DON GIOVANNI. The Reprobate Punished. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. May 19, :00 PM - Encore Theater English Subtitles

Transcription

1 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart DON GIOVANNI The Reprobate Punished May 19, :00 PM - Encore Theater English Subtitles For nearly ten years I have been presenting DVD recordings of great opera performances here in the Encore Theater. I have shown more than a dozen different versions of this opera, all from my collection which I keep expanding for these weekly presentations. This year Gene Martin and I are showing two Don Giovanni s. I have shown today s version before, starring Edita Gruberova and Francisco Araiza in a 1987 La Scala production set in the 18th century and reflecting European society in the days preceding the French revolution. The version we showed two weeks ago is a new addition to my collection, a 2014 performance from Salzburg Festival that stars Ildebrando D Archangelo in the title role and with action taking place in a modern hotel-like setting. Since the plots are the same, I have framed the following narrative is applicable to both versions, with comments appropriate to the setting. Many operaphiles consider Don Giovanni to be the greatest opera ever written. Other opera lovers contest that opinion, but few would argue that it does not deserve a place near the top. The opera premiered in Prague in 1787, the year after Mozart s La Nozze de Figaro had premiered in Vienna with only mild success. Today, Nozze is recognized as a masterpiece. Later that year it was performed to wild acclaim in the Bohemian capital of Prague. That success led to a commission by the Prague community opera lovers for him to compose another work which would open there. Mozart turned to librettist Lorenzo da Ponte, with whom he had worked on Nozze, and the result was this triumph. Runtime: 176 minutes Filmed 1987 at LaScala DVD released 2004 by Opus Arte MPAA not rated ASIN: B0001Z65R6 1 of 6

2 The story is based on the legend of Don Juan, the insatiable womanizer. Mozart and da Ponte depict him as a man who valued the the number of his conquests more than the experience itself. His manic need is so great that the immorality of his quest never occurs to him. Yet in spite of his immorality and utter selfishness, you will find Mozart s music beautiful, almost flattering. I believe he intended that the opera to be seen as a morality play set to music Mozart s father died while he was composing this opera. One cannot fail to recognize the parallels between that seminal event in Mozart s life and the scary Stone Guest in the opera (the ghost of the Commendatore, an overt father figre demanding penitence from the unrepentant Giovanni who drags him down to a fiery death in the Underworld. It s generally agreed that the Prague group gave Mozart the commission expecting to get a work similar to Nozze (i.e., an opera buffo). However, as the plot line developed, his orchestrations and motifs became more serious. Mozart wound up inventing the term dramma giacosa to describe his new opera. ACT ONE After an overture that elicits images of the dual nature of the title character, the music seamlessly morphs into the action as the curtain rises and we see Leporello bemoaning his life as the servant to Don Giovanni. It is night, and he is standing outside the palace of the Commendatore, acting as sentry while the Don is inside seducing the Commendatore s daughter Donna Anna. His lament is then interrupted as we see the Don fleeing from Anna. Typically he is in some state of undress. Having used some means of keeping her from seeing his face, he manages to escape unrecognized. Some directors use the action to show that her cries of protest are not outrage at his attempted rape but are her frustration at his not finishing the job. (I even saw it overtly depicted in one of my shows.) I feel that depiction detracts from the effect Mozart and da Ponte meant for their opera, which was to evoke the Don s immorality. It also explains the opera s subtitle The Reprobate Punished. Both versions I ll be showing follow the original motivation - rape. The Commendatore enters. He s intent on defending his daughter s honor, and challenges the Don to a duel. At first, Giovanni demurs, noting that he is much younger and an experienced swordsman. But when the father insists, the Don does not hesitate to accommodate him. (He s not anxious to kill the old man, but it s a sign of his character that neither is he particularly bothered by it.) In both versions, the old man is killed, though they differ in the manner of his death. Mozart s accompanying music has the three male voices on stage singing a dirge as the Commendatore s soul rises up to heaven. 2 of 6

3 Donna Anna returns with her fiancé Don Ottavio and sings a stirring aria demanding that he swear to avenge her father s murder by the unknown assailant. He does so, in what is the first of several instances in the opera that reveal his most characteristic trait: he always expresses noble intentions but never succeeds in following them up with deeds. The Don and Leporello discuss what had occurred when they see a woman who is a newcomer to the city. She sings her opening aria Chi mi dice mai asking who will tell her where she can find the cad who seduced and then abandoned her. Giovanni, intending to make her his next conquest in the guise of comforting the unhappy woman, approaches her, only to realize that it is Donna Elvira (and of course,ß he is the cad in question). Elvira is as confused as anyone in love can be and da Ponte s libretto and Mozart s music successfully convey her ambiguity. She wants vengeance for having been so mistreated, while at the same time it s clear that she has never gotten over her emotional ties to the man with whom she spent a weekend of love-making, relying on his false promise to marry her. (A ploy he uses often). Giovanni retreats from Elvira and tells her this gentleman (Leporello) will explain. So the poor servant is left to wiggle out of the situation. He tells her she was not the first and won t be the last woman to be so treated by Giovanni. He pulls out a book that he always has with him, and sings the famous aria Madamina (also known as the Catalogue aria) listing, nation by nation, the Don s nearly two thousand conquests. Spain, the country they re in, leads with mil e tre (one thousand and three). The Don and Leporello then come upon a group of peasants (in the original version; in the hotel setting, they re a bunch of staff personnel). They are celebrating the upcoming marriage of Zerlina to Masetto. The Don tells Leporello to take everyone away, then woos the lady in the famous duet, La ci darem la mano (there you will take my hand). But his plans are thwarted by Donna Elvira, who reappears in time to warn Zerlina not to trust this terrible man and the Don s attempt at seduction fails. He never succeeds in several attempts in the opera. In response rto to Zerlina s questioning look, he says Elvira loves him but he is too kindhearted to reject her outright. He and Zerlina leave and Anna and Ottavio enter, still seeking Anna s father s killer. Elvira reappears to repeat her warning. The Don displays his guile with a new story: Elvira is crazy, and he only wants to help her. Anna and Ottavio are unsure whom to believe, but as Giovanni exits, mouthing an oily offer to help, Anna recognizes his voice and presses Ottavio to react to this startling recognition. 3 of 6

4 Ottavio is reluctant to attribute such monstrous actions to a fellow nobleman, and muses on his dilemma in a lyric aria with long, legato lines Dalla sua pace (upon her peace of mind). Mozart wrote this for the opera s premiere when that cast s tenor complained that Ottavio s justly famous Act Two aria, Il mio tesoro was too difficult for him to sing. Originally intended as a substitute aria, it has since become the norm for the tenor to sing both arias. Zerlina and Masetto are left alone on stage and she apologizes and begs his forgiveness with a sweet and wistful aria Batti, batti o bel Masetto (beat me, beat me) and of course, he succumbs. Giovanni s decision to hold a ball that evening in his palace, sets off a sequence of scenes beginning with his aria (usually called the champagne aria ) rejoicing that the ladies will all drink too much. He confidently brags he will add ten more names to his list of conquests. The revenge-seeking trio of Donna Anna, Donna Elvira and Don Ottavio enter, all wearing masks. This extended scene displays Mozart s musical genius. He has three different orchestras playing concurrently, with three different melodies in three different rhythms, all blended into a unified whole whose effect is to amplify the manic nature of the action on stage. The Don tries once again to seduce (really rape) Zerlina. When she screams and everyone comes running, the ever-resourceful (and unfeeling) Don throws Leporello to the floor and accuses him of the crime. Nobody is taken in of course, especially not the three masked strangers who make themselves known. Before anyone can wreak vengeance on him, Giovanni takes advantage of the confusion and escapes. ACT TWO Outside Elvira s home, Giovanni is plotting his next conquest: Elvira s maid. He makes Leporello exchange clothes and hides while Leporello gestures to Elvira. The ruse is successful. Elvira comes down and embraces Leporello, thinking he is the Don. Once alone on stage, the Don serenades the maid: deh vieni alla finestra (come to the window). At this point, the five principals (Elvira, Ottavio, Anna, Zerlina and Masetto) corner Leporello, who is still dressed as the Don. The scene includes a pair of glorious arias, each one a showstopper. First Ottavio sings Il mio tesoro (Oh, my beloved) saying he will not rest until he sees the Don punished (but, of course, he does nothing). That great aria is followed by Elvira, who sings about her conflicting emotions about the Don: Mi tradi (he betrayed me). Mozart wrote this aria especially for the soprano singing the role in the Vienna production s cast.) 4 of 6

5 Despite the beauty and power of each aria, having two such emotionally charged numbers coming in succession is considered by some to be a negative feature of the opera. (Though not by me.) The knock is that arias are by nature static, allowing the character to expound on their feelings and the singer to showcase their talents, while the plot of this already long opera is not advanced in any way. In the libretto s original setting for the next scene, Giovanni and Leporello are alone in a cemetery dominated by a statue of the Commendatore. In the second (hotel) version the statue is just a bust sitting on a small pedestal. The Don commands Leporello to invite the statue to dinner at his castle. Leporello is scared to death but obeys. He almost faints when the statue accepts. (In the final scene, the Stone Guest accepts the invitation and appears.) Masetto arrives with an armed group, all intent on killing Giovanni. The Don, still dressed as Leporello, greets them and speaks of his animus toward his cruel master. With their trust, he takes charge of the mob and sends them away. Once alone with Masetto, he asks the poor guy to show him his weapons which Giovanni uses to beat him up. Zerlina finds Masetto on the ground whimpering about his injuries, and displays how well she uses her feminine wiles. In his libretto, da Ponte has her comforting him with sly double entendre words about the special balm that she keeps in a special place, just for him. In the the hotel version, the lyrics are the same but the visual aspects of the aria s sexuality are more overt. Donna Anna and Don Ottavio appear. He desperately wants their marriage to take place soon, but in another glorious revenge aria Non mi dir (don t tell me I am cruel) she makes clear that that event must be deferred in favor of her first priority, which is to see her father s death avenged (and we know Ottavio is not the man to do that job.) In the opera s final scene Giovanni is dining alone, with Leporello serving the meal. After the Don displays his selfishness by demeaning Leporello, we hear his private orchestra playing brief passages from three current operas, the third being the aria non piu drai from Mozart s Nozze. Donna Elvira enters, not to try to win him back, but to entreat him to mend his ways before it s too late. He refuses, but invites her to join him for dinner. Outraged and frustrated, she leaves, but once off-stage, we hear her give o terrified scream. Giovanni orders Leporello to investigate. When he returns, he s shaking with fright. So Giovanni says he will go to the door himself. Leporello tells him it is the Stone Statue, who has come in response to Giovanni s invitation and begs him not to go. 5 of 6

6 Giovanni announces he will never allow himself to be judged a coward. He goes to the door himself and ushers in the statue, who demands that Giovanni repent while there is still time. When Giovanni refuses, the statue invites him to dine at his place, asking Giovanni to shake his hand. Again, the Don demonstrates his courage and does so. After a chilling interchange in which Giovanni is repeatedly commanded to repent and just as repeatedly refuses, he gets his just rewards. Usually this is staged so he somehow gets pulled down into a fiery pit; however, in the hotel version, he collapses on stage and a bunch of macabre men, obviously dead and with horns, appears. The opera ends with a brief epilogue in which each of the six leading players discusses their plans for the future. Zerlina and Masetto will marry and raise a family. Elvira will enter a monastery. Anna says she will wait another year before she marries Ottavio. Ostensibly the year will allow her to recover from her grief (but I suspect it s to find time to locate a better mate). And finally, Leporello will go down to a local tavern to find another master. This epilogue is consistent with the opera s message, which, as I said at the beginning, is really a morality play set to music: Giovanni s cruelty and immorality are duly punished, leaving behind the good people, who now can go on with their plans for a better life in a Giovanni-less world. NEXT WEEK Next Friday, May 26, in a total change of pace, Gene and I will present Gilbert and Sullivan s lasting comedy, The Gondoliers. Produced in 1889, it was their last popular success and, for many of their fans, it was their best work. Whatever ranking you give it, it is a sure fire way to enjoy next Friday afternoon. Steve Schwartz 6 of 6