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GIOVANNI AS NOIR: MOZART AND DA PONTE’S MASTERPIECE THROUGH A MODERN LENS A hero we love to hate. A mysterious woman from his past. Murder and seduction. Retribution and revenge. The themes of a great Hollywood noir film – and the essence of Don Giovanni. It’s an opera replete with grey areas, starting with Giovanni’s own moral ambiguity, his love/ hate relationship with Elvira, his shifts between violence, sensuality, and humor, often in the same scene. Mozart and Da Ponte labeled it a “dramma giocoso,” but these days we look at the piece rather differently, given that it begins with attempted rape and murder. We want to indulge in the guilt...

There are few operas that have the extreme number of emotional and physical casualties as Don Giovanni. In under three hours, we witness one murder, two forced and unwanted attentions, three violent transgressions, and four flagrant displays of power structures of great imbalance before coming full circle with a dramatic display of supernatural retribution. Musically, like all of Mozart’s works, this opera is surprising, with an outward simplicity wrapped in deceptive complexity. Listen to his rhythmic structures: while they appear easy, straightforward, they are never, ever predictable. His setting of Da Ponte’s text is at times raw and direct, and at others, filled with double meanings. Look into the ...

Think you know everything about Mozart's masterpiece? Enjoy some tid-bits and fast facts about the infamous Don Giovanni. Don Giovanni is notable for being the first opera to incorporate the trombone in its orchestration. The character of Don Giovanni bears a striking resemblance to the infamous Venetian adventurer Giacomo Casanova, who was living in Prague during the opera’s premiere. Some speculate that Casanova’s notorious lifestyle may have influenced the portrayal of Don Giovanni. The opera was originally scheduled to premiere on October 15, 1787, in Prague but was postponed to October 29 due to Mozart needing more time to perfect the composition. Lorenzo Da Ponte, the librettist for Don Giovanni, was also...

Mozart's masterpiece Don Giovanni, first performed in Prague on October 29, 1787, stands as one of the most remarkable works in the history of Western music. The creation of Don Giovanni came after the tremendous success of Mozart's previous opera, The Marriage of Figaro. The theater impresario in Prague, buoyed by the reception of Figaro, commissioned Mozart for a new opera, leading to the birth of Don Giovanni. The story, with an Italian libretto by Mozart’s Figaro collaborator, Lorenzo Da Ponte, draws upon the legendary figure of Don Juan, the infamous seducer and libertine. But Mozart’s musical genius and Da Ponte’s insightful libretto turned it into something much more comple...