Jordan Down

Music 1010

12/09/2020

Don Giovanni

After watching all three of the Don Giovanni operas, as well as the synopsis, it was quite

obvious how similar and different each interpretation was. Everyone sees, hears, and experiences

everything differently so it is not a surprise to know that all three have their differences, despite

being the same exact part and opera. Now we are left with a question, what are the similarities

and differences?

The first linked video threw me off at the beginning. I had assumed we would be

watching the beginning of the opera rather than the end, so it took me a while to catch it. I ended

up having to watch the synopsis a couple of times to gain a better understanding. Once I had

cleared that up, I was able to pay better attention to what was happening.

Each of these operas played their music very well. It had a natural flow and didn’t feel

stiff at all. The music generally expressed the emotions well, though I feel like the second video

had more drastic tones and pitches that really made me think and feel for the characters. The first

and second operas’ Leporello and Don Giovanni had very similar voices which, honestly, made

it really hard for me to depict who was singing what and I didn’t like that. The first and second

opera also had food incorporated in with their singing (Leporello). I really couldn’t imagine how

difficult it was to train the singers to sing well and eat at the same time. The woman generally

had the same tone for each individual opera, which was nice. All three operas had the same man
come in and to me, it seemed like he was playing God. However, in the synopsis, it was a knight.

All three had the same “God-like” character but I wish it would have been portrayed differently

because I didn’t really enjoy that. You would think that since this is the same opera everything

would be the same, but after looking at all of the notes I took- they are saying something

different.

Every single staging was different for each opera. The first seemed to be in a dark

basement or cellar, the second was in the forest in the freezing cold, and the last is essentially a

plain white room with only a table and chair. I believe that the setting of this part of the opera is

best in the forest, at least it fits in better with the synopsis. I thoroughly enjoyed the second

purely because of the comedy that was in it, because the others did not. The third opera had no

food involved, even though it’s part of the story-line, and I think they dropped the ball with that.

However, the third portrayed more of the “player” of who Don Giovanni was by bringing in all

of those girls at the end, signifying all of the women Don Giovanni had been with. Overall, I felt

the costumes were appropriate for each of the settings but there was one thing I just couldn’t get

over in the first opera; why was no one wearing shoes? All three operas portrayed their

“God-like” man differently. In the first he seemed creepy and almost like a villain, yet, in the

second he looked like someone who had just been killed due to the wrap-around their head. The

third one was dressed up in a suit which didn’t really make sense to me. The endings of all of

these operas were extremely different because the first one, Don Giovanni went down in flames

basically but in the third opera, Don Giovanni went into “the light.” In the second one, Don
Giovanni simply just collapsed while the “God-like” figure stood watching. I think the first opera

watch fits better in with the synopsis.

Overall, the second opera was my favorite just because I found it more interesting. Not

only due to the fact that Leporello was kinda attractive but also because of the humor and the

music just seemed much bolder to me. It’s become obvious how the little things really can make

a big difference in performances. Everything is taken differently by each individual person, so

there’s no doubt in my mind, now, that every opera will be different (even if it is the same exact

opera).