Why Don Giovanni has the most epic finale ever | Analysis & Reaction
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 22 พ.ค. 2024
- A cenar teco m'invitasti AKA the MOST EPIC SCENE in all of (Mozart) opera. I break down and analyze the scene looking at characters, music and the context surrounding Don Giovanni in the time the opera was written.
LOL i forgot to put the reaction time but here are all the sections!
It's been months: 00:00-1:43
Don G or J: 1:44-6:01
So many red flags: 6:02-8:17
Analysis & Reaction!: 8:18-28:37
Crux of Don G: 28:38 - 38:12
🧠 Let me know your thoughts on this incredible scene in the comments, and of course the singers who make it possible - Samuel Ramey, Kurt Moll, & Ferruccio Furlanetto !
Have you seen my video on the Catalogue Aria sing by Leporello?? 👇
• Opera Singer REACTS | ...
If you'd like to watch the full scene check out multiple versions, including the one I've broken down here, I've provided some links:
Samuel Ramey, Kurt Moll, Ferruccio Furlanetto
🎼 • Don Giovanni - Commend...
Rodney Gilfrey, Laszlco Polgàr, Matti Salminen (FULL OPERA)
🎼 • Mozart - Don Giovanni ...
Cesare Siepi, Otto Edelmann, Dezso Ernster (FULL OPERA)
🎼 • Don Giovanni, Furtwän...
_____________________________________________________________
Want to get more OperaAnna content? Please consider sharing this video and donating via Buy Me a Coffee. Because I run OperaAnna in my spare time, I don’t get to upload as much as I would like to. By helping the channel financially, I’ll be able to make more and more content to #operaupyourlife!
👉 Buy me a coffee!
www.buymeacoffee.com/operaanna
I’m now a Sing Pretty Designs ambassador, which means you can get 15% off your entire order with the code: OPERAUP!
Copy and paste this code at the checkout to receive your discount. It helps both Jenny from Sing Pretty Designs and myself out - happy shopping!
👉 Subscribe and follow!
I share daily insights into my life as a singer as well as some informational reels and reactions about my favorite arias/singers. It's really fun over there, we'd love to have you :)
Instagram: @opera.anna
For more singing videos visit my official TH-cam page: Anna Trombetta
Official Mezzo-Soprano Instagram: @anna_opera_trombetta - บันเทิง
![[UNCUT] ฝันรักห้วงนิทรา | EP.3 (1/4)](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/zVXAFD1OLZg/mqdefault.jpg)
Thank you so much for reacting to my upload! Although I don't sing professionally anymore, Il Commendatore was tied for my most performed roles (Sarastro was the other). I'm honored to have gotten to meet all 3 of the singers highlighted in this video over the years. Sam and Ferruccio in San Francisco, and Kurt at La Scala in Milan. I also was inspired by Mozart to join the Freemasons back in 2007. Anyways, I hope you and your followers enjoy the video!
Thank you so much for uploading it!! I can't get enough of this scene 🧡That's amazing you got to meet all of them! 🤯I'm so sad I never got to hear any of them live
This production of Don Giovanni is my all time favorite and have watched it through many times. Perfection in all parts.
My son, who is seven, keeps asking me questions about Don Giovanni and "the statue" as I'm watching this.
I’ve always felt Don Giovanni deserved his fate, I’ve never seen him as a misunderstood free spirit or anything like that, even if the performer is really charismatic or if the production is trying to soften his image. Yes, he’s charming to a point, but the second he encounters serious resistance to getting what he wants, he immediately resorts to violence. To me, the chilling factor that undercuts even a successful seduction is the sense that if the woman resisted (like Donna Anna), he would take what he wanted regardless. Like you said, the fact that his punishment has to be supernatural shows how much power Don G has and how seriously he’s abused the people around him that it takes diabolical intervention to stop him. (I say stop him because there’s no way to really get justice.)
That's a good analysis. I don't think he's meant to be seen as a misunderstood sympathetic figure. However, I'd consider him an anti-villain: partially because of the charisma, but also because of his convictions: he could have repented out of fear of punishment, and he refuses. (Something which differs from Tirso de Molina's Don Juan, by the way. DJ tries to repent at some point, but the statue tells him it's too late). DG might be a cautionary tale about one's own desires and dark side, come to think of it.
Leporello's counter melody is just so gooooooood
Chills every time
Also, this scene is always heightened for me since seeing a lot and reading quite a bit about the traditions of hospitality throughout history. It's almost like the commendatore trying genuinely to Exist by the rules of hospitality. Except this is a warped version of that. Think the Red Wedding from Game of Thrones, and what a breach of etiquette and a rumination of reputation that would have been for Fray. it makes me think of that for some reason. And it was very much the same in myth and Legend in the Fey Realm. And being invited to dinner or a party is always Trixie in such cases, by fairies or devils. Think Faust
@leadingblind1629 Interesting observations. The invitation of the Commendator to dinner reminds me of the myth of Persephone, where eating from the Kingdom of Hades marks you as belonging to it forever. Hades and Persephone are mentioned in the epilogue of DG, in their Roman names. In fact all three collaborations of Mozart and da Ponte are filled with allusions to Pagan (Greco-Roman) myths. As if the true nature of the world we live in is more Pagan than Christian.
@@ludovico6890 the Greek and Roman gods did live under the same rules as the Fey. Hospitality above all.
But Giovanni was screwed from the beginning. He breached all the rules of conduct by the end of the first number. All bets were off but the Commendatore still gave him every opportunity to make it right
Wonderful, you're back! The way you cover the language and meanings as well as the techniques involved in the actual singing helps me get a lot more out of operas I've seen or heard but not fully understood or appreciated. It is also nice to hear something that relies so heavily on the bass voice outside of the Russian musical tradition. I can hardly wait for your patreon to go live.
Wow, thank you!
I love Leporello's reaction (the one said you ''have never understood") He as a valet, it's... a nervous reaction to the guy say "will you come to the pits of hell" and he says an older version of "his schedule is full how about wednesday?" Mozart was able to bring in jokes in the most crazy moments of his operas. I mean, you get it... it's just hilarious. The fact he added that in this scene is amazing
My Roman Empire is Don Giovanni. I've been consumed by this opera for years. As a musician no other opera, symphony or piece has made me feel what Don Giovanni does. Also, as someone who wants to do Theater Design, I'm always thinking about how I'd portray this opera. I truly feel like there's no other work (in literature, film, theatre, etc) that comes close to the excellence that Mozart and da Ponte achieved here. I loved your analysis, subbing in a heartbeat.
I love that! I think it'd be so cool to see what goes into the process of building a concept. (Also I'd love to hear yours ☺️) glad you enjoyed it! ❤️❤️
@@operaanna Yeah it's so interesting! I'd love to focus more on the tragedy aspect with some sprinkled comedy in it. I feel that sometimes modern renditions miss the point portraying everything as humorous and losing the tragedy. Also I can't with minimalistic scenery and costumes, I need the opulence lmao. Have a nice day!!
Aah I love the don giovanni finale, and I'm so glad you reacted to it! :D
Yay! It is so gooood
@@operaanna it's really one of the best pieces by Mozart (apart from many others ;-)))) - but I must admit, though having heard it frequently for over 40 years, especially this very production was one of my favourites, if not the best, as I adore Kurt Moll's voice here.
Your analysis gave me even goose bumps while watching
The production of Don Giovanni you have chosen to analyze is by far still the best production of this opera (kudos to your excellent choice!) Thank you for your insight!
The thing I have not thought of before is that it is written for three bassi possibly because Mozart wanted to show that he could pull it off. There was allways a close connection between Mozarts compositions and the musician: Be it a singer or instrument. In many ways Mozart created the clarinette (Gebrüder Stadtler) Though the clarinettes used were generally tuned a good deal deeper than commonly aknowledged today. We are talking basset clarinet or basset horn.
It was presumeably the tone of the clarinetes low register Mozart was looking for. But that is why Remy flipping down an octave is correct. The clarinetes high and low register has completely different character - something I have been chasing (without knowing it) for the last 50 odd years.
The instrumentation in the woodwind is 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 bassoons - and 2 clarinetes. The problem is that the clarinetes have a hard time playing forte in the low register - the oboe hasn't that problem, as it is an overblown instrument. The way you deal with that is doubling the number of clarinetes. Mozart could do this, because he had about the only two clarinetes of quality at his disposal: Anton and Johann Stadler.
To illustrate what I mean I here refer to Mozarts clarinet concerto (KV622) with Sabine Mayer:
th-cam.com/video/LVgdHjL4a-4/w-d-xo.html
You could look at the "Grand inquisitore" duetto from Verdi's Don Carlo. That one's also a Duett of two (massive) actual low basses, with some of the lowest notes in all of repertoire
Great! You're back again, and with my favourite opera ever! Happy New Year! You just made my new year happier. So thank you.
Thank you!
Saw this in Denver in November. I had chills listening to this when it came up
Yes yes yes yes yes!!!!!!!!! You're back with my favorite part of opera ever! Well ... next to Der Holle Roche
It's my favourite too.
A very informative and entertaining presentation! This is THE opera that I've been wanting to attend IN PERSON for a long time (YEARS!). Too bad that Kurt Moll passed away in 2017, as his voice was exceptional!
Yet another masterpiece - and the aria was gorgeous too. Thank you Anna - you were missed!
Thank you Alan!! ❤️❤️❤️
my favorite opera. Don Giovanni is what brought me to listening to opera. just the overture overwhelmed me
It is really stunning!!
You should check out another bass duet, also very dramatic :)
Grande Inquisitor and Filippo from Verdi’s Don Carlo, especially the recording with Karajan, Ferruccio Furlanetto (our Leporello here) and Matti Salminen.
I remember listening to Ramón Vinay singing the role of Commendatore(La statua) in the finale of Don Giovanni, and I heard it from a clip, in which he hit a B flat(Bb4) when he was singing “Pentiti! Pentiti!!”. Well, I think that definitely add some tenor features to the scene. haha😂👍🏼…A alternative way to express the sense of drama I guess🎉👏🏼😂👍🏼, and it’s very rare.
I believe Leperello’s “Tempo no ha scusatte” line is meant as a comic absurdity. Like the soldier in “Saving Private Ryan” after getting shot says “I just got the wind kicked out of me.”.
I think so, too! I love the absurdity, as you say, of the line, and I think it makes sense that Mozart would have wanted to include a 'funny' moment in such a serious scene.
@@operaanna Agreed. I enjoy your channel. I'm a baritone and composer who also likes to spread the word about this amazing thing called Opera. Best to you!
finalmente, sei ritornata! La tua simpatía ed analisi di opera mancava.
E buon anno nuovo 😎😎
Wonderful analysis ❤
Now, I'm not a psychiatrist, but to me Don Giovanni is the go to example of a psychopat. It is not that he does not know the difference between right and wrong - he just doesn't care - at all.
I've had my share of dealings with personality disorders. And generally when confronted, they run away sprinting with the tail between their legs isn't often seen in dogs; but they do it.
The point being: There is no treatment for psychopati. Just destruction. I have had them cross the street to avoid me. It does not take much - a simple sentence generally suffices. Trust me: They don't want an elaboration. It is like a japanese duel - does not take a minute - the blade kills before it is withdrawn from the (now) carcass.
Don Giovanni has a megalathymic personality, whatever his ‘spirit’ urges him to do at any moment he has to pursue it.
I loved your video! The sociopolitical context you elaborated on just makes me appreciate the opera more, thank you
So much content stuffed into one video, fantastic!
Happy New Year Anna!
So glad you have returned, making the great videos. This music with the "tolling funeral bell" rhythm continuing with the cadence in the voice are truly hair raising and terrifying.
Love this piece of music since I first heard hans Zimmer during the sherlock holmes 2 film
This is such a fantastic rendition of this scene, the Moll low D is absolutely insane and my God Ramey knocks it out of the park. The only other scene in mainstream opera I can think of that’s similar sonically is the bass duet in Don Carlo (the Plishka Hines duet from 1980 is phenomenal and would be a worthy reaction imo!)
You deserve more likes!!!!
So glad you are back, I watched your videos while you were “vacationing” from YT and for a minute I was afraid you had stopped posting. That would have been a net loss for us opera lovers.
Ok, now that I got that out of the way, as the resident Italian-born channel subscriber, I wanted to let everyone know that “A cena teco m’invitasti” (my autocorrect is going crazy) is VERY archaic Italian.
I think no Italian has uttered “teco” in 150 years, at least.
“Teco” means “con te” (with you) in modern Italian. The eagle-eyed may have noticed the compounding of “te” and “con”. So it really means “Tu mi invitasti a cena con te” (You invited me to dinner with you). The archaic (or poetic or both) format is certainly snappier, but again no one speaks like that anymore (without getting taken away by the nice men in white).
Incidentally, Don Giovanni is one of the few operas I watched live in the Rome’s Opera House when I was in middle school. I have very vague memories of it and I wasn’t at an age I could appreciate it.
Confession: most Italians unfamiliar with the libretto of most operas also do not understand a single word, aside from “vincerò” and a few other sung words.
Sopranos (and mezzos, etc.) singing is unintelligible, while tenors do sing the occasional word we understand, usually completely out of context. Baritones and basses are a bit better, but your average Italian attending opera for the first time (or second, third, etc.) is completely lost without subtitles or a deep knowledge of the libretto.
Imagine how a gaggle of middle-schoolers, under the supervision of some poor, underpaid teacher, may react. Not well.
I’ll add Don Giovanni to my list of operas to watch on YT (I now have a collection of complete operas. There is a channel dedicated to operas with subtitles, which is fantastic for the aforementioned reasons). I am a Puccini guy, but I don’t mind the occasional Mozart, here and there.
Thank you and again, I am glad to see you posting again.
Fantastic, as always. Smart, entertaining and knowledge-packed. Love you, Anna.
Thank you so much! ❤️❤️❤️❤️
Brava Anna! This was everything I hoped for and more! Seeing you do this was an absolute joy!
Thanks Roy! Glad you enjoyed it 🥰
Hello! Thanks for another great video!
I've been listening to Hunyadi László thanks to the OperaVision upload even more than before and I got to know more arias from it which I think are worth checking out.
This one is the one I know the best, Gara nádor's aria (or recitative in the reworked version) from Act 2.
These are the lyrics to the original version (the version available on OperaVision has slightly different words and melody but it is based on this):
Örömre fel, Gara!
borús eged derül,
s arany sugárival
remény ragyog körül!
László, magyar király
kedveli Máriád,
és érte kész ma is
od’adni bíborát.
Jól van tehát, király!
vidd el menyasszonyod,
helyette zálogul
enyim kormánybotod!
S e nyomorú féreg, e sehonnai oláh, halálos ellenem fia
meré kérni leányom kezét? hogy letörje családom legszebb
rózsáját? Haha! nem számodra virult az! Királyi
kertbe fogom átültetni, hozzáillő, nemes fajok közé. -
Odaígérém ugyan, de csak azért, hogy bizalmad kicsaljam,
és belássak gaz, álnok szűd legmélyebb rejtekébe,
hogy a legelső nyílt szavadnál torkon ragadjalak, és mint
pártütőt bakónak adjalak.
És te, hályogos szemű, bolond Hunyad,
te hiszed, hogy elnyered leányomat?
Midőn remélt örömnapod virrad,
szűz kebliről pokolba sújtalak!
Örömre fel, Gara! stb.
/
/
Happy days, Gara!
Your gloomy sky is clearing,
and with golden rays
hope shimmers at last.
László, the Hungarian king
loves your Mária,
and in return he is ready
to trade in his royalty.
Good deed indeed, majesty,
take your bride with you,
and leave behind for me
your helm as a token in lieu!
And this miserable worm, this vagrant Walachian, the son of
my arch enemy - how dare he ask for my daughter, tearing
the most gorgeous rose of my kin? She is not blossoming for
you! I will plant her in a royal garden, with noble breeds
where she belongs. - I promised you her hand, only to gain
your confidence and seek the fathom of your wicked heart,
only to grab your throat upon your first sincere word, and give
you over to the hangman for your treachery.
And you, blear‐eyed fool, Hunyadi,
you believe to gain my daughter’s hand?
When your long‐awaited nuptial day arrives,
from her virgin bosom I’ll strike you to hell!
Happy days, Gara!, etc.
| As performed by Gábor Bretz: th-cam.com/video/4FbSviA3qKs/w-d-xo.html
|
Here are 2 sets of lyrics to the reworked version (appearantly this has several versions):
Teljesül hát az álma e telhetetlen szívnek, / Te Hunyadi-sarj, ki nőül kérné a lányomat!
Ó, az emberi gyöngeség, sose téved az, ki erre épít. / Apja emlékét átkozom, s a fiát, mint őt, úgy gyűlölöm!
S van e férfi, aki gyarlóbb e szerelmesnél? / S éppen ő kapná kertem díszét, rózsaszálát!
Szerelem! Szerelem! / Sose hidd, ne reméld,
Törpe lesz tőled az ember. / Esztelen álmodozó!
De győz a bátor, aki, mint jómagam, / Szép rózsaszálam oly kertbe ültetem,
Megmentve hálód, eszközül tekint. / Hol nékem érte dús babér terem.
Leányom szépsége lesz szerveim záloga, / S ha néked ígértem őt,
Két szeme pajzsom, már látom is a percet, / Csakis, hogy a szívedhez oly közel kerüljek,
Mikor László király koronája / Hol nincsenek már titkok, hogy a bűn mélyére lássak.
E szűzi, gyermekded homloka haván fog tündökölni, / Egy apró jelre gyanút fogva, mit se késlekedve,
S Gara nemzetségéé lesz nagy Magyarország. / Magam adjalak majd hóhérkézre téged!
És Hunyadi? / Egy Hunyadi?
Hogy lehetne vőm
e gyűlölt jobbágy-vér?
nagyravágyó népe
véle meg nem fér.
(...) / De el nem tántorít a szenvedély,
(...) /A tervem kész, és vakmerő a terv.
(...) / Nagy tét a trón, s ha ára vér, hát hulljon vér!
(...) / Hunyadi Lászlót én pusztítom el! Én, én!
Szerencsecsillagom hadd égjen egymaga, / Az égen csillagom, hadd gyúljon egymaga,
Ily férfiút kíván e elgyötört haza.
Nem gyönge ifjakat, nem holdkóros királyt,
Már hallom a nép jaját, mely érettem kiált.
Majd munka sarjad ott, hol most a föld kopár / Majd nékem sarjad mind a föld, mi most kopár,
És újra fölvirul a kunyhó és a vár, / És újra tündököl sok büszke hősi vár.
Örömre fel, Gara, még gyújt a régi hév,
Ki néked ellenáll, azt ármány tépi szét!
És diadalt arat a férfi ész és akarat,
Nagy diadalt arat!
/
/
The dream of this insatiable heart is coming true / You descendant of Hunyadi, who would marry my daughter,
Oh, human weakness, nobody who builds on this is ever wrong, / I curse the memory of his father, and his son, like him, I despise!
Is there a man who is more fallible than this lover? / And he would get the ornament of my garden, a rose!
Love! Love! / Never believe it, don't hope for it,
Man becomes a dwarf from you. / Foolish dreamer!
But brave ones like myself, / I will plant my beautiful rose in a garden
Saving your net, think of you as a tool. / Where it brings good fortune for me.
The beauty of my daughter will be the pledge of my plans, / And if I promised her to you,
Her two eyes are my shield, I can already see the moment / It was only to get close to your heart,
When King László's crown / Where there are no more secrets, to dig to the bottom of the crime.
Will shine on her childlike forehead, / To become suspicious because of a tiny sign, without wasting time,
And the great Hungary will belong to Gara's nation. / Give you to the executioner myself!
And Hunyadi? / A Hunyadi?
How could my son-in-law
Be of this hated peasant blood?
His ambitious folk
Are no match for him.
/ But passion does not deter me,
/ My plan is done, and it is a daring one.
/ The throne is a great stake, and if its price is blood, then blood shall shed,
/ It is me who will destroy László Hunyadi! Me, me!
My lucky star shall burn alone, / My star in the sky shall ignite alone,
This tormented country wishes for a man like me.
Not weak youth, not a lunatic king,
I can already hear the nation yelling for me,
Work will sprout where the land is now barren / All the land which is now barren will sprout under me,
And the huts and the castles will bloom again, / And the proud heroic castles will shine again.
It's time for joy, Gara, the old zeal still burns,
Who opposes you will be torn apart by the devil!
And the manly mind and willpower reaps triumph,
Reaps great triumph!
| Sung with the lyrics on the left (couldn't find who sings it): th-cam.com/video/OXyziTO0exU/w-d-xo.html
| Sung with the lyrics on the right by István Berczelly: th-cam.com/video/XM-OO7uI-xo/w-d-xo.html
Thank you Anna for the new video 🙏 I’m super excited to see you again on youtube! Best of luck ✨
Thank you so much!!
Amazing video, thank you.
You're welcome! ❤️❤️ Thank YOU for watching ☺️
Minor note, and I know it’s a little silly. But since you asked, the past tense of ’wreak’ is ‘wrought,’; as in “he wreaks vengeance” and “he wrought vengeance.”
haha i appreciate it!
Not an opera expert, but the only other Bass aria I know of that carries this much emotion is Di Provenza from La Traviata. Very rare!
Hello OperaAnne! Excellent presentation. I'd like to add a codicil. You attribute Don G not taking his "out" because he did not want to surrender his dissolute lifestyle. I think that is only partially true. The other half has to do with the concept of Honor (capital H) in the upper classes of the period. There are many examples, particularly in battle, when men would give up their lives rather than take a course of action that would be considered (by their peers) as being dishonorable. Honor, not lifestyle, is which has captured Don G and backed him into a corner. This conundrum would have been very evident to an upper class audience without having to spell it out - although Mozart does give some clues in the last minutes, when Don G is in the clasp of the one to convey him to his reward. Best regards, Alan
seeing the video without commentary after your analyses is fantastic!!! thank you so much for this. does he deserve his ending? he refuses to repent, and time doesn't seem to wait for us. "Because I could not stop for Death -
He kindly stopped for me -" Emily Dickinson
When people say Mozart is all sunshine and harmony I show them this scene XD
It's probably one of the darkest and most epic things in opera, other than the bass vs bass bossfight with Filippo and the Grand Inquisitor.
And while the final sextet is beautiful, I prefer when the opera ends with G getting dragged to hell, leaving the audience shocked. The sextet lets them recover.
You and me both. What I've heard is that he either needed or felt obligated to add it because everything needed a very explicit moral back in the day
Speaking about Sam Ramey - he's amazing as Mephisto in Mefistofele by Arrigo Boito! He's my favourite opera Devil, simply amazing. This production of Don Giovanni is kinda my favourite is georgeous to look at and listen. The way he "melodically" yelled the last notes instead of singing it (like in other stage productions) is also PERFECT, beacause it sounds like a scream but also a wail, a cry of fear.
This rendition of Don Giovanni is epic. It should be posted complete to enjoy it. Original rights are far enough.
Hi Anna, love the video! Quick OT question: Do you know the maker and name of the nail polish you are wearing? Got my nails done in LA that shade or similar but forgot to ask for the name.
Hi! What a unique question haha. I use a kit from a brand called Olive & June. I don't remember the color exactly but I'll check!
Leporello when he says "DG doesn't have time:, etc. My observations: 1)he's talking in clichés, giving the same excuses a servant like him gives anyone when his master does not want to go somewhere or meet someone. 2)he's in a panic mode. 3)he's still doing his best to help his master. That's loyalty for you.
I didn't think of the first one, but that seems very likely!
@operaanna It's a common trait in Mozart's collaborations with da Ponte: some characters think in clichés, or speak platitudes about love, marriage and being faithful, only to have a more cynical character (Don Giovanni, Don Alfonso, Despina) and reality completely shatter this perception. It's particularly true in Cosi, but it's present in the other two. Don Giovanni may be a scoundrel, he may be corrupt and a corrupter, but he knows a thing or two about women. Leporello may disapprove of his master's behaviour, but he shows a couple of times that he'd do the exact same things if he could (and he does try to seduce some women from time to time).
@@ludovico6890 absolutely! Let's not forget his very willing swapping of places to seduce Elvira, even if it was at the behest of Don G
@@operaanna Yeah, he didn't mean that much convincing to do this deed.
About the question at 22:45, I recall also by Mozart, in Idomeneo as originally written, the love triangle are of three sopranos, but Mozart added the tenor Idomeneo on top of them to avoid the scene sounding like a lesbian threesome I guess.
Ah I love the mezzo-sporano voce! Who's your favorite and why is it Cecilia Bartoli? Have you done a reaction to her? How 'bout it?
Leporello is very childlike I'm this production, crawling into a little bowl out of fear.
Three basses in one scene you asked: Act 2 of Siegfried where Wotan is asking Fafner to give up his gold and Alberich contributes on the side.
I need some Operaanna. My opera maestro.
Leporello is trying to make excuses so that he and the Don can escape.
I can imagine Gottlob Frick even more in this role.
Anna please please do an analysis of Montserrat Caballe's "Orange" 1974 Casta Diva performance!!
Oh girl! Did you just take a swig of Pinot Grigio straight from the bottle? You are my kind of gal.
Hahaha glad someone clocked that. 😂 It's water but it's the most conversation starter bottle I've ever had 🙌
Kurt Moll is SO great as Ochs too, he's hilarious in the role!
Yes omgggg I've been wanting to do that for a while tbh...
@@operaanna The "Ahhh" in the 1984 Karajan production....
How about reacting to "E Lucevan le Stelle" the fateful aria of Mario Cavaradossi in Act 3 of Puccini's Tosca where he is about to be executed in the finale of the opera.
Ciao Anna, congrats for your anaysis of this final of the Don Giovanni. This remembers me Ramey stars Mefistofele in the Boito's Opera .... have you ever heard that? He was fantastic for me
I need to do that one!!!
I think the pivotal moment of Don Giovanni is Leporello singing in a cynical manner: My Little Lady, the catalogue is as follows...
Madamina, il catalogo è questo
Delle belle che amò il padron mio;
un catalogo egli è che ho fatt'io;
Osservate, leggete con me.
Oohh I looked at that one too 🥰 I'll put the link in the description!
Wreak; past participle: wreaked.
Or adjective: wrought.
literally what happened to my brain in that moment hahah
Was there any discussion of Il Commendatore's actual name? I read that his name was Don Pedro, Commander of the Sovereign Order of Malta. Would you have info about who the Commendatore's true name is?
In the original Spanish play attributed to Tirso de Molina his name is Don Gonzalo de Ulloa and he is the Grand Commander (Comendador Mayor) of the Spanish military order of Calatrava.
I’ve always felt Don Giovanni deserved his fate, I’ve never seen him as a misunderstood free spirit or anything like that, even if the performer is really charismatic or if the production is trying to soften his image. Yes, he’s charming to a point, but the second he encounters serious resistance to getting what he wants, he immediately resorts to violence. To me, the chilling factor that undercuts even a successful seduction is the sense that if a woman doesn’t give him what he wants, he’ll take it. Like you said, the fact that his punishment has to be supernatural shows how much power Don G has and how seriously he’s abused the people around him that it takes diabolical intervention to stop him. (I say stop him because there’s no way to really get justice.)
100% when I read that they thought he was misunderstood and looking for the right woman, my jaw dropped. Indeed he resorts to violence whenever someone pushes up against him, including his own servant as I said. I truly don't believe he respects anybody or anything, which is why his fate ended up being what it was.
Lorenzo da Ponte was also a converted Jew (so his father could marry a Christian) and a former Jesuit priest, of all things. And a bit of a Don Giovanni himself. I suspect that's why a lot of the opera has a big "don't do that cool thing" message.
And he emigrated to the United States in 1805 and died in New York in 1838! They should make a movie or a miniseries about his life!
@fruzsimih7214 I've read a novel about him actually, "Meeting Mozart ". But it wasn't very good, more like a fanfic than anything else.
The problem with the Don Giovanni Finale is that it is not the Finale. In typical opera fashion of the time there had to be a following final ensemble with a "and the moral of the story is".
It would have been much stronger if the opera ended without that final ensemble.
Fully and completely agree!!!
You
It's like the line from "The King and I":
Woman must be like flower - with honey for just one man.
Man must be like honeybee - and gather all he can!
Maybe it's because we live a day and age where out of marriage relationships do not have the stigma it once did, and where things such as polyamory and swinging are if not accepted at least tolerated, but I think we see the character of Don Giovanni in a much more positive light. And I think it was there all along in the opera, from the beginning. Like I said a lot of it sounds like "don't do that cool thing". DG's victims and antagonists often come off as powerless virtuous, if not devout hypocrites. Leporello would love to be his master if he could get away with it. Zerlina falls for DG on her wedding day, but she's not entirely innocent. Donna Anna may or may not have been raped, and in the latter's case nothing excuses such action, but she did open her door to who she believed was her fiancé. So I suspect she didn't object to premarital sex. I think the whole opera is a veiled rejection of Christian sexual morality and norm, depicted as easily crushed.
As for Donna Anna, did she? There is nothing about it in the libretto - it could have been as well some seduced/bribed maidservant or duenna who opened the door and showed Don Giovanni the way to her mistress' bedchamber...
@annann3745 In the original play by Tirso de Molina, the Donna Anna character at the beginning (not the "real" Anna, as the Donna Anna of the opera is a composite of many characters) is pretty much happy with Don Juan's advances, until she finds out he's not her fiancé. I thought a long time that Donna Anna in Don Giovanni had been raped, or very nearly raped, now I'm not so certain.
@@ludovico6890 Moreover, the "actual" Anna later in the play, Doña Ana de Ulloa, also appoints a tryst with her cousin, whom Don Juan supplants. But does it mean that it's the same in Mozart/Da Ponte opera? I would rather say that the creators deliberately left it open to various interpretations. Keep your opinion and let me keep mine :).
@annann3745 Obviously it's not the sake in the opera. Both works are very different. But it is interesting at a genetic level, if nothing else. And it does provide some insights about certain elements of the opera. I don't think DG is meant to be a sympathetic figure, let alone a figure of admiration, except maybe when he is sent to hell. But he is an unbound Id in an environment where the Christian sexual norm is powerless at best.
You talk too much