Music: The Characters

Transcription

1 Music: The Characters Students Will Read the "Synopsis" Read the information sheets "The Composer" and "The Characters" included with the lesson Listen to audio selections from Don Giovanni online Discuss and answer questions on the appropriate portions of the activity worksheets Copies for Each Student "Synopsis" "The Composer" "The Characters" Activity Worksheets 1-3 Copies for the Teacher "Synopsis" "The Composer" "The Characters" Activity Worksheets 1-3 Getting Ready Decide which sections of the worksheets you wish your class to complete. Prepare internet access to the online listening selections. Gather pens, pencils, and additional writing paper as needed. Introduction Have your students read the "Synopsis". Give each student a copy of the information sheets "The Composer" and "The Characters," or display them on a screen. Read through the information, discussing each character and listening to the online selections as you go. Guided Practice Read the directions on the activity worksheets. Have students complete the portions of the activity worksheets you have chosen, with opportunity for questions. Independent Practice If students are working with a partner or in small groups, give them time to discuss their answers before writing them down. Have students share their answers individually or in groups, and explain the reasoning for their answers Educational Programs page 1 of 11

2 Evaluation Have students discuss and evaluate the answers of others. After individual or small group responses have been shared and/or turned in, have the students formulate comprehensive answers for the class with the teacher asking questions to guide the discussion. For Further Study The teacher may want to have students conduct further research on Don Giovanni. Students may also want to do additional research on Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart or Lorenzo Da Ponte, their lives and other works, or other related topics online or in their school library. Their findings can be shared with the class at the beginning of a later lesson. TEKS Grade 6 (4) Historical and cultural relevance. The student relates music to history, culture, and the world. (B. C.) Grade 7 (4) Historical and cultural relevance. The student relates music to history, culture, and the world. (B. C.) Grade 8 (4) Historical and cultural relevance. The student relates music to history, culture, and the world. (B. C.) Music, Level I (5) Historical and cultural relevance. The student relates music to history, culture, and the world. (A. C. D. E.) Music, Level II (5) Historical and cultural relevance. The student relates music to history, culture, and the world. (A. B. C. E) Music, Level III (5) Historical and cultural relevance. The student relates music to history, culture, and the world. (A. B. C. E.) Music, Level IV (5) Historical cultural relevance. The student relates music to history, culture, and the world. (A. B. C. E) Correlates: Language Arts, Drama, Music Gardner s Intelligences: Verbal-Linguistic, Musical, Interpersonal Bloom s Taxonomy: Knowledge, Comprehension, Application, Analysis, Evaluation, Synthesis Sources: Don Giovanni Libretto Warrack, John and West, Ewan, The Oxford Dictionary of Opera, Oxford University Press, Online Resources: Educational Programs page 2 of 11

3 ACT ONE Don Giovanni Synopsis Scene I Leporello stands guard for his master s latest amatory escapade while Don Giovanni is in Donna Anna s room. Suddenly Giovanni rushes out pursued by Anna, who calls for help to arrest her masked seducer. Her father, the Commendatore, challenges Giovanni and is murdered by him. Giovanni and Leporello leave. Anna returns with her fiancé, Don Ottavio, and sinks beside her father s body. She vows to have vengeance and compels Ottavio to share her vow Scene II An unhappy lady appears, observed by Giovanni and Leporello. It is Donna Elvira, whom Giovanni had previously abandoned. He flees after referring her to Leporello, who recites the catalogue of Giovanni s conquests. Masetto and Zerlina, who are shortly to be married, celebrate with their friends. After joining the happy couple, Giovanni orders Leporello to escort Masetto and the peasants to his villa for a party so that he can be alone with Zerlina. Masetto reluctantly accedes to Giovanni s wishes. Once Masetto is out of the way, Giovanni woos Zerlina. They are discovered by Elvira, who warns the girl to avoid Giovanni. Anna and Ottavio appear, requesting Giovanni s help in punishing the Commendatore s unknown assassin. Elvira returns with renewed reproaches for Giovanni, which he dismisses as the ravings of a madwoman. She leaves, followed by Giovanni. Anna suddenly realizes that he is, in fact, her father s murderer. She renews her demand for revenge before rushing away, leaving Ottavio to reflect on his love for her. Leporello relates his adventures with Elvira to Giovanni, who orders him to prepare a feast that very night, so that by morning he will have at least ten new names to add to the catalogue. Scene III Zerlina persuades Masetto to forgive her. At the sound of Giovanni s voice, Masetto steps aside. Giovanni appears, sees Zerlina, and resumes his seduction. Upon discovering Masetto, he persuades the young man to join him as well, and the three enter the villa. Anna, Elvira, and Ottavio arrive, each wearing a mask and intent on vengeance. Catching sight of them, Leporello invites them on Giovanni s behalf to attend the party. The three pause to ask for heaven s assistance. Scene IV Giovanni welcomes the trio of masquers. He tells Leporello to distract Masetto, then dances with Zerlina and leads her to another room. Suddenly her screams are heard, alarming the party guests. Giovanni re-enters and blames Leporello for attacking Zerlina. Anna, Elvira, and Ottavio unmask and denounce Giovanni as the murderer of Anna s father. ACT TWO Scene I Leporello wishes to leave Giovanni s service, but the offer of money induces him to stay. Giovanni exchanges clothes with Leporello in order to woo Elvira s maid in disguise. Elvira appears at a window of her hotel room, lamenting Giovanni s cruelty. Giovanni asks her to come to him, but it is with Leporello also in disguise that Elvira leaves. Alone in front of the hotel, Giovanni serenades Elvira s maid. Masetto, armed, arrives with a group of armed villagers. Giovanni sends the men off but detains Masetto, whom he beats soundly. Masetto s cries of pain bring Zerlina, who is able to comfort him Educational Programs page 3 of 11

4 Scene II Still disguised as Giovanni, Leporello eludes Elvira but falls into the hands of Anna, Ottavio, Masetto, and Zerlina. Leporello reveals his true identity, begs for mercy and escapes. Ottavio asks his companions to comfort Anna until he can return as the messenger of her vengeance. Left alone, Elvira admits that although Giovanni has betrayed her, she still pities him. Scene III Giovanni reaches the cemetery where the Commendatore has been buried. Leporello joins him and hears of his latest adventures. Much to their amazement, the two hear the voice of the Commendatore emanating from a statue. Giovanni orders Leporello to invite the statue to dinner. Scene IV Anna begs Ottavio to wait to marry her until her grief for her father has subsided. When he berates her for treating him cruelly, she assures him of her love and hopes that one day heaven will pity her suffering. Scene V A table is set for dinner. Giovanni gobbles his food and gulps his wine, while Leporello looks on hungrily and steals some pheasant. Elvira bursts in, imploring Giovanni to repent. When he refuses, she rushes away in misery. The statue of the Commendatore enters and invites Giovanni to dine with him. The invitation is accepted, but when the statue orders him to repent, Giovanni refuses and is dragged to hell. Anna, Ottavio, Elvira, Zerlina, and Masetto arrive, ready to confront Giovanni. Leporello informs them of what happened, and all proclaim the end of an evildoer Educational Programs page 4 of 11

5 The Composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart ( ) was an Austrian composer whose mastery of the whole range of contemporary instrumental and vocal forms including the symphony, concerto, chamber music, and especially the opera was unrivaled in his own time and perhaps in any other. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born on Jan. 27, 1756, in Salzburg. His father, Leopold Mozart, a noted composer and pedagogue and the author of a famous treatise on violin playing, was then in the service of the archbishop of Salzburg. Together with his sister, Nannerl, Wolfgang received such intensive musical training that by the age of 6 he was a budding composer and an accomplished keyboard performer. In 1762, Leopold presented his son as performer at the imperial court in Vienna, and from 1763 to 1766 he escorted both children on a continuous musical tour across Europe, which included long stays in Paris and London as well as visits to many other cities, with appearances before the French and English royal families. Mozart was the most celebrated child prodigy of this time as a keyboard performer and made a great impression, too, as composer and improviser. Despite his reputation as a prodigy, Mozart found no suitable post open to him. At age 14, with his father once more as escort, Mozart set off for Italy to try to make his way as an opera composer. Mozart openly declared his ambition to succeed in this field which offered higher financial rewards than other forms of composition at this time. Mozart was well received in Italy. He obtained a commission for an opera at Milan and was made a member of an honorary knightly order by the Pope at Rome. At Bologna, the Accademia Filarmonica awarded him membership despite a rule normally requiring candidates to be 20 years old. Between 1773 and 1777, Mozart remained primarily in Salzburg, employed as concertmaster of the archbishop's court musicians. In 1773 a new archbishop took office, Hieronymus Colloredo, who was a newcomer to Salzburg and its provincial ways. Unwilling to countenance the frequent absences of the Mozarts, he declined to promote Leopold to the post of chapel master that he had long coveted. The archbishop showed equally little understanding of young Mozart's special gifts. In turn, Mozart abhorred Salzburg, but he could find no better post. In 1775 he went off to Munich, where he produced the opera buffa, La finta giardiniera, with great success but without tangible consequences. In this period at Salzburg he wrote nine Symphonies (Nos ), including the excellent No. 29 in A Major; a large number of divertimenti, including the Haffner Serenade;all of his six Concertos for violin, several other concertos, and church music for use at Salzburg. Paris was a vastly larger theater for Mozart's talents (his father urged him to go there, for "from Paris the fame of a man of great talent echoes through the whole world," he wrote his son). But after 9 difficult months in Paris (March 1778 to January 1779), Mozart returned once more to Salzburg. He had been unable to secure a foot-hold and was depressed by the entire experience, which included the death of his mother in the midst of his stay in Paris. Unable to get a commission for an opera (still his chief ambition), he wrote music to order in Paris, again mainly for wind instruments: the Sinfonia Concertante for four solo wind instruments and orchestra, the Concerto for flute and harp, other chamber music, and the ballet music Les Petits riens. Mozart's years in Vienna, from age 25 to his death at 35, encompass one of the most prodigious developments in so short a span in the history of music. While up to now he had demonstrated a complete and fertile grasp of the techniques of his time, his music had been largely within the range of the higher levels of the common language of the time. But in these 10 years, Mozart's music grew rapidly beyond the comprehension of many of his contemporaries. It exhibited both ideas and methods of elaboration that few could follow, and to many the late Mozart seemed a difficult composer. Franz Joseph Haydn's constant praise of him came from his only true peer, and Haydn harped again and again on the problem of Mozart's obtaining a good and secure position, a problem no doubt compounded by the jealousy of Viennese rivals Educational Programs page 5 of 11

6 In the field of the string quartet Mozart produced two important groups of works that completely overshadowed any he had written before Other chamber music on the highest level of imagination and craftsmanship from Mozart's Vienna years includes Piano Quartets, Violin Sonatas, Piano Trios, and the Piano Quintet with winds. This decade also saw the composition of the last String Quintets and the Clarinet Quintet, and Mozart's Piano Concertos, almost all written for his own performance. They represent the high point in the literature of the classical concerto, and in the following generation, only Ludwig van Beethoven was able to match them. Mozart's evolution as an opera composer between 1781 and his death is even more remarkable, perhaps, since the problems of opera were more far-ranging than those of the larger instrumental forms and provided less adequate models. In opera Mozart instinctively set about raising the perfunctory dramatic and musical conventions of his time to the status of genuine art forms. The first important result was the German Singspiel entitled Die Entführung aus dem Serail (1782; Abduction from the Seraglio). Not only does it have an immense variety of expressive portrayals through its arias, but what is new in the work are its moments of authentic dramatic interaction between characters in ensembles. Following this bent, Mozart turned to Italian opera, and he was fortunate enough to find a librettist of genuine ability, a true literary craftsman, Lorenzo da Ponte. Working with Da Ponte, Mozart produced his three greatest Italian operas: Le nozze di Figaro (1786; The Marriage of Figaro), Don Giovanni (1787, for Prague), and Cosi fan tutte (1790). The Marriage of Figaro is based on a play by Pierre Caron de Beaumarchais, adapted skillfully by Da Ponte to the requirements of opera. In Figaro, the ensembles become even more important than the arias, and the considerable profusion of action in the plot is managed with a skill beyond even the best of Mozart's competitors. Not only is every character convincingly portrayed, but the work shows a blending of dramatic action and musical articulation that is probably unprecedented in opera, at least of these dimensions. In Figaro and other late Mozart operas, the singers cannot help enacting the roles conceived by the composer since the means of characterization and dramatic expression have been built into the arias and ensembles. This principle, grasped by only a few composers in the history of music, was evolved by Mozart in these years, and, like everything he touched, totally mastered as a technique. In Don Giovanni, elements of wit and pathos are blended with the representation of the supernatural onstage, a rare occurrence at this time. In Cosi fan tutte, the very idea of "operatic" expression including the exaggerated venting of sentiment is itself made the subject of an ironic comedy on fidelity between two pairs of lovers, aided by two manipulators. In his last opera, The Magic Flute (1791), Mozart turned back to German opera, producing a work combining many strands of popular theater but with means of musical expression ranging from quasi-folk song to Italianate coloratura. The plot, put together by the actor and impresario Emanuel Schikaneder, is partly based on a fairy tale but is heavily impregnated with elements of Freemasonry and possibly with contemporary political overtones. On concluding The Magic Flute, Mozart turned to work on what was to be his last project, the Requiem. This Mass had been commissioned by a benefactor said to have been unknown to Mozart. It is said that he became obsessed with the belief that he was, in effect, writing it for himself. Ill and exhausted, he managed to finish the first two movements and sketches for several more, but the last three sections were entirely lacking when he died. It was completed by his pupil, Franz Süssmayer, after his death in December He was buried in accordance with the Emperor Joseph II's regulations, with others who had died at the same time, and the location of his grave remains unknown. The Characters Educational Programs page 6 of 11

7 Don Giovanni (baritone): A young nobleman who is a serial womanizer. He gives no care for the result of his actions and does only what suits him. Leporello (bass): Don Giovanni s servant. He does the Don s bidding and helps him in his conquests. Il Commendatore (bass): Donna Anna s father. After Don Giovanni attempts to seduce Anna, Il Commendatore pursues Giovanni and challenges him to a duel. He is killed by Giovanni. Donna Anna (soprano): Il Commendatore s daughter. She is engaged to Don Ottavio and is the target of Don Giovanni s first seduction of the opera. When her father is killed defending her, Anna swears revenge against his murderer, which she later discovers is Giovanni. Don Ottavio (tenor): Donna Anna s fiancé. He joins Anna in her quest to bring Giovanni to justice. Donna Elvira (soprano): A lady from another town whom Giovanni seduced and abandoned. She has tracked him down to hold him to his promises of love and fidelity. When she realizes he cannot be convinced, she joins Anna and Ottavio to bring him to justice. Masetto (bass): A peasant, engaged to Zerlina. He attempts to aid Ottavio after Giovanni attempts to seduce Zerlina. Zerlina (soprano): A peasant girl, engaged to Masetto and a target of Giovanni s seduction Link to Musical Excerpts Educational Programs page 7 of 11

8 Ah, chi mi dice mai Julia Varady (Donna Elvira) Act I, Scene II: Donna Elvira, having been betrayed by Don Giovanni, vows to either get her revenge or kill him. Madamina, il catalogo e questo Ferruccio Furlanetto (Leporello) Act I, Scene II: Leporello shares the details of Don Giovanni s conquests with Donna Elvira to convince her he will not return to her and be a faithful lover. La ci darem la mano Thomas Allen (Don Giovanni) & Susanne Mentzer (Zerlina) Act I, Scene II: Don Giovanni attempts to seduce Zerlina when they are left alone. Dalla sua pace Michael Schade (Ottavio) Act I, Scene II: Donna Anna asks Don Ottavio to take revenge on Don Giovanni for killing her father. After she leaves, Don Ottavio expresses his love and worry for her. Non mi dir Anna Netrebko (Donna Anna) Act II, Scene V: Donna Anna, still strongly affected by her father s death, asks that Don Ottavio stop talking about marriage until she has had time to grieve. She still loves him, she says, but would like him to be patient. Final Scene - Bryn Terfel (Don Giovanni) Act II, Scene V: Don Giovanni is confronted by the Commendatore in the opera s finale Educational Programs page 8 of 11

9 Name Date Activity Worksheet 1 Don Giovanni is an opera full of intense emotions. When you are familiar with the story and the characters, match the following descriptive words to the characters and explain why you made your choices. Use examples from the reading selections to help support your choices. Each descriptive word may be used for more than one character and each character may have more than one descriptor. Loving Selfish Angry Loyal Sad Fearful Joyful Manipulative Proud Hopeful Despairing Caring Don Giovanni: Leporello: Donna Elvira: Donna Anna: Choose one of the characters above and describe what they could have done to help bring about a different outcome to the story Educational Programs page 9 of 11

10 Name Date Activity Worksheet 2 Drama is created by conflict between characters or by conflicting emotions within a character. In Don Giovanni, conflict is present between all of the main characters. 1. Donna Anna wants vengeance on Don Giovanni for her father s murder. 2. Donna Elvira wants vengeance on Don Giovanni for abandoning her. 3. Masetto is forced to obey his lord s wishes, even though it puts Zerlina in danger. 4. Leporello is torn between his desire to stop aiding Don Giovanni and his desire for money. Choose one of these conflicts and write about how it contributed to the resolution of the story. What advice you would give one or a pair of characters to help resolve their conflict. Which of the characters do you think you are most like? Why? Which character reminds you the most of someone in your life? Why? Educational Programs page 10 of 11

11 Name Date Activity Worksheet 3 The drama in the story of Don Giovanni is created by the differing backgrounds, cultures, and views of its characters. Consider the following conflicts between or within characters. Write your answers on a separate piece of paper to share with a group or the class. 1. Donna Anna wants vengeance on Don Giovanni for her father s murder. Write about a time you wanted revenge for something you experienced. What was the outcome? 2. Donna Elvira wants vengeance on Don Giovanni for abandoning her. Have you or someone you know been on the wrong end of a breakup? How did it affect the person who was left? What happened? 3. Masetto is forced to obey his lord s wishes, even though it puts Zerlina in danger. Have you ever had to do something even though it would mean a bad outcome for someone else? Write about the experience. Is there anything you would have done differently? 4. Leporello is torn between his desire to stop aiding Don Giovanni and his desire for money. Think of a job you could have where you would be asked to carry out tasks that are against your values. What circumstances would make you keep the job? Educational Programs page 11 of 11