978-0393639032 Chapter 35

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b. Leporello: Giovanni’s servant

c. Donna Anna: noblewoman

d. Commendatore: Donna Anna’s father

e. Don Ottavio: Donna Anna’s fiancé

f. Donna Elvira: one of Don Giovanni’s

conquests

g. Zerlina: a peasant girl

h. Masetto: a peasant, fiancé to Zerlina

4. plot summary:

a. Don Giovanni tries to seduce Donna Anna

b. Don Giovanni kills the Commendatore in a

duel

c. Don Ottavio swears to avenge his death

d. Leporello invites graveyard statue of Com–

mendatore to dinner

e. graveyard statue of Commendatore kills Don

Giovanni

II. LG 25: Mozart: Don Giovanni, Excerpts (1787)

A. Act I, scene 5

1. Aria “Ah, chi mi dice mai”: Donna Elvira with

Don Giovanni and Leporello

a. Donna Elvira: spurned by Giovanni

b. two main sections (A– B- A′– B′)

c. short orchestral introduction

d. soprano aria; interjections from Don

Giovanni and Leporello

e. sings of revenge: disjunct melody, sudden

dynamic changes, quick tempo

2. Recitative: Donna Elvira, Don Giovanni,

Leporello

a. accompanied by continuo instrument only

3. Cata log Aria “Madamina, il cata logo è questo”:

Leporello

a. sings of Giovanni’s conquests

b. two main sections: Allegro, Andante

OUTLINE

I. Classical Opera

A. Opera seria: “serious” Italian opera

1. highly formalized genre, rigid conventions

2. inherited from Baroque tradition

3. aristocratic audience, “socially elevated” tradition

4. recitatives and arias display virtuosity of star

singers

5. stories from classical antiquity: kings and

heroes

B. Comic opera: lighter genre, simpler style

1. reflected human emotions more realistically

2. flourished in Eu rope

a. England: ballad (or dialogue) opera

b. Germany: Singspiel

c. France: opèra comique

d. Italy: opera buffa

3. supported by rising merchant class

4. sung in the vernacular

5. Italian opera buffa popu lar throughout Eu rope

a. lively, down- to– earth plots

b. farcical situations, humorous dialogue, popu-

lar tunes

c. ensembles end each act

d. impor tant social force: satirized aristocracy:

messages about social unfairness, rights of

individuals

e. culminated in works of Mozart

C. Mozart’s Don Giovanni

1. ele ments of opera buffa and opera seria

2. libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte; recounts tale of

Don Juan

3. main characters:

a. Don Giovanni: aristocrat, amoral womanizer

CHAPTERfi35 Making It Real: Mozart and Classical Opera

Making It Real: Mozart and Classical Opera | 131

ASSIGNMENT SUGGESTIONS

1. Like Shakespeare, Mozart and his librettist Lorenzo da

Ponte combined serious and comic ele ments to craft

timeless dramatic works (including Don Giovanni) that

are known and loved today around the world. The tradi-

tion of effectively combining the serious with the comic

continues to proliferate in film and tele vi sion today, in

such movies as O Brother, Where Art Thou? and in tele-

vi sion shows like Louie and Arrested Development. Can

you think of other examples of films or tele vi sion shows

that unite the comic and serious in similarly effective

ways? How did the screenwriters, directors, and actors

achieve this? Do you remember the music soundtrack to

your examples? How did the music contribute to or

reflect the comic and serious ele ments of the film?

2. As has been explored throughout Part 4 of the textbook,

form plays a central role in instrumental music of the

Classical era. In listening to Act I, scene 2 of Don

Giovanni, describe what role form plays. Do you recog–

nize any features of the standard Classical forms covered

in earlier chapters? Which ones and where? What about

the standard Baroque vocal music design, the da capo

aria? Do you detect any traces of the da capo design in

Don Giovanni? What is the dramatic effect of Mozart’s

formal choices?

TEACHING CHALLENGES

As noted in the textbook, the story of Don Giovanni will

likely offend some students in your class. Open a discussion

about categorizing the story as irony, satire, or social com-

mentary. Discuss with your class the potentially healthy

social messages (if any) that emerge from Don Giovanni

through such readings.

SUPPLEMENTAL REPERTORY

Hunter, Mary, and James Webster, eds. Opera Buffa in Mozart’s

Vienna. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press,

c. Allegro: duple meter, patter (syllabic text

setting)

d. Andante: lilting triple meter, more lyrical

B. Act I, scene 9

1. Duet “Là ci darem la mano”: Don Giovanni,

Zerlina

a. Don Giovanni’s seduction of Zerlina

b. two main sections repeated and varied

c. elegant tune, graceful duple meter

d. phrases exchanged between singers, closing

duet

OVERVIEW

This chapter focuses on opera in the Classical era, with an

examination of Mozart’s Don Giovanni for its effective com–

bination of opera seria and opera buffa ele ments. The result

is a dramatic masterpiece that tempers the gravity typical of

seria plots with the simpler and more down- to- earth buffa

style.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

1. To understand opera seria and opera buffa as the two

competing styles of opera during the Classical era

2. To understand the second scene from Act I of Don

Giovanni as an example of Mozart’s uncanny ability to

mix the serious with the comic in a powerfully dra–

matic way

3. To understand the function of “Là ci darem la mano” as

a love duet between two characters who aren’t in love

LECTURE SUGGESTIONS

1. Show contrasting scenes from an eighteenth- century

The director has chosen con temporary Barcelona as the

setting of Don Giovanni in this scene inside a bar where

a lot of partying has been taking place. This “serenade”

of Don Giovanni’s is transformed from a romantic

Romeo– and- Juliet– type balcony scene to a sleazier

kind of serenade one might make after a night of drink–

magical realism of the production places the opera within

the context of fantasy, with a look that reminds one of the

films of Tim Burton. This places the story within a world

YOUR TURN TO EXPLORE

Don Giovanni has been produced countless times. Find pro–

ductions of this opera that emphasize a par tic u lar aspect of

the design, characters, or plot. (One example that you might

seek out is a 1990 production by Peter Sellars set in Spanish

a con temporary setting, with many cinematic tropes

familiar in today’s blockbuster films: fast– paced action

and car– chase scenes (with explosions), gun vio lence, and