Don Giovanni Synopsis

The Story

Act I
At night, outside the Commendatore’s palace in Seville, Leporello grumbles about his fatiguing duties as servant to Don Giovanni, a dissolute nobleman (“Notte e giorno faticar”). Suddenly the Commendatore’s daughter, Donna Anna, appears, in pursuit of the masked Giovanni, who has entered her chamber and tried to seduce her (“Non sperar, se non m’uccidi). When Anna’s father arrives on the scene in response to her cries, he is killed in a duel by Giovanni, who escapes. Anna, having gone in search of more aid, returns with her fiancé, Don Ottavio; finding her father dead, she insists that Ottavio swear vengeance on the assassin (“Fuggi, crudele”).

At dawn, Giovanni flirts with a traveler outside a tavern. She turns out to be Donna Elvira, a woman he once seduced in Burgos. She is still lamenting her betrayal (“Ah! chi mi dice mai”). At his master’s request, Leporello distracts Elvira by reciting Giovanni’s long catalogue of conquests (“Madamina! Il catalogo è questo”), giving Giovanni time to escape.

Peasants arrive, celebrating the nuptials of their friends Zerlina and Masetto. When Giovanni joins in, he pursues the bride, angering the groom, who is removed by Leporello. Alone with Zerlina, the nobleman suavely persuades her to forget her betrothed and come instead with him to his palace (“Là ci darem la mano”). Elvira interrupts and whisks the girl away. Momentarily thwarted, Giovanni greets Ottavio and the grieving Anna, only to be embarrassed by the persistent Elvira, who denounces him as a seducer. Explaining that Elvira is mad, he leads her off (quartet: “Non ti fidar, o misera!”). Anna, having recognized Giovanni’s voice as that of her attacker, calls on Ottavio to avenge her honor (“Or sai chel'onore”; when she departs, he muses on his devotion (“Dalla sua pace”).

At his palace, Giovanni dresses for the wedding feast he has planned for the peasants, toasting the revelry to come (“Finch'’han dal vino”).

Outside the palace, Zerlina begs the jealous Masetto to forgive her flirtation with the Don (“Batti, batti, o bel Masetto”). The two enter the palace together as a minuet sounds from the ballroom. Elvira, Anna and Ottavio arrive in dominoes and masks (trio: “Protegga il giusto cielo”); Giovanni tells Leporello to invite them to the feast.

Guests crowd the ballroom. While Leporello distracts Masetto, the host dances with Zerlina, drawing her into a nearby chamber. When the girl’s cries for help put him on the spot, Giovanni tries to blame Leporello. Elvira, Anna and Ottavio, however, are not fooled; they unmask and confront Giovanni, who barely escapes Ottavio’s drawn sword.

Act II
Under Elvira’s balcony, Leporello exchanges cloaks with Giovanni to woo the lady in his master’s stead. Leporello leads Elvira off, leaving the Don free to serenade Elvira’s maid (“Deh, vieni alla finestra”). When Masetto passes by with a band of armed peasants bent on punishing Giovanni, the disguised rake gives them false directions, then, tricking Masetto into handing over his weapons, beats him up. Zerlina tenderly consoles her betrothed (“Vedrai, carino”).

Elvira follows the disguised Leporello to the Commendatore’s palace, where they are surprised by Anna, Ottavio, Zerlina and Masetto, who, mistaking servant for master, threaten Leporello. Frightened, Leporello unmasks, feigns to vow revenge on Giovanni, then escapes. When Anna departs, distraught, Ottavio asks the others to comfort his beloved and leaves in search of the culprit (“Il mio tesoro”). Elvira, furious at her second betrayal, voices her rage (“Mi tradì”).

Leporello catches up with his master in a cemetery, where a voice emanating from the statue of the slain Commendatore warns Giovanni of his doom. The Don orders Leporello to invite the statue to dinner. When the terrified servant reluctantly stammers an invitation (“O statua gentilissima”), the statue nods acceptance.

In her home, Anna postpones marriage to Ottavio until her father is avenged (“Non mi dir”).

In his banquet hall, where an orchestra is playing, Giovanni orders Leporello to serve supper. Elvira rushes in, begging the Don, whom she still loves, to reform. Unmoved, he waves her away. As she departs, her screams announce the arrival of the statue. Giovanni bravely greets his guest, which bids him repent (“Don Giovanni, a cenar teco”). When he refuses, flames engulf his palace as he is dragged down to hell. As day breaks over the city, Elvira, Anna, Ottavio, Zerlina, Masetto and Leporello gather to plan their future and state the moral: such is the libertine’s fate (“Questo è il fin di chi fa mal”).

The Background
Librettist da Ponte called Don Giovanni a dramma giocoso (merry play); Mozart himself called it an opera buffa. He wrote the score for a small company in Prague, where Le Nozze di Figaro had made a tremendous hit. When he began the opera, early in 1787, Mozart was preoccupied with thoughts of death. Just recovered from a severe illness, he had lost his father and then his young physician. Also, he was an active Freemason, and his new chamber music was pervaded with mysticism. So Don Giovanni became a comedy with serious characters and a moral.

Don Juan, the irresistible seducer, is an age-old legendary figure. His archetype in Spanish folklore was Don Juan Tenorio y Salazar, who eloped with the daughter of Don Gonzago de Ulloa, killed the father and was murdered himself by avengers.

The premiere was a success in Prague on October 29, 1787. The libertine Casanova, a friend of da Ponte’s, attended the premiere. In Austria and Germany, Don Giovanni met with some resistance, but it was chosen to open the new Hofoper in Vienna in 1867. The Metropolitan Opera premiere took place on November 28, 1883.

© Copyright OPERA NEWS 2009. Reprinted with permission.