Don Giovanni

Don Giovanni
The two act opera, Don Giovanni, was premiered in Prague at the Estates Theatre in Prague on October 29, 1787. The music of the opera is given by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, while the libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte.

Don Giovanni is considered to be beyond comparison to any other operas that have been based on the legend of Don Juan. Don Giovanni is a blend of comic and drama, and successfully blends elements of comic, supernatural and melodramatic nature.

Soren Kierkegaard, a Danish philosopher, has also praised Mozart's Don Giovanni, in a long essay that he wrote in his book titled Enten/Eller. According to Kierkegaard, Mozart's Don Giovanni is a work without blemish, of uninterrupted perfection.

The opera has also provided philosophical and artistic topic to many of the writers through its finale, in which Don Giovanni refuses to repent.

Some of the great basses and baritones that have portrayed the role of Don Giovanni on stage include, Ezio Pinza, Norman Treigle, Cesare Siepi, Dietrcih Fischer-Dieskau, Thomas Allen and Thomas Hampson. In 1979, a screen adaptation of the opera was also made with the same title. It was directed by Joseph Losey.

Although the libretto of Don Giovanni was completed in June of 1787, the score wasn't completed until October 28, 1787. Several alterations were made by the composer and librettist during the rehearsals of the opera, and with the aim of achieving perfection, the premiere of Don Giovanni was further delayed.

The composer kept on making the alterations to the composition until the last second, and he employed instruments like double wood winds, horns and trumpets, basso continuo and timpani for this score. Apart from that several musical effects were also utilized occasionally.

Mandolin and Pizzicato Strings are also used in an Act II of the score where Don Giovanni is seen playing mandolin. Later in the act three trombones are also used, when the statue of the Commendators speaks for the very first time.

The full title of the opera was Il Dissoluto Punito ossia il Don Giovanni Dramma giocoso in due atti when it was opened for the first time in Prague on October 29.

Don Giovanni was premiered in Vienna on May 7, 1788 and it was also supervised by Mozart himself. For its production in Vienna, Mozart wrote two new arias, each with corresponding recitatives.

As of the today, full ensemble is always performed, which was absent in until the mid 20th Century. Mozart also made the shortened version, and 1788's Viennese libretto didn't have that as well.

In during its performance run in Viennese production Francesco Morella's aria Dalla sua pace was replaced by Don Ottavio's aria Il mio tesoro.

But presently it is reverted back to its original form. Another aria which was a duet was also tailor made for the Viennese productions, is also neglected to bring more originality to the score.

The Act I of the opera kicks off in the garden of Commendatore, where Leporello keeps a watch outside Donna Anna's House, while Leporello's master and lead character Don Giovanni sneaks in to Anna's house to seduce her.

Don Giovanni was once called, along with Hamlet and the sea, one of the three finest things God ever made. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's famous opera, inspired by the legend of Don Juan first seen in a Tirso de Molina play in 1630, is still revered worldwide.

Don Giovanni tells the tale of a philandering immoral rake that finally gets his just punishment. The arrogant womanizer flees after murdering the Commendatore, who had intervened after his daughter, Anna, resisted the masked man's uncouth advances. With Anna and her fianc?e Ottavio swearing revenge on their as-yet unknown enemy, Don Giovanni continues his flirtations with another woman who is revealed to be Elvira, abandoned earlier by him. He treacherously pushes his servant Leporello to tell her of his promiscuous exploits while he flees. He then tries to seduce Zerlina, whose marriage procession is invited to the Don's castle. Her fiancee Masetto is suspicious and angry, and the three revengeful parties convene at the celebration in Don Giovanni's castle.

Mozart is considered one of history's finest musicians, with works like Figaro and The Magic Flute. He composed Don Giovanni, with an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premiered in Prague in 1787.

It is the seventh most performed opera in the world, with its complex music and blending of melodrama, comedy, and supernatural elements well appreciated. Don Giovanni has sprouted many borrowings, like Franz Liszt's operatic fantasy.

Fans with Don Giovanni tickets will be in for an unforgettable experience at the Metropolitan Opera.