the table, shaken by the supernatural horror he has witnessed. He assures them that no one will ever see Don Giovanni again.
The remaining characters announce their plans for the future: Donna Anna and Don Ottavio will marry when Donna Anna's year of
mourning is over; Donna Elvira will withdraw from society for the rest of her life;[28] Zerlina and Masetto will finally go home for
dinner; and Leporello will go to the tavern to find a better master
.

The concluding ensemble delivers the moral of the opera – "Such is the end of the evildoer: the death of a sinner always reflects his
life" ("Questo è il fin di chi fa mal, e de' perfidi la morte alla vita è sempre ugual"). As mentioned above, the final ensemble was
customarily omitted from productions for over a century beginning with the original run in Prague, but it started to be performed
again frequently in the 20th century and is now is usually included in productions of the opera. The return to D major and the
innocent simplicity of the last few bars conclude the opera.

Recordings
A screen adaptation of the opera was made under the titleDon Giovanni in 1979 directed by Joseph Losey.[29]

Cultural influence
The Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard wrote a long essay in his book Enten – Eller in which he argues, writing under the
pseudonym of his character "A", that "among all classic works Don Giovanni stands highest."[30] Charles Gounod wrote that
Mozart's Don Giovanni is "a work without blemish, of uninterrupted perfection."[31] 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). Gustave Flaubert called Don Giovanni, along with Hamlet and the sea, "the three finest things God ever made."[32] E. T.
A. Hoffmann also wrote a short story derived from the opera, "Don Juan," in which the narrator meets Donna Anna and describes
Don Juan as an aesthetic hero rebelling against God and society
.

In some Germanic and other languages, Leporello's "Catalogue Aria" provided the name "Leporello list" for concertina-folded
printed matter, as used for brochures, photo albums, computer printouts and othercontinuous stationery.[33]

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 1, transcribed by Moritz Moszkowski, also makes an incongruous appearance in the manuscript of Liszt's Fantasy on
Themes from Mozart'sMarriage of Figaro and Don Giovanni, 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).
Chopin wrote Variations on "Là ci darem la mano" (the duet between Don Giovanni and Zerlina) for piano and orchestra. Beethoven
and Danzi also wrote variations on the same theme. And Beethoven, in his Diabelli Variations, cites Leporello's aria "Notte e giorno
faticar" in variation 22.

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky always regarded Don Giovanni – and its composer – with awe. In 1855, Mozart's original manuscript had
been purchased in London by the mezzo-soprano Pauline Viardot, who was the teacher of Tchaikovsky's one-time unofficial fiancée
Désirée Artôt (whom Viardot may have persuaded not to go through with her plan to marry the composer). Viardot kept the
manuscript in a shrine in her Paris home, where it was visited by many people. Tchaikovsky visited her when he was in Paris in June
1886,[34] and said that when looking at the manuscript, he was "in the presence of divinity".[35] So it is not surprising that the
centenary of the opera in 1887 would inspire him to write something honouring Mozart. Instead of taking any themes from Don
Giovanni, however, he took four lesser known works by Mozart and arranged them into his fourth orchestral suite, which he called
Mozartiana. The baritone who sang the title role in the centenary performance of Don Giovanni in Prague that year was Mariano
chaikovsky.[36]
Padilla y Ramos, the man Désirée Artôt married instead of T

In addition to instrumental works, allusions to Don Giovanni also appear in a number of operas: Nicklausse of Offenbach's The Tales
of Hoffmann sings a snatch of Leporello's "Notte e giorno", and Rossini alludes to the Commendatore's music for Selim's entrance in
Il turco in Italia.

See also
List of operas by Mozart

References
1. The theatre is referred to as the Teatro di Praga in the libretto for the 1787 premiere (Deutsch 1965, 302–03); for the
current name of the theatre see"The Estates Theatre" (http://www.narodni-divadlo.cz/Default.aspx?jz=en&dk=text.a
spx&it=40&sb=0) at the Prague National Theatre website.
2. "Opera Statistics" (http://operabase.com/top.cgi?lang=en#opera)
. Operabase. Retrieved 28 November 2016.; the
count is of productions (performance runs)
3. The background of the production is summarized in Freeman (2013), 104–30.
4. The first eighteenth-century Don Juan opera produced in Europe wasLa pravità castigata (Prague, 1730), and the
second one was Il convitato di pietra (Prague, 1776).
5. See Freeman (2013), 199-205, for a discussion of Da Ponte's borrowings from the Bertati libretto and Da Ponte's
description of the genesis of the work from his memoirs of 1819 and 1823.
6. See Freeman (2013), 205, for a discussion of Da Ponte's vague specification, including a theory about why it is so
vague that is based on suspiciously archaic cultural references incompatible with the modern city of Seville as it
existed in Da Ponte's day.
7. "When Casanova Met Mozart"(https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/when-casanova-met-mozart-163068912/)by
Tony Perrottet, Smithsonian, 21 March 2012
8. Mozart's letter sent to Gottfried von Jacquin, dated October 15
9. Esposito, Eric. "Mozart's Midnight Masterpiece: The Composition of "Don Giovanni's" Overture"
(http://www.cmuse.o
rg/mozart-midnight-masterpiece-don-giovanni-overture/). CMUSE. Retrieved 2016-02-11.
10. Deutsch 1965, 303
11. Deutsch 1965, 304
12. "OperaGlass at Opera.Stanford.Edu"(http://opera.stanford.edu/iu/shortlib/mozaria1.html)
.
13. Wolfgang Plath and Wolfgang Rehm, Neue Mozart-Ausgabe, Serie II, Werkgruppe 5, Band 17,Don Giovanni
(Kassel, 1968)
14. See Freeman (2013), 224.
15. Buch, David Joseph (2008). Magic Flutes and Enchanted Forests: The Supernatural in Eighteenth-Century Musical
Theater (https://books.google.com/books?id=djnqB_MUJ6kC&pg=P A332). University of Chicago Press. p. 332.
ISBN 978-0-226-07811-3.
16. Page 2 (http://dme.mozarteum.at/DME/objs/ed/ucb08_68_2.jpg)of the score at NMA
17. Casaglia 2005.
18. Deutsch 1965, 313
19. Weber, Mozart's sister-in-law, frequently sang in his works.
20. Cavalieri was the first Konstanze inDie Entführung aus dem Serail.
21. Benucci was the first Figaro inLe nozze di Figaro'.
22. Abert 2007, p. 1021 (https://books.google.com/books?id=l6I6BwTMJ3sC&pg=RA1-P
A1021&lpg=RA1-PA1021).
23. Sparks, Paul (1995). The Classical Mandolin. Oxford: Clarendon Press. pp. 3–4.ISBN 978-0-19-517337-6. "The
mandoline is today (1843) so neglected that, in the theatres whereDon Giovanni is staged, it is always a problem to
execute the serenade...it has become allowed almost everywhere...to play the mandoline part Don in Giovanni on
pizzicato violins or on guitars."
24. Don Giovanni Schirmer piano-vocal scoreISBN 079351231X, page iv
25. In the absence of an unambiguous indication in Da Ponte's libretto, it is reasonable to interpret this incident variously .
However, in a discussion of the literary tradition available to Da Ponte as detailed in Freeman (2013), 197-204, it is
clear that there was no precedent for the portrayal of Don Juan as a rapist in the literary tradition that extended from
Da Ponte's time back to the prototype Don Juan drama,Tirso de Molina's early seventeenth-century playEl burlador
de Sevilla. Da Ponte's scene at the beginning of the opera is based on a standard scenario of earlier dramas in
which Don Juan attempts to seduce a noblewoman in disguise as her lover , one of his standard burlas (or "tricks" of
seduction). Besides no precedent for rape, there is also no portrayal in the Don Juan literature before Da Ponte of
impregnation or the contraction of venereal disease in spite of Don Juan's numberless sexual encounters.
26. This scene was added at the same time as the preceding Zerlina / Leporello duet, but is generally retained and sung
directly after "Il mio tesoro".
27. Freeman (2013), 222–24, points out that the purpose of excerpting music from other composer's operas is an
assertion of superiority – and a highly effective one. The impact of Mozart's music after hearing insipid examples by
other composers' work is striking indeed. The dialogue that accompanies this vignette does not appear in the libretto
published for the first performance, thus the idea was almost certainly Mozart's, and he must have written the lines of
text himself.
28. Freeman (2013), 225, points out that the correct translation of Donna Elvira's line "Io men vado in un ritiro a finir la
vita mia!" indicates that she intends to remove herself to a "retreat" instead of entering a convent (as the line is
frequently mistranslated into English). Neither in eighteenth-century Italian nor modern Italian could "ritiro" be
construed as a synonym for "convento" (convent) or "monastero" (monastery). Rather , it has the connotation of a
comfortable, secluded private dwelling in the countryside.
29. Citron, Marcia J. (2000).Opera on Screen (https://books.google.com/books?id=nkWcsSY3pxQC&pg=P
A203), p.
203. Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-08158-8
30. Kierkegaard, p. 135.
31. Gounod, pp. v–vi
32. Flaubert, Gustave. The Letters of Gustave Flaubert.
33. "leporelloliste" (http://ordnet.dk/ddo/ordbog?query=leporelloliste)
. Den Danske Ordbog (in Danish). Retrieved
29 June 2014.
34. Alexander Poznansky, Tchaikovsky: The Quest for the Inner Man, p. 460
35. Abstract: 19th Century Music, Mark Everist(http://caliber.ucpress.net/doi/abs/10.1525/ncm.2001.25.2-3.165)
Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20110724114728/http://caliber .ucpress.net/doi/abs/10.1525/ncm.2001.25.2-3.
165) July 24, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
36. Louis Charles Elson (1912).University Musical Encyclopedia(https://books.google.com/books?id=B2gNAAAAIAAJ)
.
The University Society. p. 467. Retrieved 5 April 2011.

Sources
Abert, Hermann (2007). Cliff Eisen, ed. W. A. Mozart. Translated by Stewart Spencer. Yale University Press.
ISBN 978-0300072235.
Allanbrook, W. J. (1983). Rhythmic Gesture in Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro and Don GiovanniChicago. (reviewed in
Platoff, John. "Untitled." The Journal of Musicology, Vol . 4, No. 4 (1986). pp. 535–38).
Baker, Even A. (1993): Alfred Roller's Production Of Mozart's Don Giovanni – A Break in the Scenicraditions
T of the
Vienna Court Opera. New York University.
Casaglia, Gherardo (2005)."Don Giovanni, 29 October 1787". L'Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia(in Italian).
Deutsch, Otto Erich (1965), Mozart: A Documentary Biography. Stanford: Stanford University Press.ISBN 978-0-
8047-0233-1.
Freeman, Daniel E. (2013). Mozart in Prague. Minneapolis: Bearclaw. ISBN 978-0-9794223-1-7.
Goehr, Lydia; Herwitz, Daniel A. (2006).The Don Giovanni Moment: Essays on the Legacy of an Opera . Columbia
Press University, New York.
Gounod, Charles, Mozart's Don Giovanni: A Commentary, transl. by Windeyer Clark and J. P . Hutchinson from the
third French edition of Le Don Juan de Mozart, London, R. Cocks, 1895, Repr. Da Capo Press, New York, 1970.
 Kaminsky, Peter (1996). How to Do things with Words and Music: T owards an Analysis of Selected ensembles in
Mozart's Don Giovanni.Theory and Practice
Kierkegaard, Søren, Either/Or, ed. by Victor Eremita, abridged, translated,and with an introduction and notes, by
Alastair Hannay, Penguin, London, 1992.
Melitz, Leo (1921): The Opera Goer's Complete Guide
McClatchy, J.D. (2010). Seven Mozart Librettos. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. ISBN 0-393-06609-6.
Noske, F. R. "Don Giovanni: Musical Affinities and Dramatic Structure."SMH, xii (1970), 167–203; repr. in Theatre
Research viii (1973), 60–74 and in Noske, 1977, 39–75
Ponte, Lorenzo Da. Mozart's Don Giovanni. Dover Publications, New York, 1985. (reviewed in G.S. "Untitled." Music
& Letters Vol 19. No. 2 (April 1938). pp. 216–18)
Rushton, Julian G. (1981). W.A. Mozart: Don GiovanniCambridge. (reviewed in Sternfeld, F . W. "Untitled." Music &
Letters, Vol. 65, No. 4 (October 1984) pp. 377–78)
Schünemann, Georg and Soldan, Kurt (translated by Stanley Appelbaum) Don Giovanni: Complete orchestral and
vocal score Dover 1974
Tyson, Alan. "Some Features of the Autograph Score ofDon Giovanni", Israel Studies in Musicology(1990), 7–26

External links

Don Giovanni: Score and critical report (in German) in the Neue Mozart-Ausgabe
Don Giovanni: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project(IMSLP)
Opera Guide Synopsis (4 languages), libretto (German, English, Italian), highlights
Opera in a nutshell Soundfiles (MIDI)
Piano/vocal score of Don Giovanni from Indiana University Bloomington
Synopsis and libretto from Naxos Records
Libretto, Italian, English
Roles, arias, libretto (Italian, English)
San Diego OperaTalk! with Nick Reveles:Don Giovanni
(in German) Don Giovanni, production photos, synopsis(in German)

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