The myth of the seducer of women Don Juan (or in this case Don Giovanni) belongs to the world history of literature. This type of man is regarded as the personification of the instinctive libertine who disregards both the social order and divine laws and who ultimately despises the women whom he oppresses countlessly and arbitrarily.
W. A. Mozart’s (1756-1791) ingenious librettist Lorenzo da Ponte was also taken with this demonic figure of the eternal seducer, to whom the composer left the choice of the theme. After the triumphant success of “Le nozze di Figaro”, he was to write a new opera for the usual fee of one hundred ducats at the imperial request. Mozart’s entire creative power flowed into “Don Giovanni” and left the world of opera with music of supernatural beauty, alternating between cheerful opera buffa and great tragedy. They are striking for their rapid changes and sharp contrasts: sweet love arias alternate with dark passages that emanate a sense of death. In addition to the lascivious figure of the protagonist Don Giovanni and the comic figure of his servant Leporello, the two female characters Donna Anna and Donna Elvira symbolize great humanity, while the commander, who finally dissolves the drama, symbolizes the higher forces.
Through the unique fusion of these highly inhomogeneous elements, Mozart’s masterpiece is rightly considered one of the most perfect operas ever. Entertaining side note: Giacomo Casanova, Italian gallant and bon vivant par excellence, attended the premiere in Prague in 1787.