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Notes from the Manitoba Opera's Student Performance of Don Giovanni

An opera, like a play, is a dramatic form of theatre that includes scenery, props and costumes.  However, in opera, the actors are trained singers who sing their lines instead of speaking them.  An orchestra accompanies the singers. A conductor coordinates both the singers on stage and the musicians in the pit. Opera consists of many dimensions that are combined to make it a unique whole: the human voice, orchestral music, the visual arts (scenery, costumes and special effects), drama (tragedy or comedy), and occasionally dance. The melding of these elements can make you cry tears of joy or sadness, produce laughter or anger, but most importantly transport you to a magical land of music and song.

Opera originated in Florence, Italy, in the late 1500s, with a small group of men who were members of a Camerata (Italian for society). The intellectuals, poets and musicians of the Camerata decided they wanted words to be a featured aspect of music. They used ancient Greek drama as their inspiration, including the use of a chorus to comment on the action. The Camerata laid down three principles for their new art form:
♦ The text must be understood; the accompaniment must be very simple and should not distract from the words.
♦ The words must be sung with correct and natural declamation, as if they were spoken, and must avoid the rhythms of songs.                                    ♦  The melody must interpret the feeling of the text.

The first significant composer to fully develop the ideas of the Camerata was Jacopo Peri (1561-1633), whose opera Dafne was performed in 1594 and is regarded as the first opera.

Operas are divided into scenes and acts that contain different types of vocal pieces for one or many singers. An aria is a vocal solo that focuses on a character.s emotions rather than actions.

A recitative is sung dialogue or speech that occurs between arias and ensembles.

Composers write the score or the music for the opera. Sometimes the composer will also write the text of the opera, but most often they work with a librettist. The story of the opera is written as a libretto, a text that is easily set to music. In the past, the libretto was also bound and sold to the audience. Today, the audience can easily follow the plot with the use of surtitles. Surtitles are the English translation of the libretto, which are projected onto a screen above the stage.

Many question the difference between an opera and a musical like Les Miserables or Phantom of the Opera. There are many differences. For instance, the musical style is an important difference between the two art forms; opera is usually classical and complex, while musicals feature pop songs and sometimes rock and roll. Also, singers in musicals have microphones hidden in their costumes or wigs to amplify their voices. The voices of opera singers are so strong, no amplification is needed, even in a large venue. Furthermore, operas are almost completely sung, while the use of spoken words are more common to musicals. There are some operas with spoken words and these are called singspiels (German) and opera-comique (French). Examples are Mozart.s The Magic Flute and Bizet.s Carmen, respectively.

All terms in bold are defined in the Glossary.

Characters:

At the age of twelve Mozart had composed his first true opera, La finta semplice (The Pretended Simpleton). The singers refused to perform in a piece conducted by a little boy and there were accusations that the piece was written by his father, not the son. The theatre cancelled the contract and refused to pay Mozart his fee. During his teenage years, Mozart toured most of Europe, visiting Vienna once and Italy three times before returning home to Salzburg in 1774. In 1777, his parents thought it would be best for Mozart to find work elsewhere. Mozart and his mother moved to Munich, and then to Mannheim before settling in Paris. He returned to Salzburg in 1779 after the death of his mother. During this time, Mozart wrote many sonatas, operas, sacred works, symphonies, concertos, serenades and dramatic music. In 1781, the success of the opera seria, Idomeneo, prompted the young composer to take permanent residence in Vienna.

Soon after his next operatic success, Die Entführung aus dem Serail (The Abduction from the Seraglio) in 1782, Mozart married a young woman by the name of Constanze Weber and they lived in Vienna for the rest of their lives. The couple would have six children, only two of whom survived infancy. Soon after, Mozart would meet Lorenzo Da Ponte with whom he would collaborate to create his three greatest operas: Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), Don Giovanni and Così fan tutte.

Mozart was one of the first self-employed musicians in Vienna. A typical day for Mozart during his early years in Vienna would entail arising at six, composing until nine or ten, giving lessons until about one, giving concerts in the evening, and then composing for a few more hours. He would sleep only five or six hours a night. The musical scene in Vienna was intense.  Mozart was in demand as a guest artist and accompanist. The public also continually craved new compositions, thus Mozart was constantly composing. He would often compose a whole piece in his mind before committing it to paper. He would also carry scraps of paper so he could jot down ideas at any time. Although he had a steady income from new works, ticket sales from concerts, royalties from publishers and fees from lessons, he did not know how to manage his money properly. Mozart and his wife spent lavishly. He dressed like nobility, as he felt his image was essential to his success. He also gave generously to his friends and charity. He never saved money and when emergencies occurred like the illness of wife Constanze, he had to borrow money. In 1791, Mozart died from a feverish illness. He had been working on a Requiem Mass that had been commissioned anonymously. Mozart became obsessed with the notion that the mass was for his funeral, but we now know that a Count Walsegg commissioned it. There are a few myths that surround the death of Mozart, some of which are perpetuated by the 1984 film Amadeus. The first myth is that Mozart was poisoned. The film and other sources imply that rival composer Antonio Salieri was involved in his death. This is completely untrue and was denied by Salieri on his deathbed. Recent research suggests that Mozart died of rheumatic fever, an illness he had suffered many times in the past. The second myth surrounding Mozart.s death is that he was buried in a pauper's grave forgotten by the rest of the world. Again, this myth is false. Mozart.s funeral was no different than most Viennese funerals of the time. Emperor Joseph II had issued a series of ordinances to cut down on the spread of disease and on ostentation. All cemeteries within the city limits  were closed and new ones were opened a distance out of town. After the church ceremony the corpse would be carried without ceremony to the cemetery. To speed up the decomposition process no coffins were used. Bodies were placed in linen sacks placed in a grave with others, and covered with lime and earth. To save space no memorial stones were to be placed by the grave, but could be erected by the cemetery wall. This was  the type of funeral that Mozart had.

The librettist is the writer of the text or words in the opera. Lorenzo Da Ponte composed the words for three of Mozart.s operas . The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni, and Così fan tutte.. Born in 1749 in Italy, Da Ponte.s birth name was Emanuele Conegliano but, when his widowed father married a Roman Catholic and converted from Judaism to Catholicism, Da Ponte.s name was changed to that of the Bishop who baptized him, as was the custom of the time. Da Ponte started his varied careers as a priest then, after a few years, became a professor in Rhetoric. This also was a short-lived career, forced to end when Da Ponte was banned for teaching in the Venetian Republic after publishing some versed deemed highly subversive. That combined with his apparently scandalous personal life . He enjoyed gambling and women, caused him to be banished from Venice for 15 years. Da Ponte moved to Vienna in 1782. Fortunately for Da Ponte, the new emperor, Joseph II, preferred traditional Italian opera over the German singspiel (sung play). Da Ponte was named the new court theatre poet where he stayed busy composing librettos, working with the composer Salieri. A falling out with Salieri led Da Ponte to Salieri.s rival, Mozart. His work with Mozart remains among his best known.

Eventually, Da Ponte.s lifestyle caused him to be banished from Vienna, apparently Da Pante was quite a Don Giovanni himself. Shortly after, he married, although technically he was still a priest. Although his financial struggles remained with him throughout his life, it appears that he was a faithful husband and father to their four children.  After living in London during the early years of the 19th century, the Da Ponte family moved to the United States. Unable to live on his work as a poet and scholar, Da Ponte, along with his wife tried various ways to survive, including retail (owning a  grocery store and later a book store), manufacturing (artificial flowers), and running a boarding house.

In 1826, Da Ponte, with assistance from others, brought Italian opera to America, with the premiere of Don Giovanni in New York that May. In 1838, at 89 years of age, Da Ponte died. Ironically, he was buried in the same manner ass the composer to whom he owed his lasting fame: in an unmarked, long forgotten grave.

Events in Act I

Since Don Giovanni is known as a dramma giocosa, the opera contains elements of both, drama and humor, sometimes simultaneously. The "dramma" moments have elements of the traditional opera seria or serious and tragic opera to them and the "giocosa" has elements of the opera buffa or comic opera of the time (late 18th century). Most of the characters fall neatly into one or the other category. Clearly Donna Anna, Don Ottavio, the Commendatore (Donna Anna.s father) and to a good extent, Donna Elvira, fall into the "serious" category, while Leporello and the two peasants, Zerlina and Masetto are in the "buffa" category. That leaves Don Giovanni himself about whom more has been written and said than almost any other operatic character of all time. He generally fits in to whatever is going on at the time, occasionally acting as a serious foil to his servant Leporello.s comic character and at other times playing the comedian as he sings a mock serenade to Donna Elvira.s maid. Except for his flashy but brief "Champaigne Aria" he has no real aria of his own, yet his presence permeates the entire opera, even when he is not physically present on stage at the moment.

Overture.The Overture, in two distinct sections, emphasizes the contrast between serious and comic. The opening music of the overture foretells the climactic scene at the banquet when the statue comes to dinner. Two fortissimo, syncopated chords in the full orchestra, followed by deathly silence introduces the "drama" portion of the opera. This is followed by syncopated melody in the violins with the pulses between the beats to increase the tension. The dynamics are marked crescendo in the ascending scale and piano in the descent. Each measure of these four consecutive scales starts one note higher, thus heightening the tension. All of this and more will return in the climactic scene near the end of the opera when the statue of the Commendatore accepts Don Giovanni.s offer to dine with him. The "drama" portion of the Overture now stated, we come now to the main body of the overture, a bright traditional sonata-allegro form with a "giocoso" feel, which to many represent the character of the impetuous, pleasure- seeking Don.

Opening Scene.Leporello is alone on stage while Don Giovanni is inside the palace trying to seduce the daughter of the Commendatore. In a light, staccato, comic aria Leporello bemoans his lot as servant to the Don. Part of the style of an opera buffa is to have a comic bass sing lots of words in a rapid-fire patter style, often on one note.

Two trios.Donna Anna emerges from the palace in the clutches of Don Giovanni. She and Don Giovanni sing alternate, imitative lines as she tries to save her honor and virtue while he muses over what fury this instills in him. This is clearly a serious moment, yet in the third line to this trio, Leporello is heard mumbling in a patter line how he got stuck in the service of such a libertine.

Donna Anna.s father, the Commendatore comes to her aid and the Don challenges him to a duel. Dramatic, upwardly rushing strings accompany a brief swordfight as the old man is no match for the Don and succumbs to a mortal thrust of his sword. A unique trio for three basses follows. The interweaving of the three bass lines, each one according to his own character.the dying Commendatore in halting phrases, the Don declaring that the old fool got what he deserved and Leporello wanting to get far away from there.is a master stroke in the serious side of the drama.

Donna Anna and Don Ottavio.Don Ottavio is Donna Anna.s fiancé and has come to console her over the tragic death of her father. Their duet, completely in a minor key reflects Donna Anna.s grief and Don Ottavio.s oath of revenge

"Catalog Aria".One of Mozart.s great comic arias is known as the "Catalog Aria." As Don Giovanni has moved on to other adventures and conquest, he encounters an old flame Donna Elvira. Since he ran out on her before, he does not wish to offer any explanations, so he leaves Leporello to explain why he deserted her. Leporello, in his "Catalog Aria," recites a litany of the Don.s previous conquests: 640 in Italy, 231 in England, 100 in France, 91 in Turkey and 1,003 in Spain. Running up and down the scale with rapid-fire precision, he describes the types of women Don Giovanni has seduced.Countesses, Baronesses, Marchionesses and Princesses. As he describes the large ones ("ella grande maestosa" ("the large and tall ones"), Mozart gives him a slow, ascending melodic line culminating in a long held high note, as the orchestra does a slow crescendo over a pedal bass. This leads immediately to a light and delicate "la piccina" ("the tiny one") in a repetitive patter. All in all, this is a tour de force for Leporello and it convinces Donna Elvira to get even with the man who first seduced then abandoned her.

Zerlina, Masetto and the Don.On his next adventure, Don Giovanni encounters an engaged peasant couple, Zerlina and Masetto. The fact that they are engaged does not stop him from using his wily seduction technique on Zerlina. She is naïve and although she is able to resist him at first, she falls for his charm. Their duet at first has separate alternating lines, but when she is caught in his clutches, they sing in perfect harmony . While not exactly comic in character, its lightness and charm fit more into the "giocosa" mold than the "dramma."

Donna Elvira.Having experienced the lying, deceitful Don first hand, Donna Elvira just happens by before the Don can complete his assignation with Zerlina. In a fiery aria of fury, "Ah, fuggi il traditor!" she warns the young girl against her new suitor. This aria is in a serious and dramatic style, almost a throw-back to the earlier Baroque era opera seria with added embellishments and dramatically dotted rhythms in the orchestral accompaniment. One of the ways in which a dramatic run is differentiated from a comic patter is as follows: the dramatic run will be melismatic with many notes on one syllable, while comic patter will have many notes, but each one belonging to a different syllable.

Donna Anna.Or sai chi l.onore" ("You know who tried to take my honor") is an aria of vengeance with an emphasis on the high range of the sopranos tessitura. The opening line features wide intervals and later in the aria, long sustained high A.s and dramatically rising arpeggio lines to the same high A, point out the dramatic and steadfast nature of Anna.s resolve.

"Prayer".Near the end of Act I, Don Giovanni is giving a lavish party. Three uninvited masked guests appear.Donna Anna, Donna Elvira and Don Ottavio. Not recognizing them, Don Giovanni invites them in. After a moment of hesitation, they decide to accept the invitation, but before they enter they offer a prayer for protection and vengeance. A powerfully dramatic moment, it is one of the most sublime utterances of prayer ever set to music. In a slow tempo marked adagio, Anna and Ottavio sing in thirds a cappelal, while Donna Elvira enters one measure later.to the accompaniment of light woodwind chords. Soon an undulating clarinet arpeggio adds support to the underlying harmony. Donna Anna.s voice soars ethereally as she unleashes her full emotions.