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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
