Don Giovanni
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart completed the score for Don Giovanni on the 28th of October 1787, just one night before its world premiere. The opera opened at the Estates Theatre in Prague on the 29th of October 1787 under the direction of the composer himself. This venue had been known as the Comital Nostitz National Theatre when it opened four years earlier. The commission followed a successful trip Mozart took to Prague during January and February of that same year. Local tradition held that the subject matter was chosen because the city had produced two previous operas about Don Juan since 1730. The first of these was La pravità castigata from 1730, while Il convitato di stone appeared in 1776. Lorenzo Da Ponte wrote the libretto based on an earlier work by Giovanni Bertati titled Don Giovanni Tenorio. That Venetian production premiered early in 1787 and featured a murder scene involving the Commendatore right at the start. Da Ponte removed specific references to Seville, leaving only a vague setting described as a city in Spain. The original premiere date was scheduled for the 14th of October 1787 to honor Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria. Delays forced organizers to substitute Le nozze di Figaro instead. When the final version finally arrived, critics reacted with intense enthusiasm. The Prager Oberpostamtzeitung newspaper reported that connoisseurs claimed Prague had never heard anything like it before. Another publication called the work extremely difficult to perform yet praised its execution.
Mozart specified a large orchestra including double woodwinds, two horns, two trumpets, and three trombones. These trombones appear only during the final moments of act two. The score also calls for timpani and basso continuo consisting of harpsichord and violoncello. A mandolin appears in act two when Don Giovanni serenades his intended victim. Two onstage ensembles play separate dance music during the ballroom scene in act one. Each group performs in a different meter while synchronized with the pit orchestra. One ensemble plays a 3/4 minuet while another handles a 2/4 contradanse. A third group performs a fast 3/8 peasant dance accompanying principal characters on stage. During the same act, two interventions by the Commendatore feature a wind chorale. This section includes oboes, clarinets, bassoons, and trombones alongside cellos and basses from the string section. J.B. Kucharz played the mandolin part during the premiere performance. The instrumentation creates unique textures that distinguish this opera from other works of the period. Modern productions often retain these specific orchestral requirements to preserve Mozart's original vision.
Mozart supervised the Vienna premiere which took place on the 7th of May 1788 at the same venue now known as the Estates Theatre. He composed three new pieces specifically for this production to accommodate different singers. Don Ottavio received a new aria titled Il mio tesoro composed on the 24th of April for tenor Francesco Morella. Donna Elvira gained an aria called Mi tradì quell'alma ingrata written on the 30th of April for soprano Caterina Cavalieri. Leporello and Zerlina shared a duet named Per queste tue manine created on the 28th of April. These additions replaced existing material in the Prague version. Mozart also shortened the finale ensemble to make it more incisive. He removed the section where Anna and Ottavio reveal their future plans along with Elvira, Zerlina, Masetto, and Leporello. A different version of the final chorus connects directly to the moral lesson about evildoers. This revised ending rarely appears in modern theaters or recordings today. The final ensemble was generally omitted during the original run in Prague according to Wilhelm Kuhe. That Bohemian memoirist noted the piece appeared only once before disappearing from subsequent performances. The Viennese libretto of 1788 confirms the absence of that concluding group number.
Luigi Bassi sang the title role of Don Giovanni as a baritone during the Prague premiere. Giuseppe Lolli portrayed the Commendatore as a bass while Teresa Saporiti played Donna Anna as a soprano. Antonio Baglioni took the tenor part of Don Ottavio and Katherina Micelli performed Donna Elvira. Felice Ponziani handled the bass role of Leporello and Caterina Bondini sang Zerlina. Giuseppe Lolli returned to play Masetto alongside Luisa Mombelli who led the chorus. Francesco Albertarelli replaced Bassi for the Vienna premiere as Don Giovanni. Francesco Bussani took over the Commendatore role while Aloysia Weber became Donna Anna. Francesco Morella assumed the tenor duties previously held by Baglioni. Caterina Cavalieri replaced Micelli as Donna Elvira and Francesco Benucci took Leporello's place. The same singer often played both Masetto and the Commendatore in early productions due to casting limitations. Modern productions typically assign these roles to different performers unless budget constraints prevent it. The final scene requires rapid costume changes between demon chorus and sextet appearances.
Leporello grumbles about his master while keeping watch outside the Commendatore's house. He dreams of freedom from service as Giovanni attempts to seduce Donna Anna inside. The daughter pursues him through the garden shouting for help during their trio exchange. Giovanni kills the Commendatore with a sword before escaping into the night. Donna Anna returns with her fiancé Don Ottavio to find her father dead in blood. She makes Ottavio swear vengeance against the unknown murderer. Later scenes show Giovanni pursuing Zerlina despite warnings from Leporello. He offers to host a wedding celebration at his palace to remove jealous Masetto. The couple begins their duet Là ci darem la mano until Donna Elvira interrupts them. Three masked guests enter the ballroom including Ottavio, Anna, and Elvira. They unmask after being deceived by Giovanni's tricks involving Leporello. A statue of the Commendatore appears in a graveyard to warn Giovanni that laughter will not last beyond sunrise. The servant reads an inscription promising revenge against the scoundrel who killed him. Giovanni invites the statue to dinner despite Leporello's terror. The stone guest nods affirmatively when invited directly. During the meal, music from other operas plays including pieces by Vicente Martín y Soler and Giuseppe Sarti. Donna Elvira enters begging Giovanni to change his life but he refuses. The statue arrives knocking rhythmically on the door while demons surround Giovanni as death draws near. He collapses under chills after shaking the statue's proffered hand. The final ensemble delivers the moral about evildoers before returning to D major.
Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard wrote a long essay titled Enten , Eller arguing that Don Giovanni stands highest among all classic works. Charles Gounod described Mozart's opera as without blemish or interruption of perfection. George Bernard Shaw parodied the finale scene in his play Man and Superman with explicit mention of the score. Gustave Flaubert called Don Giovanni along with Hamlet and the sea the three finest things God ever made. E.T.A. Hoffmann wrote a short story named Don Juan featuring an aesthetic hero rebelling against society. Peter Shaffer used the opera for a pivotal plot point in his play Amadeus. Antonio Salieri notices how Mozart composed the work while tortured by memories of his father Leopold. The Catalogue Aria provided the name list for pamphlets and brochures in Germanic languages. Modern adaptations continue to explore themes of rebellion and damnation through various artistic lenses.
Franz Liszt created Réminiscences de Don Juan as an operatic fantasy based on the original material. Moritz Moszkowski transcribed the minuet from act one's finale into his own manuscript. Sigismond Thalberg included the same minuet plus Il mio tesoro in his Opus 42 variations. Franz Xaver Wolfgang Mozart wrote piano variations using the theme from O statua gentilissima. Fanny Hünerwadel and János Fusz also produced sets of variations for four hands. Ferruccio Busoni incorporated Vedrai carino into his Klavierübung under Variation study after Mozart. Schumann arranged Vedrai carino originally intended for Album for the Young. Muzio Clementi wrote piano variations on Zerlina's aria Batti batti. Johann Wilhelm Wilms took a duet theme for his set of piano variations. Chopin composed Variations on Là ci darem la mano for piano and orchestra. Beethoven and Danzi both wrote variations on that same theme within their Diabelli Variations. Cipriani Potter created piano variations on Fin ch'han dal vino published in 1816. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky regarded the opera with awe during visits to Pauline Viardot's Paris home. He visited her shrine containing Mozart's original manuscript in June 1886 saying he felt divinity present. The centenary inspired him to write Mozartiana arranging four lesser known works instead of borrowing directly.
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Common questions
When did Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart complete the score for Don Giovanni?
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart completed the score for Don Giovanni on the 28th of October 1787. This completion occurred just one night before its world premiere at the Estates Theatre in Prague.
Where was the world premiere of Don Giovanni performed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart?
The world premiere of Don Giovanni took place at the Estates Theatre in Prague on the 29th of October 1787. The venue had been known as the Comital Nostitz National Theatre when it opened four years earlier and was directed by the composer himself.
Who sang the title role of Don Giovanni during the Prague premiere of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's opera?
Luigi Bassi sang the title role of Don Giovanni as a baritone during the Prague premiere. Giuseppe Lolli portrayed the Commendatore while Teresa Saporiti played Donna Anna and Antonio Baglioni took the tenor part of Don Ottavio.
What specific orchestral instruments does Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart specify for the final moments of act two in Don Giovanni?
Mozart specifies three trombones that appear only during the final moments of act two in Don Giovanni. The score also calls for timpani, basso continuo consisting of harpsichord and violoncello, double woodwinds, two horns, and two trumpets.
When did the Vienna premiere of Don Giovanni take place under the supervision of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart?
The Vienna premiere of Don Giovanni took place on the 7th of May 1788 at the Estates Theatre. Mozart composed three new pieces specifically for this production to accommodate different singers including Francesco Morella and Caterina Cavalieri.