Download What to expect froM Don Giovanni

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W h at t o E x p e c t f r o m D o n G i ova n n i
What is Don Giovanni? Moz art called it an “oper a buffa ,”
a comic opera. His librettist, Lorenzo Da Ponte, preferred “dramma giocoso,”
a playful drama. Don Giovanni certainly is funny, but also deadly serious;
rational, but also supernatural; sensuous but, at the same time, a cautionary
moral tale—in short, it is one of the most complex and fascinating operas in
the repertoire.
The same could be said for its title hero—a character that audiences,
scholars, and artists have discussed for more than two centuries. He is a
nobleman and a rake. He is the voice of a new Age of Reason, but he also
embodies sin. Is he a great lover or a cheap skirt-chaser? Does he embody
liberty or license?
“Don Giovanni has a charismatic lust for life, but he’s not just some serial
seducer; he’s a dark, complex individual,” says Tony Award-winning director
Michael Grandage, who makes his Metropolitan Opera debut with this new
production. “In the portrayal of this central character, we need somebody
who is able to show many layers.” Baritone Mariusz Kwiecien has won international acclaim for his performance of the role and now brings it to the
Met for the first time. He heads an extraordinary cast that also includes
Marina Rebeka, Barbara Frittoli, Mojca Erdmann, Ramón Vargas, Luca
Pisaroni, Štefan Kocán, and Joshua Bloom. The Met’s principal conductor
Fabio Luisi conducts.
Through the activities in this guide, your students will encounter the
many sides of Don Giovanni—both the opera and its protagonist. They will
consider the work within the context of the political and philosophical
excitement of 18th-century Europe, and they’ll examine the words, deeds,
and moral character of its title character. By familiarizing your students
with the themes and music of Don Giovanni, the guide offers an easily accessible introduction to this Mozart masterpiece. No matter whether this is a
young person’s first or tenth opera, the activities contained in the following
pages will enhance the experience of this Met: Live in HD presentation.
The Work
DON GIOVANNI (Don Juan )
Opera in two acts, sung in Italian
Music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
(1756–1791)
Libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte
First performed on October 29, 1787,
at the National Theater (now called
the Estates Theater), Prague
PRODUCTION
Fabio Luisi, Conductor
Michael Grandage, Production
Christopher Oram, Set and Costume
Design
Paule Constable, Lighting Design
Ben Wright, Choreography
STARRING
(in order of appearance)
Luca Pisaroni
Leporello (bass)
Marina Rebeka
Donna Anna (soprano)
Mariusz Kwiecien
Don Giovanni (baritone)
Štefan Kocán
The Commendatore (bass)
Ramón Vargas
Don Ottavio (tenor)
Barbara Frittoli
Donna Elvira (soprano)
Mojca Erdmann
Zerlina (soprano)
Joshua Bloom
Masetto (baritone)
Production a gift of the Richard and Susan
Braddock Family Foundation, and Sarah and
Howard Solomon
KWIECIEN
REBEKA
FRITTOLI VARGAS
Additional funding from Jane and Jerry del
Missier, and Mr. and Mrs. Ezra K. Zilkha
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The guide includes four types of
activities. Reproducible student
resources for the activities are
available at the back of this guide.
CLASSROOM ACTIVITY:
a full-length activity, designed to
support your ongoing curriculum
MUSICAL HIGHLIGHTS:
opportunities to focus on excerpts
from Don Giovanni to enhance
familiarity with the work
PERFORMANCE ACTIVITIES:
to be used during The Met: Live in
HD transmission, calling attention to
specific aspects of this production
POST-SHOW DISCUSSION:
a wrap-up activity, integrating the Live
in HD experience into students’ views
of the performing arts and humanities
A G u i d e t o D o n G i ova n n i
The activities in this guide address several aspects of Don Giovanni:
• The political and moral themes of the work
• Its context as a work of the European Enlightenment
• The rich interplay of Mozart and Da Ponte’s characters
• The production as a unified work of art, involving creative decisions by
the artists of the Metropolitan Opera
The guide is intended to cultivate students’ interest in Don Giovanni whether
or not they have any prior acquaintance with opera. It includes activities for
students with a wide range of musical backgrounds, seeking to encourage
them to think about opera—and the performing arts in general—as a
medium of entertainment and as creative expression.
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The Story
Overture The Overture is in two segments. The first, in a minor key, is a dark
foreshadowing of the scene at the banquet in Act II when the Commendatore (in the
form of a statue) comes to dine with Don Giovanni. The second segment, in a major
key, is a traditional allegro which is bright and cheerful. For a complete description
of the Overture, see Musical Highlight Drama or Comedy? It’s all in the Overture!
on page 31.
Act I Seville, mid-18th century. Leporello, Don Giovanni’s servant, is complaining
about his master as he keeps watch at night outside the palace of the Commendatore,
a nobleman. Suddenly, the Commendatore’s daughter, Donna Anna, comes running
out of the building, struggling with Giovanni, who is wearing a mask. She has found
him hiding in her room but has resisted his approaches and now wants to know
his identify. Alerted by his daughter’s cries, the elderly Commendatore appears.
He challenges the masked stranger to a duel and is killed. Giovanni and Leporello
escape. Anna asks her fiancé, Don Ottavio, to avenge her father’s death.
Mariusz Kwiecien as Don Giovanni
Photo: nick heavican / metropolitan opera
The following morning, Giovanni directs his attentions toward another woman
who is traveling alone. The tables turn, however, when the woman proves to be
looking for him. She is Donna Elvira, who had been seduced and then abandoned
Common Core ELA
College and Career Readiness Anchor
Standards for Reading: Grades 6–12
away, leaving Leporello to distract Elvira. Leporello explains to her that she is neither
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
the first nor the last woman to fall victim to his master and shows her a catalogue
9. Analyze how two or more texts address
similar themes or topics in order to build
knowledge or to compare the approaches
the authors take.
Giovanni and Leporello run into the wedding party of two young peasants,
Responding to Literature
11. Respond to literature by employing
knowledge of literary language, textual
features, and forms to read and
comprehend, reflect upon, and interpret
literary texts from a variety of genres and
a wide spectrum of American and world
cultures.
National Center for
History in the Schools
Historical Thinking Standards
for Grades 5–12
by Giovanni in another city and is deeply unhappy about his betrayal. Giovanni slips
with the names of the 2,064 other women Giovanni has seduced.
Zerlina and Masetto. Giovanni offers to provide a grand feast and tells
Leporello to escort the groom, Masetto, to his palace. Masetto balks at
first, but eventually complies, leaving Giovanni alone to flirt with his bride.
He tells Zerlina that she is destined for a better life and promises to
marry her. Just as he is on the verge of successfully seducing Zerlina,
Elvira appears, denouncing Giovanni and leading Zerlina off to safety.
Giovanni complains about his bad day when Anna and Ottavio
appear. They ask for his help in their mission of revenge, unaware
that the masked man who killed Anna’s father is Giovanni himself.
Elvira returns, continuing her denunciation of Giovanni, who in turn
Standard 1: Chronological Thinking
tries to convince Anna and Ottavio that Elvira is mad. As soon as
E. Interpret data presented in time lines
and create time lines.
Giovanni has left, Anna realizes that his was the voice of the man in
her bedroom—Giovanni is her father’s murderer. She again asks
F. Reconstruct patterns of historical
succession and duration; explain historical
continuity and change.
Ottavio to avenge her, as he wonders how to restore her happi-
Standard 2: Historical Comprehension
but that Zerlina arrived there too, accompanied by the angry
F. Appreciate historical perspectives.
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Victor Maurel was a celebrated
Don Giovanni at the Met in the
19th century.
ness. Leporello tells his master that he took Masetto to his palace,
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VOICE TYPE
Since the early 19th century,
singing voices have usually
been classified in six basic
types, three male and three
female, according to their
range:
SOPRANO
the highest-pitched type
of human voice, normally
possessed only by women and
boys
forward to an evening of dancing and drinking.
Masetto has come to Giovanni’s palace to find Zerlina, who asks his forgiveness
for having fallen for Giovanni’s charms. Masetto hides as Giovanni appears and
resumes his flirtatious talk with Zerlina. When Giovanni spots the groom he scolds
him for leaving his bride alone, then escorts them both back to the party. Elvira,
Anna, and Ottavio arrive wearing masks. Prompted by Giovanni, Leporello invites
them in, unaware of their identity.
In the ballroom, Leporello distracts Masetto as Giovanni yet again attempts
to seduce Zerlina. She cries out. Giovanni tries to pin the seduction on Leporello,
but this time he’s been caught. Elvira, Anna, and Ottavio take off their masks and
MEZZO-SOPRANO
confront him at last.
the female voice whose range
lies between the soprano and
the contralto (Italian “mezzo”
= middle, medium)
Act II Leporello tries to convince his master to abandon his pursuit of women, but
CONTRALTO
Giovanni insists that he needs them more than air or food. Now he has his eye on
Elvira’s servant girl. To accomplish her seduction, he convinces Leporello to switch
the lowest female voice, also
called an alto
clothes with him. Giovanni calls out to Elvira’s window. When she comes down, the
TENOR
Elvira’s maid. His song is interrupted by Masetto, leading a posse to find his bride’s
the highest naturally
occurring voice type in adult
males
seducer. Still pretending to be Leporello, Giovanni sends the men off in various
BARITONE
Costume sketch
for Donna Elvira by
Christopher Oram
Elvira. He says that managed to lock out Elvira and lock in Zerlina. Giovanni looks
disguised Leporello leads her off for a walk, leaving Giovanni free to serenade
directions, then beats up Masetto and hurries off. Zerlina finds her bruised bridegroom and comforts him.
Leporello is still with Elvira, baffling her with his insistence that they stay in the
shadows. He manages to slip away just as Anna and Ottavio appear, but is then
surprised by the arrival of Zerlina and Masetto. All four believe him to be Giovanni
and are ready to punish him, except for Elvira who now, her love restored, defends
him. Fearing for his life, Leporello reveals his true identity, which causes Zerlina to
accuse him of beating up Masetto, while Elvira charges him with deceit and seduction. Leporello manages to escape. Ottavio proclaims his resolve to take revenge on
Giovanni. Elvira is torn between a yearning for retribution and her renewed love for
her seducer.
the male voice lying below
the tenor and above the bass
Giovanni and Leporello find each other hiding in the graveyard. As he laughs over
BASS
statue on the Commendatore’s grave. Unflinching, Giovanni forces the terrified
the lowest male voice
Leporello to invite the statue to his palace for dinner. The statue accepts.
his adventures of the night, a strange voice scolds him. It comes from the marble
Ottavio, anticipating that Giovanni will soon be brought to justice, is satisfied, but
Anna, who is still mourning her father, can’t share his sense of resolution. Ottavio
accuses her of not loving him. Indeed she does, she replies, but he must be patient
until time can heal her wounds.
Giovanni is enjoying dinner at his palace, with Leporello serving and musicians
playing. Elvira enters, in love, not in anger, and makes a last desperate attempt to
convince Giovanni to change his life and make amends. He laughs at her. Exasperated,
she leaves but moments is heard screaming in terror. Giovanni sends Leporello to
investigate. A fearful knocking is heard—the statue has come to dinner. The marble
Commendatore demands that Giovanni repent. He refuses: He will bow to no man,
alive or dead. When the statue extends its hand, Giovanni coolly offers his own and
is dragged down to hell.
Elvira, Anna, Ottavio, Zerlina, Masetto, and Leporello contemplate their future
and the fate of an immoral man.
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w h o ’ s w h o i n d o n g i ova n n i
CHARACTER
New Findings, New Ideas
As a work of the European
Enlightenment, written in the late
18th century, Don Giovanni stands at
the end of a long historical process.
A hundred years earlier, intellectual
thought in Europe was still organized
around the Christian faith. The understandings of nature were rooted in
the descriptions of creation found in
the Bible. Kings, queens—and their
subjects—believed that the royal
right to govern came directly from
God. But by the dawn of the 18th
century—80 years before Mozart
wrote Don Giovanni—new findings
about the world had begun to
weaken confidence in those longheld beliefs.
The seeds of this change were
planted even earlier, during the
explorations of the 16th century.
When Europe’s kings and queens
sent competing expeditions
westward across the oceans, they
were hoping to find speedier routes
to the riches of the Orient, first
discovered by overland expeditions.
Instead, their ships came upon the
Americas—two continents whose
very existence had never been
suspected, let alone that of their
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flora and fauna. Soon plans were laid
to exploit these newfound mineral,
agricultural, and human resources.
Over the course of the 17th century,
Spain, Portugal, Holland, England,
and France all claimed regions in this
New World as colonies.
Around the same time, philosophers like René Descartes in France
and Benedict Spinoza in Holland
were re-examining old perspectives
on the nature of the universe. Their
yardsticks were logic, reason, and a
kind of optimistic doubt, not religious
faith. In England, Francis Bacon
introduced the method of scientific
examination, a new way of finding
the truth based not on scripture, but
on experiment and observation.
Before long, the tools of reason
were being used to examine not
only the natural world, but the social
world as well. Political thinkers like
François-Marie Arouet, known as
Voltaire, in France, Jean-Jacques
Rousseau in Switzerland, and, in
England, Thomas Hobbes, David
Hume, and John Locke, voiced the
possibility that royalty and class
systems were not part of the natural
order. They proposed, contrarily,
that all people come into the world
with “natural” rights—especially a
right to liberty. These rights might
be masked or distorted, reinforced
or weakened, defended or denied
by the rules, structures, and class
systems of society, but they could
not be eliminated. Such views
would lead, by the end of the 18th
century, to a war of independence
in England’s American colonies and
a revolution, deposing the royalty,
in France. By the end of the 18th
century, the British-American writer
Thomas Paine would refer to his era
as “The Age of Reason.”
Today, this historic intellectual
upheaval is more often called the
European Enlightenment. New ideas
were in the air, in penny newspapers
and in the coffee houses frequented
by men like Mozart and Da Ponte.
Churches and monarchs were still
powerful across Europe. But democracy was on the rise. Aristocrats
could be made the butt of Mozart’s
jokes; peasants like Masetto and
Leporello could pronounce his
wisdom; and Don Giovanni could
defy the authority even of a miraculously talking marble statue.
Pronunciation
VOICE TYPE
THE LOWDOWN
Don Giovanni
A nobleman
whose entire life
is built around
seducing women
donn
joe-VAHN-nee
Baritone
Giovanni is notorious as
a seducer but ultimately
goes to hell because he
killed a man.
Leporello
Don Giovanni’s
faithful servant
leh-po-REL-low
Bass
Leporello provides
both comic relief and
commonsense moral
commentary.
Donna Elvira
A noble woman
from another city
DON-nah el-VEE-ra
Soprano
Elvira is both Giovanni’s
nemesis and the
only character in the
opera who really cares
about him.
The
Commendatore
An old nobleman
co-men-da-TOE-ray
Bass
Killed in the opera’s
first scene, the
Commendatore
returns in the finale as
a living statue.
Donna Anna
The
Commendatore’s
daughter, Don
Ottavio’s fiancée,
and an adversary
of Don Giovanni
DON-nah AHN-nah
Soprano
Did Anna refuse
Giovanni’s advances
before the opera
begins, or did she
succumb? Critics have
debated the point
for decades.
Don Ottavio
Donna Anna’s
fiancé
donn
oh-TAH-vee-oh
Tenor
Ottavio is honest,
well-meaning, and
somewhat dull.
Zerlina
A peasant girl,
Masetto’s bride
dzair-LEE-na
Soprano
The naive Zerlina is
the only character
who comes close to
getting caught up in
Giovanni’s web.
Masetto
Zerlina’s fiancé
and later
husband
mah-ZET-toe
Bass
Though Masetto sees
through Giovanni’s
schemes, his low
social status prevents
him from effectively
opposing the nobleman.
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c l a s s r o o m ac t i v i t y
A Lot of “Light” Music: A Close Look at the Influence of the
European Enlightenment on Mozart and Don Giovanni
A comic opera about a serial seducer may seem an unlikely place to look for ideas
that reshaped Western thought and culture over the course of the 18th century—
but such ideas continually surface in Don Giovanni. Mozart and Da Ponte’s titular
The 400-Year-Old Man
Whether it’s Mozart and Da Ponte’s Italian-speaking
Don Giovanni, the original Spaniard Don Juan, or any
of his incarnations in Russian, Latin, German, English,
or French—this character has fascinated audiences
and readers for almost 400 years. Literary historians
believe that the first Don Juan story was published
in Spain around 1630. It’s a play written by Tirso
de Molina, and its title summarizes the plot that
would persist for centuries: El Burlador de Sevilla y
Convidado de Piedra—“The Trickster of Seville and
the Stone Guest.”
Around the same time, a better known Spanish
author, Miguel de Cervantes—creator of Don
Quixote—turned Don Juan into a troubled but honest
bridegroom in a story called “La Gitanilla,” or “The
Little Gypsy Girl.” But the rake was back to his old
tricks in 1643’s Latin version by Paolo Zehentner.
Only a dozen years later, in 1665, the great French
dramatist Molière put Don Juan on stage in Dom
Juan, ou Le Festin de Pierre (“Don Juan, or the Feast
with the Stone”). Molière’s depiction of the character
was considered so blasphemous that the play closed
after only 15 performances. It would not be mounted
again for more than a century.
By that time, Don Juan had made his Italian theatrical debut in Carlo Goldoni’s Don Giovanni Tenorio,
An old engraving of
Don Giovanni and
the statue of the
Commendatore
anti-hero begins the opera by killing a man; he ends it en route to hell. And yet
ossia Il Dissoluto (“Don Juan Tenorio, or the Dissolute
One”), written in 1736, as well as his Viennese ballet
debut in a 1761 piece with music by Christoph Willibald
Gluck. Soon thereafter, he arrived in opera houses
as a direct descendant of Goldoni’s character: Don
Giovanni Tenorio o sia Il Convitato di Pietra (“Don Juan
Tenorio, or the Stone Guest”), with music by Giuseppe
Gazzaniga and words by Giovanni Bertati. Their work
premiered in February 1787, only months before
Mozart’s opera, which used Bertati’s libretto as one of
its primary sources.
Mozart’s Don Giovanni won the hearts of artists
throughout 19th-century Europe. Avowedly inspired by
him, E.T.A. Hoffman brought Don Juan back to short
fiction in an 1813 German version. Lord Byron, the
British Romantic, published the first verses of his epic
Don Juan in 1819, then kept adding to it through the
five remaining years of his life. Byron’s Don Juan was
no seducer, but rather the serial victim of a long line of
lusty women.
Alexander Pushkin, Russia’s national poet, included
Don Juan in a set of short plays entitled “Small
Tragedies,” published in 1830. (Notably, Pushkin’s The
Stone Guest was accompanied by another one-act
called Mozart and Salieri.) A new Spanish Don Juan
Tenorio, by Jose Zorilla, appeared in 1844. Then in
1861, the French poet of lust and sensuality, Charles
Baudelaire, extended the scope of the legend to Don
Juan aux Enfers, or “Don Juan in Hell.”
“Don Juan in Hell” would also be the title—and
subject—of the first 20th-century meditation on
this theme: a lengthy scene in the middle of George
Bernard Shaw’s 1903 play Man and Superman. (Shaw’s
Don Juan provides a touchstone for the post-show
discussion, see page 33). By now the character had
become so deeply ingrained in the universal cultural
consciousness that even fictional people could write
about him: In Gaston Leroux’s 1910 novel The Phantom
of the Opera, the Phantom himself creates an opera
entitled Don Juan Triumphant.
the philosophical principles embodied in, and sometimes parodied by, this opera
caused such different intellectuals as the Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard and
the Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw to lavish praise on both the work and
its protagonist. Kierkegaard believed that Don Giovanni marvelously depicted the
darker sides of human nature. Shaw considered Giovanni himself a powerful life
force, a model for modern men. How might someone as badly behaved as Don
Giovanni merit any praise at all? In this two-session activity, students will
•become acquainted with key ideas of the European Enlightenment
•assess commonalities and differences in Enlightenment thought
•place Mozart, Da Ponte, and the world they knew in the broader context of
Western history
•evaluate the composer and librettist’s intentions in key scenes and statements
In Prepar ation
For this activity, students will need
the reproducible resources available
at the back of this guide. You will also
need to prepare a set of index cards,
each bearing one of the 14 statements
found on the reproducible A Lot of
“Light” Music.
The audio selections for this activity
are available online or on the
accompanying CD.
Curriculum Connections
Social Studies (World history)/
Philosophy (the European
Enlightenment)
Language Arts (Authors’ perspective
on their characters)
found in Don Giovanni
•express personal interpretations of scenes and characters, citing specific evidence
•apply the social thought reflected in Don Giovanni to fictional and current-events
situations
For background on the European Enlightenment, also known as the Age of Reason,
see the sidebar New Findings, New Ideas, on page 6.
STEPS
The title character of Mozart and Da Ponte’s opera can hardly be described as
anything but irresponsible and selfish. But his creators provided numerous indications that they held a more complicated view of their protagonist. He is, at the
very least, an incurable optimist. Though the audience never actually sees him
successful at seduction, he remains cheerfully prepared to try, and try again. He
is fearless, too, especially when confronting the supernaturally animated statue of
the Commendatore in Act II. He may even be honorable at the start of Act I, when
he accepts the living Commendatore’s challenge to duel: Although the result is
interpreted as murder, Don Giovanni may only have been following an old-fashioned
nobleman’s sense of duty.
Learning Objectives
•To become familiar with concepts
developed during the era of the
European Enlightenment that shape
contemporary thinking
•To explore ways in which these
concepts influence the plot and
characters of Don Giovanni
•To practice critical thinking by
interpreting characters’ speech and
behaviors, as well as the intentions
of the creators of these characters
•To assess the complex nature of the
opera’s title character
•To become familiar with the
relationships, ideas, and
controversies embedded in Don
Giovanni
The complexities found in the story of Don Giovanni are largely due to the time
of its creation—an era of great intellectual turmoil that eventually was to lead to the
American and French Revolutions.
In this two-session activity, students will discover ideas that are often taken for
granted in the 21st century, but were brand new in Mozart’s day—ideas that inform
the actions, the personal relationships, and the moral codes of characters in Don
Giovanni.
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Instructional Summary
Session 1
Seeing the World Anew
1Build a timeline placing Mozart, Da
Ponte, and Don Giovanni in the
context of historical events.
2Introduce Mozart as a historical figure,
influenced by the times he lived in.
3Discuss a set of key concepts from the
European Enlightenment and assess
them in terms of the categories
individual liberty and social control.
S e s s i o n 1:
Seeing the World Anew
period is called the Age of Discovery. By the 18th century, these discoveries led to
Step 1: Begin the lesson by providing students with a graphic representation of
a kind of information explosion, the Age of Enlightenment. Scholars began to argue
Mozart’s times. Draw a line on the board and divide it into six equal sections, with a
that through careful observation and the application of reason—and only through
little bit extra at each end, then label it as follows:
this—humans could come to understand the universe. This was the beginning of
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1600
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1700 |
1800 modern science. Enlightenment thinkers took nothing on faith. Immanuel Kant, the
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1900 2000
Have students add the following events to the timeline. Some will be more challenging
to place than others. Students may have to guess at some of these dates. Don’t be
afraid to correct them. This is simply an orienting activity.
•Today (2011)
4Imagine a “hero” embodying such
complicated values.
•Columbus comes to the Americas (1492)
Session 2
Don Giovanni: Villain,
Hero, or Both?
•Isaac Newton discovers gravity (1687)
5Review concepts from Session 1.
•Oxygen is discovered by Joseph Priestley (1774)
•The Pilgrims come to North America (1620)
•Johann Sebastian Bach praises a new musical instrument called the piano (1747)
•Benjamin Franklin proposes the idea that lightning is electricity (1750)
6Assess scenes from Don Giovanni in
terms of individual liberty and social
control.
•The Declaration of Independence is signed (1776)
7Examine Mozart and Da Ponte’s
intentions: What is the message of
Don Giovanni?
•The French Revolution begins (1789)
8Consider contemporary controversies
involving the same central concerns,
including individual liberty and social
control.
were beginning to visit faraway parts of the globe like the Americas and China. This
•Hydrogen is discovered by Antoine Lavoisier (1783)
•The U.S. Constitution is ratified (1788)
•Toussaint L’ouverture sparks a slave rebellion that leads to the free state of Haiti
(1791)
Notice how many of these dates hover close to 1800. The point of this preliminary
exercise is to show students what a busy, productive time the late 18th century
was—a time of new ideas in science and politics, a time when liberty and equality
became an important concept in societies that had long been ruled by absolute
monarchs.
Add one more date to the timeline: 1787. Don Giovanni had its premiere that year
in Prague, in central Europe. Mozart and Da Ponte were living and working in the
middle of the era of the European Enlightenment. The thinking of the times came
as naturally to them as thoughts of protecting the environment or social networking
might come to your students today.
Explain to your students that you’ll return to Mozart and Don Giovanni during
German philosopher, may have expressed these views best when he wrote, “Dare
Common Core ELA
College and Career Readiness
Anchor Standards for Reading:
Grades 6–12
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
9. Analyze how two or more texts address
similar themes or topics in order to build
knowledge or to compare the approaches
the authors take.
to think!”
Responding to Literature
While many Enlightenment thinkers explored the physical world, including the
11. Respond to literature by employing
knowledge of literary language, textual
features, and forms to read and
comprehend, reflect upon, and interpret
literary texts from a variety of genres and
a wide spectrum of American and world
cultures.
fields of chemistry, biology, geography, and astronomy, others focused on relationships in human society. Those are the thinkers who most influenced Mozart and Da
Ponte. The balance of this lesson is designed to help students develop a general
sense of the views these scholars developed with respect to individual rights and
the life of communities. See sidebar New Findings, New Ideas on page 6.
Step 3: In this part of the lesson, students will consider a number of fundamental
statements made in the period of the Enlightenment. Students may be surprised to
learn that it was not until the 18th century that philosophers began to advocate the
notions of civil rights and governance that inspire most people today. They may be
even more surprised that such ideas would be reflected in an opera.
A central idea of the Enlightenment was that social authority comes from the
National Center for
History in the Schools
Historical Thinking Standards
for Grades 5–12
Standard 1: Chronological Thinking
E. Interpret data presented in time lines
and create time lines. F. Reconstruct patterns of historical
succession and duration; explain historical
continuity and change. people being governed. No god or supernatural power chooses human leaders. But
Standard 2: Historical Comprehension
thinkers differed as to the question of “human nature”—notably, whether people
F. Appreciate historical perspectives.
were inherently cooperative and peaceful or selfish and violent. This resulted
in different viewpoints on liberty and authority. Some Enlightenment thinkers
supported individual liberty, no matter what. Some supported such liberty only as
long as one person’s liberty did not infringe on the rights of others. Others, more
worried about people’s selfish tendencies, emphasized the need for authority and
social control.
On the reproducible A Lot of “Light” Music on page 37, you will find 14 statements paraphrased from the writings of Enlightenment thinkers. During the next
exercise, students will consider each of these statements and decide for themselves
which of these two broad concerns the “speaker” is emphasizing—individual liberty
or social control.
the next class session, but for now, you’re going to get to know the ideas that were
floating around Europe the night Don Giovanni had its premiere.
Step 2: Use the events on the timeline to help your students understand the spirit
of the European Enlightenment. In the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries, Europeans
10
11
Prepare a set of cards, each bearing one of the statements on the reproducible A
(You may want to point out to the class that such reasoned debate and democratic
Lot of “Light” Music. (You may want to glue a copy of the reproducible to a piece of
decision-making were important outcomes of Enlightenment thought.)
cardboard, then cut it into cards.)
Record the statement in the appropriate column on the chart. (Feel free to use the
Draw two columns on a chalkboard, whiteboard, or sheet of poster paper, one
short summary found in parentheses after the statement itself. You may also want to
labeled “Individual Liberty,” the other labeled “Social Control.” (You will need this
list the name of the thinker associated with that statement.) Then go on to the next
chart for the next class session, so make sure it won’t be erased overnight.)
group of students. If you like, give students their own copies of the reproducible A
Divide the class into groups of two or three, and give each group one of the 14 cards.
Lot of “Light” Music so they can keep track of the class’s analysis.
Give the groups five to ten minutes to consider their statements and to decide
Note: The point of this exercise is to get students to think about the concepts
themselves whether the statement stresses individual liberty or social control.
of liberty and social control. There are not right or wrong answers about any given
Then, group by group:
thinker’s place on the “individual liberty” or “social control” side of the chart.
Fun Fact: In the dinner
•Each group can present the statement they have considered to the rest of the
class.
•The group should make an argument for placing the statement in the category
they chose.
Step 4: After all 14 statements have been categorized, students can discuss whether
Enlightenment thinkers, all together, were more interested in individual liberty or
social control. What do your students think of this dichotomy? How do these values
•The rest of the class can offer questions and/or comment on the statement.
come into conflict? How do they affect daily life, even today? When might individual
•The entire class should vote on the appropriate category for the statement in
liberty matter more than social control? When should individual liberty be restricted
question: emphasis on individual liberty or emphasis on social control.
to protect the community? For example, students might consider such phenomena as
•traffic laws
•military service
•elections
•waiting in line at the post office
Costume sketch for peasant
girls by Christopher Oram
•use of controlled substances like alcohol or prescription drugs
•websites that oppose government policies
FOLLOW-UP
For homework, students should make up a story in which individual liberty and
social control clash. It can be realistic, science fiction, a superhero story, a romance—
whatever each student likes. But each story should involve a situation that prompts
readers to think about the pros and cons of each of these values. For instance, a
story might involve a skateboarder who rides wildly on the street, inattentive to the
danger he’s creating for pedestrians. Another might present a shopper determined
to get into a store offering big discounts—and trampling other shoppers in the
process. The next class session will begin with a discussion of these stories.
12
Martín y Soler
scene near the end of Act II,
Mozart played a little
joke on his audiences by
incorporating three melodies
from previously written
operas into the music that
the stage band plays for Don
Giovanni’s entertainment.
The first of these is from
Martín y Soler’s opera, Una
Cosa Rara (“A Rare Thing”)
(CD 2, Track 37). Leporello
comments “cosa rara” (“a rare
thing”), acknowledging the
music.
The second of these
melodies is from Giuseppe
Sarti’s opera, Fra i due litiganti
il terzo gode (“While two
dispute the third enjoys”)
(Track 38). Once again,
Leporello casually announces
the name of the opera from
which this tune is taken.
Finally, Mozart borrows
from himself, a famous tune
from his previous opera,
Le Nozze di Figaro (“The
Marriage of Figaro”), with
Leporello commenting, “I’ve
heard this once too often.”
Knowledgeable opera goers
will smile or chuckle as they
hear this melody from Figaro
in this context (Track 39).
13
S e s s i o n 2:
D o n G i ova n n i : V i l l a i n , H e r o, o r B o t h?
For context, you may want to review the synopsis of the opera found on page 3,
Step 1: In the preceding class session, students were introduced to Enlightenment
although it is not necessary that your students be familiar with the plot as they begin
thought—in particular, to the concepts of individual liberty and social control. In this
the activity. These are simply snapshots from a character’s life.
session, students will explore ways Mozart and Da Ponte used to incorporate these
concepts into Don Giovanni.
Go around the room and have students briefly describe the stories they wrote for
homework.
• Who is the protagonist?
• What is the conflict between individual liberty and social control?
• How is it resolved?
• Does the protagonist prove to be a hero?
Step 2: The problem students grappled with in their writing assignment is precisely
the problem that critics have long grappled with over Don Giovanni: For better or
worse, the character who gives the opera its name is in constant conflict with the
values of his society. Did Mozart and Da Ponte consider Don Giovanni to be a hero,
a villain, or something in between? The answer rests on the concepts of individual
liberty and social control discussed in the previous session.
Review the chart made in the previous session in order to remind students of
Step 3: The core of this session is a discussion of six scenes from Don Giovanni.
Scene A presents the opening of the opera. Giovanni, fresh from an attempt to
seduce Donna Anna, kills her father in a duel.
Scenes B and C take place at the wedding of Zerlina and Masetto. Giovanni tries to
get Masetto out of the way in order to seduce his bride.
Scene D takes place near the end of Act I. This is the only point in the opera at which
Mozart and Da Ponte specifically refer to the subject of liberty.
Scene E, near the beginning of Act II, finds Leporello, Don Giovanni’s servant, and
Giovanni discussing the latter’s attitude toward women.
Scene F, at the end of the opera, includes the argument between Giovanni and the
statue of the Commendatore, directly preceding Giovanni’s descent into hell.
Discussion guides for each scene follow. Texts and translations for the audio clips
discussed can be found on the reproducibles A Lot of “Light” Music on pages 38–46.
Students should read along in the libretto excerpts as they listen to each scene.
Then, after discussing each scene, students will be asked to rate the relative influence of individual liberty and social control ideas in Don Giovanni. They will record
their assessments on the reproducible Which Side Are They On?
Enlightenment thinking on liberty and social control. These will again be the two
Discussing Scene A
central themes of the class session. In this session, however, students will try to
The Opera: Music and Libretto
figure out where Mozart and Da Ponte stood on these critical conflicting values:
Track 1 begins with a scream, but the high-energy music that follows doesn’t
Is Don Giovanni, the opera, a lesson in the necessity of social control, as
indicate fear or danger. In fact, the libretto specifies that the woman who was heard
suggested by Hobbes in statement #14 (Pleasure and pain) and Voltaire in state-
screaming has the situation well under control. She has a tight grip on a masked
ment #6 (Necessary inequality)?
man’s arm, singing, “Don’t hope that if you don’t kill me, I will let you escape.”
Or is Don Giovanni, the character, a paragon of individual liberty in spite of what,
Students may want to guess what’s going on here before you play the next
to all other characters (and perhaps to your students too), seem like antisocial
excerpt: In Track 2, failing to break loose, the man replies, “Crazy woman! You cry
behavior and deep moral flaws?
out in vain! You’re not going to find out who I am!”
This adds a bit more information, but not much. The tones of their voices and their
parallel melodies suggest that this woman and man are social equals. This can be
heard even more clearly in Track 3, where, in harmonic lines, they yell at one another
and call one another names.
The characters are Donna Anna and Don Giovanni. She is obviously angry at him,
though we don’t know yet exactly why. Still, even in her fury, their exchange has a
quality of romantic banter.
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That changes a few seconds later. In Track 4, the music played by the cellos intro-
Both Donna Anna and Don Giovanni seem capable of taking care of themselves, in
duces the first sounds of genuine tension into the scene. Then, in Track 5, a new
the spirit of arguments for individual liberty such as
voice is heard. This is Donna Anna’s elderly father, the Commendatore. He has heard
#3 (Locke: The drive to be independent)
her scream and has come running to her aid. He challenges the masked man to a
#4 (Locke: Natural liberty)
duel.
Don Giovanni’s tone changes in Track 6. He does not want to fight an old man.
But the Commendatore insists. As they argue, a third male voice is heard, Giovanni’s
manservant Leporello, who foresees trouble (“I just want to get out of here!”). In
Track 7, a beat of silence focuses all attention on Don Giovanni. With both resignation and condescension, he agrees to duel the Commendatore: “Wretch! Wait just a
moment if you want to die.”
The instrumental stretch that follows provides a musical description of the
duel. The outcome is clear from the climax in Track 7, but any doubt disappears
in the music heard in Track 8, where Mozart and Da Ponte weave together the
old Commendatore’s last words, Don Giovanni’s thoughts on his fatal blow, and
Leporello’s commentary on the whole affair.
This entire scene can be heard continuously in Track 9.
Enlightenment Influences
The opera begins with fast-paced moral drama. Some students may resist the
challenge to interpret this brief episode through the lens of Enlightenment thought,
but point out that Mozart’s acquaintance with Enlightenment thinkers and proposals
is well documented. (Interested students may enjoy the reading resources suggested
at the end of the activity.) If, in that spirit, you wanted to interpret the scene as
influenced by the Enlightenment, what might you find? What do the characters’
actions convey? What message can be drawn from Mozart’s music, where energetic,
bantering strings open the scene only to be supplanted by mournful woodwinds?
Point out key elements and ask students to consider which of the statements on
the reproducible A Lot of “Light” Music might apply:
The Commendatore rises to his duty, representing social control, in the spirit of
#9 (Locke: Punish when needed)
Which Side Are They On?
On the reproducible Which Side Are They On?, each student should rate the influence of each of the Enlightenment values, individual liberty and social control, on
Mozart and Da Ponte, based on the evidence in this scene. They should also note
Costume sketch for
Don Giovanni by
Christopher Oram
which Enlightenment statements apply to this scene. This part of the activity should
be repeated after analyzing each scene.
Discussing Scene B
The Opera: Music and Libretto
The next scene brings Don Giovanni and Leporello into a different social setting,
the wedding of a peasant couple. His eye on the lovely Zerlina, Don Giovanni has
directed his manservant to escort the groom, Masetto, to his palace, ostensibly to
celebrate the wedding. Track 10 begins with Masetto’s objection. He doesn’t want
to leave his bride alone. Leporello and his master both assure him that Zerlina is safe
in the hands of a nobleman like Don Giovanni.
In Track 11, the issue of social class is introduced: Zerlina assures Masetto that a
nobleman can do her no harm. Masetto remains suspicious, but Don Giovanni cuts
their conversation short. In Track 12, he turns on the peasant with a soft, but steely
“Watch out!” Students should pay particular attention to the sarcastic, ironic words
of Track 13, in which the defeated Masetto comments on the imbalance in his and
Giovanni’s social status, then attacks his fiancée Zerlina.
Don Giovanni has done something that angers Donna Anna. This is the subject of
several statements supporting the concept of social control:
#8 (Locke: Do no harm)
#9 (Locke: Punish when needed)
#10 (Rousseau: Agree to be moral)
#11 (Rousseau: Zero tolerance)
Whatever Don Giovanni’s offense might have been, it seems to have been the kind
of self-centered act that some Enlightenment thinkers saw as natural and unavoidable, in the spirit of
#5 (Voltaire: The drive to control)
16
17
Enlightenment Influences
Key points in this scene, and Enlightenment viewpoints which may apply to them,
Don Giovanni, relentless, promises to marry her in the music heard in Track 18.
include:
The seduction plays out musically in Tracks 19 to 22, the duet “Là ci darem la
Don Giovanni’s unapologetic claim on Zerlina. This certainly embodies a hardheaded position like Voltaire’s in
#5 (The drive to control)
together with the universal right declared by John Locke in
#4 (Natural liberty)
mano” (“Let us put our hands together”). As the duet begins, Giovanni and Zerlina’s
lines alternate, expressing their thoughts in delicate, decorous four-line verses
(Track 19). Their conversation becomes a bit more intimate in Track 20, where they
alternate in shorter, one-line bursts. Zerlina at first insists upon her betrothal to
Masetto. Giovanni explicitly promises to improve her fortunes. Zerlina is tempted,
as depicted by the repetition of her wish that she were made of stronger stuff.
Giovanni’s confidence and success, grounded in social status, seem to support
As Track 21 begins, Zerlina repeats that wish a third time. Now Mozart and Da
Voltaire’s view in
Ponte present an intricate play of emotion. Sensing her weakness, Giovanni jumps
#6 (Necessary inequality)
in without pause, passionately calling upon her to come away with him. Then
On the other hand, Rousseau might have argued that Don Giovanni is betraying the
he catches himself, and his tone shifts from an insistent plea back to the gentler
unspoken commitment of
opening tactic of “Là ci darem la mano”—only this time Zerlina responds after one
#10 (Agree to be moral)
line, not four. Her resolve is wobbling. First, they alternate lines within the verse.
The American and French Revolutions put Enlightenment principles of social equality
into practice, overturning class relationships that had long organized European
Cesare Siepi was a memorable
Don Giovanni of the 1950s and 60s.
Giovanni’s status as nobleman may not be the guarantee of virtue he has claimed.
society. In the encounter of Don Giovanni, Masetto, and Zerlina, Mozart and Da
Ponte play on those relationships. Masetto’s protest, then his defeated sarcasm,
support the Enlightenment values of
#2 (Locke: Equal at birth)
#3 (Locke: The drive to be independent)
Then they repeat the one-line assertions of Track 20, only now overlapping, without
pause, until Zerlina again sings three times, plaintively, “I’m not strong enough!”
With Track 22, Giovanni moves to close the deal: “Let’s go!” Zerlina, as if hypnotized, agrees, “Let’s go!” They continue to sing, now in harmony, of their “innocent
love.”
The seduction would seem a success—until we reach the music heard in Track 23.
Out of nowhere, the scorned Donna Elvira appears, denouncing Giovanni. Zerlina is
mystified, Elvira will prove to be her guardian angel, and Giovanni is caught between
Of course both Don Giovanni and Masetto—and perhaps Zerlina as well—also
them. In Track 24, he tries to salvage the situation, then turns on Elvira for spoiling
represent the observation of Hobbes in
his fun. She, having been in Zerlina’s shoes, is not deterred.
#13 (Pleasure and pain)
Enlightenment Influences
Scene B can be heard, continuous with Scene C, in Track 25.
Key points in this scene, and Enlightenment concepts which may apply to them,
include:
Which side are they on?
Don Giovanni’s personality—manipulative in seduction, fierce when caught out by
DISCUSSING Scene C
Elvira:
The Opera: Music and Libretto
#4 (Locke: Natural liberty)
Moments later, the audience can assess Don Giovanni’s true intentions. As he sings
#5 (Voltaire: The drive to control)
in Track 14, he is at last alone with Zerlina, free of that “idiot.” That idiot, replies
#10 (Rousseau: Agree to be moral)
the naïve Zerlina, “is my fiancé!” In Track 15, we finally see Don Giovanni in action
#12 (Hobbes: Death and power)
as a seducer. He lays it on thick, praising Zerlina and insulting Masetto, laying the
#13 (Hobbes: Pleasure and pain)
groundwork to convince her, in Track 16, to betray her nuptial vows.
Zerlina is more savvy than she might have seemed in Scene B: In Track 17, she
makes clear that she is concerned not only about betraying Masetto, but also that
18
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Elvira’s personality—her fury at Don Giovanni’s behavior past and present, her
Enlightenment Influences
sense of responsibility toward Zerlina:
Key points in this scene, and Enlightenment viewpoints which may apply to them,
#1 (Smith: Self-interest)
include:
#7 (Hume: No judgment)
Don Giovanni’s reference to liberty
#8 (Locke: Do no harm)
#1 (Smith: Self-interest)
#9 (Locke: Punish when needed)
#4 (Locke: Natural liberty)
#10 (Rousseau: Agree to be moral)
#11 (Rousseau: Zero tolerance)
Zerlina’s capitulation to Giovanni’s seduction:
#1 (Smith: Self-interest)
#4 (Locke: Natural liberty)
#5 (Voltaire: The drive to control)
#6 (Voltaire: Necessary inequality)
Elvira, Anna, and Ottavio’s reference to generosity
#10 (Rousseau: Agree to be moral)
Don Giovanni’s welcome of masked guests
#2 (Locke: Equal at birth)
#7 (Hume: No judgment)
Which side are they on?
#13 (Hobbes: Pleasure and pain)
#14 (Hobbes: Defense from selfishness)
Scenes B and C can be heard continuously in Track 25.
Which side are they on?
Discussing Scene D
The Opera: Music and Libretto
Halfway through Don Giovanni, Mozart and Da Ponte reprise a bit of stagecraft that
seemed incidental in the opera’s opening scene. The beginning of Act I found Don
Christopher Oram’s set model for Act II, Scene 4
Photo: Alison Cherry / Metropolitan Opera
Giovanni, masked, in the home of Donna Anna. As Act I approaches its climax, his
adversaries —Anna, her fiancé Don Ottavio, and Donna Elvira—arrive at Giovanni’s
own home, wearing masks themselves. Track 26, the quintet they share with Giovanni
and Leporello, highlights the philosophical differences these characters represent.
The track begins with Leporello welcoming the guests. He pointedly identifies
them as masked. Here Mozart and Da Ponte provide a sharp contrast to the opening
scene, in which Giovanni’s mask upset Donna Anna enough to prompt him to say, in
Track 2, “You’re not going to find out who I am.” Here, in Track 26, Giovanni does not
ask that the masked guests reveal themselves. He declares that his home is open to
all, framing this welcome in terms of individual liberty: “Viva la libertà!”
Anna, Ottavio, and Elvira, on the other hand, reply in terms of social convention. In
Track 27, they thank Giovanni for his generosity—in the view of the Enlightenment,
a socially cultivated interpersonal attitude, not a “natural” right like liberty. In other
words, despite the cordiality of their words and the dainty grace of their song, the
adversaries’ response indicates a worldview different from Giovanni’s. The two
sides oppose each other in harmony through Track 28.
Scene D can be heard continuously in Track 29.
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21
Discussing Scene E
atmosphere. The rhythm is the same as the opening of the Overture, but instead
The Opera: Music and Libretto
of minor chords, here they are diminished, creating a more terrifying result (see
As this scene begins, in Track 30, Don Giovanni asks Leporello to perform an as yet
Musical Highlight Drama or Comedy? It’s all in the Overture! on page 31). After four
unspecified service. Leporello, aware of the trouble Don Giovanni has caused him,
measures, the Commendatore, in stentorian tones calls out, “Don Giovanni! You
asks his master to stop chasing women. Giovanni responds, as might be expected,
invited me to supper, and here I am.” It is one of the most chilling effects in all of
in Track 31: “Leave women alone? Are you crazy?” Then, in Track 32, he explains
opera, as everyone shudders except Don Giovanni himself (Track 34).
why—in language that’s surprisingly serious, coming from such a devil-may-care
character. Not only does Giovanni call women as necessary to him as food or air, but
he justifies his ceaseless pursuit both ethically—were he monogamous, he would
be denying his love to many other deserving women—and, in Enlightenment terms,
scientifically: Women don’t understand his incalculable capacity to love. Leporello,
sarcastic and true to social convention, responds that he has never met anyone with
Mozart deploys the full power of the orchestra in Track 35, percussive and
so vast and kind a nature.
ominous. “Repent!” intones the statue. “Change your life! It’s your last chance!”
Scene E can be heard continuously in Track 33.
But Don Giovanni responds in Track 36 with equal gravity. He is as passionate
here as he has been carefree until now: He will not repent. He will not renounce the
Enlightenment Influences
life he has led. And so he insists, arguing with the statue throughout Track 37, until,
Key points in this scene, and Enlightenment viewpoints which may apply to them,
in Track 38, the statue drags Giovanni down to hell.
include:
Don Giovanni’s philosophy of love
#1 (Smith: Self-interest)
#6 (Voltaire: Necessary inequality)
#7 (Hume: No judgment)
#13 (Hobbes: Pleasure and pain)
The scene also parodies the Enlightenment’s interest in science and mathematics.
See the Musical Highlight Count the Ways, on page 26.
Scene F can be heard continuously in Track 39.
Enlightenment Influences
Key points in this scene, and Enlightenment viewpoints which may apply to them,
include:
The statue’s demands that Don Giovanni repent
#8 (Locke: Do no harm)
#9 (Locke: Punish when needed)
Leporello’s sarcastic response
#10 (Rousseau: Agree to be moral)
#8 (Locke: Do no harm)
#11 (Rousseau: Zero tolerance)
#10 (Rousseau: Agree to be moral)
#12 (Hobbes: Death and power)
#14 (Hobbes: Defense from selfishness)
#14 (Hobbes: Defense from selfishness)
Which side are they on?
Don Giovanni’s refusal to back off
#1 (Smith: Self-interest)
Discussing Scene F
#3 (Locke: The drive to be independent)
The Opera: Music and Libretto
#4 (Locke: Natural liberty)
Don Giovanni meets his fate in the final scene of the opera. He is hosting another
#6 (Voltaire: Necessary inequality)
one of his lavish banquets, when at the height of the festivities a knock is heard
#7 (Hume: No judgment)
at the door. The marble statue of the man he killed at the start of Act I arrives at
Giovanni’s home to offer him one last chance to apologize for his actions.
Suddenly there is a crash of thunder and powerful chords peal out. Three
trombones have a sinister effect and a roll in the timpani adds to the eerie
22
23
Don Giovanni’s punishment
FOLLOW-UP:
#9 (Locke: Punish when needed)
For homework or in class, students should write a persuasive essay on the question
#10 (Rousseau: Agree to be moral)
“Is Don Giovanni a hero or a villain?” Essays should cite evidence from the opera,
#11 (Rousseau: Zero tolerance)
based on students’ notes from class discussions of Enlightenment philosophy and
#12 (Hobbes: Death and power)
the scenes from Don Giovanni. Students may choose to mention their interpreta-
Which side are they on?
tions of Mozart and Da Ponte’s views of their protagonist, but they should feel free
to state their own opinions of Don Giovanni and his victims or adversaries.
Step 4: Depending on the quality of the discussions in your classroom up to this
point, you may want to conduct a summary discussion reviewing
•the concepts of individual liberty and social control
•the importance of these concepts in societies moving from monarchy and the
“divine right of kings” toward democracy
•your students’ interpretations of Mozart and Da Ponte’s views of these principles
SUGGESTED READING
Students interested in reading about Mozart and the Enlightenment can find
an essay on that topic by R.N. Lebow, a professor at Dartmouth University, at
www.dartmouth.edu. The opera director Nicholas Till has written an entire volume
on the subject, available at most booksellers: Mozart and the Enlightenment (New
York: Norton, 1996).
Did they believe in radical individual liberty? Did they believe social control
Students interested in general reading about the European Enlightenment may
was necessary to deter and punish bad behavior?
find the works of Enlightenment philosophers to be tough going, but places to start
Did they believe there might be a reasonable compromise between individual
liberty and social control?
include an anthology published by Cambridge University Press, The Enlightenment
(Cambridge Readings in the History of Political Thought) or Fordham University’s
primary-sources website at www.fordham.edu.
This discussion, together with your students’ notes on the reproducible Which Side
The historian Peter Gay has written a comprehensive two-volume intellectual
Are They On? will provide a basis for the follow-up assignment.
history, The Enlightenment, introducing readers to the ideas and debates that
characterized the period. An intriguing set of podcasts published by the BBC
interprets the Enlightenment in terms of five physical objects (www.bbc.co.uk),
while the website of the British Museum in London offers a virtual visit to the
museum’s Enlightenment Gallery at www.britishmuseum.org. Finally, an online
course on the Enlightenment, featuring texts, pictures, and videos, can be found at
openlearn.open.ac.uk.
24
25
|
Musical Highlight
Count the Ways: A Close Look at
the “Catalog” Aria from Act I
Musical Highlights are
brief opportunities to
Don Giovanni has a strong reputation as an incorrigible ladies’ man. It is worth
Having rattled off these numbers, Leporello takes a breath, then slows down to
noting that audiences have little to rely on but this reputation, for at no point in
deliver a kind of scholarly talk on Don Giovanni’s findings on how women differ
•help students make sense of opera
Mozart’s opera does Giovanni successfully complete a seduction. He’s seen after
from group to group: gentle blondes, dependable brunettes, sweet white-haired
•whet their interest in upcoming Live
in HD transmissions
the fact, he’s seen caught by Donna Anna, and he’s seen sweet-talking Zerlina and
women; and the sorts of women Giovanni prefers, season by season. His melody
Donna Elvira. But most of what opera-goers know about Giovanni’s track record
rises dramatically as he describes “majestic” large women, then tip-toes along as his
Each focuses on audio selections
from Don Giovanni available online
at metopera.org/education or
the accompanying CD. Texts and
translations are available in the back of
this guide.
These “mini lessons” will in practice
take up no more than a few minutes
of class time. They’re designed to help
you bring opera into your classroom
while minimizing interruption of your
ongoing curriculum. Feel free to use as
many as you like.
comes from this aria, sung by Leporello early in Act I.
topic turns to the charms of “little ones” (CD 2, Track 5).
The Catalog Aria does more than establish Don Giovanni’s amorous bona fides.
Leporello ends with a philanthropic justification of his master’s exploits. In CD 2,
Leporello also hopes to assuage Donna Elvira’s pain by assuring her that his master
Track 6, with placid dignity, he explains how Giovanni engages women young and
meant nothing personal by abandoning her—that’s just the way he is. Some critics
old, poor and rich, ugly and beautiful alike. As long as they wear skirts, Leporello
believe that Mozart and Da Ponte, with the careful counts and categorizations
says, they capture the nobleman’s interest. In Track 7, in the spirit of “quod erat
displayed verbally in the aria, poke fun at the Enlightenment’s dependence on
demonstrandum,” Leporello seems to believe he’s made his case, declaring gravely,
detailed observation and demonstrable fact, as if even passion could be quantified
over and over, “So you see what he does… as long as they wear skirts…”
and sorted out.
If he expects this disquisition to appease Donna Elvira, CD 2, Track 8 sets him
As Leporello begins, in CD 2, Track 1, it’s immediately clear that this is not an aria
straight. Undeterred, she sings, “So that’s the way the scoundrel betrayed me?
in which a character talks to himself, expressing inner feelings. This piece is all about
That’s the prize with which that barbarian returns my love?”
explaining the man Don Giovanni to Donna Elvira. “Look,” Leporello sings, “read
The entire Catalog Aria can be heard on CD 2, Track 9.
along with me.” The number themselves appear in Track 2: 640 women seduced by
If you have time, your students might be interested in looking beyond the Catalog
Giovanni in Italy, 231 in Germany, 100 in France, 91 in Turkey, and 1,003 in Spain—a
Aria to consider the idea of statistics: how they are used nowadays, for instance in
figure Leporello repeats twice to impress it upon Elvira, herself Spanish. Having
politics or advertising, to convince people to change their minds.
provided a count by nationality, Leporello proceeds, in Track 3, to sort his master’s
conquests by social status, by body type, and by age, then repeats the whole set of
statistics (Track 4).
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Musical Highlight
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Musical Highlight
Another View of Love: A Close Look at
Donna Anna’s Aria from Act II
Last Words:
A Close Look at Don Giovanni’s Final Sextet
Through most of Don Giovanni, Mozart and Da Ponte offer a lighthearted view of
Throughout Don Giovanni, the title character is on stage almost continuously, until
love. Giovanni’s unsuccessful attempts at conquest are depicted in a Romantic, and
his descent into hell. The final ensemble that follows Giovanni’s death and brings
sometimes comical, fashion. Elvira’s fury dissolves into renewed devotion in the
the opera to a close balances its dramatic and humorous aspects one last time. This
wake of Giovanni’s sweet talk. The unlucky Masetto provides comic relief. So Donna
is similar to an epilogue in a film in which end titles tell the characters’ fates. Each
Anna’s “Non mi dir” (“Tell me not”), an aria expressing honest, complex feelings
of them announces his or her plans, then they collectively agree that Don Giovanni
may come as something of a surprise, especially when sandwiched between two
got what he deserved.
scenes that are dominated by a walking, talking statue.
The scene begins with Elvira, Ottavio, Masetto, and Zerlina, who are then joined
Donna Anna sings in response to Don Ottavio, who is gleeful at the prospec-
by Donna Anna, demanding that Leporello bring forth his master (CD 2, Tracks
tive punishment of Giovanni. Ottavio accuses Anna of cruelty for not marrying
19–21). When the servant recounts his master’s fate, the others realize that they, too,
him immediately. Following a brief orchestral introduction, she responds in lyrical
saw the Commendatore’s ghost earlier. They all end, together, on a long, sustained
sorrow, “Troppo mi spiace” (“I am too upset”) about the death of her father, the
note, as if taking a deep breath: This will be the first day of their lives without Don
Commendatore (CD 2, Track 10). That she cares deeply about Ottavio is obvious
Giovanni (Track 22).
in the music heard in Track 11, when she speaks, for the second time, of the happy
Little seems to have changed, though, and they quickly revert to form. Ottavio
thought of marriage, long awaited by “our soul” (“nostr’alma”), but deferred by “the
asks Anna to marry him soon. She asks for another delay (CD 2, Track 23) and
world, o God!” (“il mondo, o Dio!”). Love alone, she sings in Track 12, makes Ottavio’s
Ottavio, over the course of a brief duet, gives in (Track 24). Elvira announces that
case. Careful listeners may detect, however, that Anna’s melody here is in the key of
she plans to enter a convent. Zerlina and Masetto announce they’re going home for
D minor, associated throughout the opera with the Commendatore: Anna may be in
dinner. And Leporello, ever the servant, declares that he’s off to find a new, better
love, but she is consumed by mourning for her father.
master (Track 25). Their unimaginative but safe futures affirmed, they join vocal
Mozart set Donna Anna’s aria in two sections. The first is slow and thoughtful, the
forces, bound together by the absent Giovanni, to censure him one last time and,
second speedier and more showy. Opera singers of the 18th century expected the
while they’re at it, to praise themselves: “And all of us good people, will happily
opportunity to shine with such a piece toward the end of a performance. In this case,
repeat the ancient song again: This is the end of someone who acts wickedly”
Mozart provided a smooth transition from slow to faster. The melody with which the
(Track 26).
orchestra introduced “Troppo mi spiace” (CD 2, Track 10) returns in Track 13, now
The sextet can be heard in its entirety on Track 27.
with the lyric “Non mi dir, bell’idol mio”, followed by an assertively rhythmic “che
son io crudel con te” (“My love, don’t tell me I am cruel to you”). In Track 14, the
vocal line becomes ever more colorful and varied as Donna Anna assures Ottavio of
her love. She advises him that his anger might cause her own death (Track 15), then
Christopher Oram’s set model for Act I, Scene 5
Photo: Alison Cherry / metropolitan opera
reprises key sentiments, elaborating her grief (Track 16).
All at once, in CD 2, Track 17, the mood brightens with the transition to a faster
tempo. The lyric turns from grief to the hope of a day when “heaven will again have
pity” toward Donna Anna, and in the following section Mozart provides the soprano
with ample opportunity to display her vocal virtuosity.
Students familiar with opera may notice that Donna Anna’s aria is a precursor to
the two-part solos that became standard in 19th-century Romantic opera, with an
introspective, slower “cavatina” followed by an upbeat “cabaletta.” It’s interesting
to consider the ways in which this musical structure reflects true emotional experience. Later composers generally introduced some piece of dramatic action or new
information between the two parts, as if to “explain” the change in sentiment.
The complete aria, “Troppo mi spiace… Non mi dir” can be heard on Track 18.
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Musical Highlight
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Musical Highlight
Three Different Dances at the Same Time:
A Close Look at Don Giovanni’s Party Scene
Drama or Comedy? It’s all in the Overture!
A Close Look at the Overture of Don Giovanni
The Act I finale takes place in a ballroom in Don Giovanni’s palace. There are three
Don Giovanni is known as a “dramma giocosa” or “humorous drama.” Nowhere is
small orchestras on stage, besides the regular one in the pit. Mozart, with his
this better illustrated than in the Overture to the opera.
ingenious creativity, has given each one of these stage orchestras different dance
The Overture starts with foreboding syncopated chords over low, tremolo octaves
music to play. Each of these dances was meant for different social strata of guests at
in the strings in the dark key of D minor (CD 2, Track 32). (Figure A below)
the party, for the classes were not to mix and intermingle at such occasions.
This is followed by an insistent dotted rhythm with alternating minor and dimin-
The first of these dances is the famous Minuet, a popular 18th-century dance in
ished chords in the strings. (Figure B below)
3/4 time (CD 2, Track 28).
A syncopated melody in the violins, with the pulses between the beats, increases
the tension. (Figure C below)
Soon the rarely used melodic minor scale—with its raised 6th and 7th tones
ascending and lowered back in its descent—creates an eerie atmosphere (Track 33).
These are repeated higher and higher, getting louder in their ascent and softer in
their descent. A repetitive dotted rhythm supports these rising and falling scales.
The “drama” portion of the Overture abruptly shifts to the brighter, parallel key of
D major in a traditional sonata-allegro form with a “giocosa” feel, representing the
character of the impetuous pleasure-seeking Don Giovanni (Track 34).
This “drama” part of the Overture music will return at the climactic scene near the
end of the opera when the statue of the Commendatore accepts Don Giovanni’s
Over the minuet music, snippets of conversation are heard by Don Giovanni,
offer to dine with him. Here Mozart adds the dark sonority of three trombones for
Leporello, and Donna Elvira. As the minuet continues, a second dance is started by
the first time in the opera, to create a more dramatic effect (Track 35).
another group of guests (Track 29). This dance is a quadrille—a dance for four or
When the Commendatore calls out “Don Giovanni,” it is one of the most chilling
more even numbered couples in 2/4 time.
effects in all of opera. The powerful fortissimo diminished chords, the insistent
dotted rhythms, the rising and falling melodic minor scales, all previously heard in
the Overture, create a terrifying effect. Soon a fiery pit, representing the gates of
hell, opens up. Two pounding timpani and a male unison chorus of spirits from down
below intones the horror that awaits Don Giovanni in the inferno (Track 36). In a
Finally, a third dance is added to the other two, a waltz (Track 30). This is a traditional
final scream of agony, echoed by his servant Leporello, Don Giovanni is swallowed
waltz in triple meter. Only a scream by Zerlina, whom Don Giovanni has spirited off
up by the netherworld below as downward rushing minor scales accompany his final
to another room, puts a sudden halt to the festivities.
outcry.
A
B
This dance scene can be heard in its entirety on Track 31.
C
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P e r f o r m a n c e Ac t i v i t y
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P o s t- S h o w D i s c u s s i o n
Supporting Students During
The Met: Live in HD Transmission
Don Giovanni in Hell: A Discussion of the
Afterlife of Mozart and Da Ponte’s Protagonist
Thanks to print and audio recording, much about opera can be enjoyed
long before a performance. But performance itself brings vital layers
of sound and color, pageantry and technology, drama, skill, and craft.
Performance activities are designed to help students tease apart different
aspects of the experience, consider creative choices that have been made,
and sharpen their own critical faculties.
Each Performance Activity incorporates a reproducible activity sheet.
Students bring the activity sheet to the transmission to fill out during
intermission and/or after the final curtain. The activities direct attention
to characteristics of the production that might otherwise go unnoticed.
Ratings matrices invite students to express their critique: use these ratings
to spark discussions that call upon careful, critical thinking.
The basic activity sheet is called My Highs & Lows. Meant to be collected,
opera by opera, over the course of the season, this sheet points students
toward a consistent set of objects of observation. Its purpose is not only to
help students articulate and express their opinions, but to support comparison and contrast, enriching understanding of the art form as a whole.
The second activity sheet, Little Boxes, directs students’ attention to
the complex, modular set design of this Live in HD production. Your
students will need at least three copies of this worksheet, as the set changes
numerous times.
The Performance Activity reproducibles can be found in the back of this
guide. Either activity can provide the basis for class discussion after the
transmission. On the next page, you’ll find an activity created specifically
for follow-up after the Live in HD transmission.
Students will enjoy starting the class with an open discussion of the Met
performance. What did they like? What didn’t they? Did anything surprise
them? What would they like to see or hear again? What would they have
done differently? This discussion will offer students an opportunity to
review the notes on their My Highs & Lows sheet—in short, to see themselves
as Don Giovanni experts.
The character of Don Giovanni has had a long literary life. Students may
enjoy considering what aspects of his personality prompted later artists
and thinkers to discuss, deconstruct, and re-invent him. Allow them to
come up with their own terms to describe Don Giovanni’s personality;
these might include:
• Sexual prowess
• Bad behavior
• Charisma
• Self-assurance
• Refusal to submit to authority
• Love of pleasure
Then introduce students to one of the most provocative Don Giovanni
“sequels,” George Bernard Shaw’s Don Juan in Hell, published at the beginning of the 20th century. (The complete text is available online at the
public-domain literature site bartleby.com).
As the title suggests, Shaw’s play finds Giovanni in hell, long after the
events of the opera. An old woman shows up; she turns out to be Donna
Anna, who has died many years later.
The hell of Shaw’s play is not a place of fire and pitchforks. It is a place
without a sense of time; a moment is like a year. It is a place where no one
feels pain, or much of anything. Shaw’s Don Juan complains, “it bores me,
bores me beyond description, beyond belief.” He goes on to say:
In Prepar ation
This activity requires no preparation
other than attendance at The Met:
Live in HD transmission of Don
Giovanni.
Curriculum connections
Language Arts/Social Studies
(Social theory/Philosophy)
Learning Objectives
•To explore the implications of
Don Giovanni’s finale
•To review and encourage active
attention to the philosophical issues
posed by the opera
•To consider the re-use of literary
tropes and figures in later works
Common Core ELA
College and Career Readiness
Anchor Standards for Reading:
Grades 6–12
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
9. Analyze how two or more texts address
similar themes or topics in order to
build knowledge or to compare the
approaches the authors take.
Responding to Literature
11. Respond to literature by employing
knowledge of literary language, textual
features, and forms to read and
comprehend, reflect upon, and interpret
literary texts from a variety of genres and
a wide spectrum of American and world
cultures.
There are no social questions here, no political questions, no religious
questions, best of all, perhaps, no sanitary questions. Here you call
your appearance beauty, your emotions love, your sentiments heroism,
your aspirations virtue, just as you did on earth; but here there are no
hard facts to contradict you, no ironic contrast of your needs with your
pretensions, no human comedy, nothing but a perpetual romance, a
universal melodrama.
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Don Giovanni
Educator Guide Track List
What do your students make of this?
• Does hell have to be a place of physical suffering?
• Mental suffering?
• Plain boredom?
• Could hell be different for different people?
• Why would this be hell for Don Giovanni?
Shaw is making the point that Giovanni’s hell represents the absence of
anything he held dear in life. Invite your students to consider what such a
hell says about the character.
• How does it relate to the Don Giovanni they saw and heard at the Live in
HD transmission?
• How might this be a punishment for his deeds? For his personality?
• Would Mozart and Da Ponte have agreed with George Bernard Shaw?
December 24, 1994
Don Giovanni
34
Classroom Activity: A lot of “light” music
Scene A
1–3
Donna Anna
4
Sharon Sweet
5–8
Don Ottavio
9
Patricia Schuman
10–12
Leporello
13
James Morris
Stanford Olsen
Donna Elvira
Zerlina
ACT I: Donna Anna and Don Giovanni
Instrumental
The Commendatore, Don Giovanni, and Leporello
Tracks 1–8 continuously
Scene B
Herbert Perry
Hei-Kyung Hong
Depending on your class’s interests, you might want to follow up by having
students read, or even perform, scenes from Don Juan in Hell.
Another activity to provoke thinking about the ideas raised by Don
Giovanni would be to consider other “hells” imagined by people who do
not accept the Western concept of hell as a great inferno. For instance,
Jean-Paul Sartre, the 20th-century French philosopher, stated, “Hell is other
people.” His play No Exit depicts three characters trapped for eternity in
one small room. Your students might be interested in choosing a fictional
or historical character, learning about that person’s life and achievements,
then imagining and writing or illustrating a depiction of that person’s
“hell,” as Shaw did for Don Giovanni. How would it reflect, or correct, their
character’s life experience?
If your class did the Classroom Activity A Lot of “Light” Music they might
be interested in comparing the positions of Enlightenment thinkers to
the hells of Don Giovanni and Don Juan in Hell. Would either hell make
sense to thinkers who believe that liberty is a natural right and that moral
offenses are offenses against other people? If Rousseau or Locke believed
in an afterlife, what might their hell look like?
CD 1 of 2
Met Radio Recording
ACT I: Masetto, Don Giovanni and Leporello
Masetto
Scene C
14–18
ACT I: Don Giovanni and Zerlina
19–22
Don Giovanni and Zerlina
Duet: Là ci darem la mano
Commendatore
23–24
Donna Elvira, Don Giovanni, and Zerlina
Sergei Koptchak
25
Leopold Hager
26–28
Metropolitan Opera
Orchestra and Chorus
29
Masetto
Ildebrando D'Arcangelo
Conductor
Tracks 10–24 continuously
Scene D
ACT I: Quintet: Leporello, Don Giovanni, Donna Anna,
Donna Elvira and Don Ottavio
Tracks 26–28 continuously
Scene E
30–32
33
ACT II: Don Giovanni and Leporello discuss women
Tracks 30–32 continuously
Scene F
34–38
39
ACT II: The Commendatore and Don Giovanni
Tracks 34–38 continuously
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classroom activity
A Lot of “Light” Music: Enlightenment Statements
CD 2 of 2
Musical Highlight: count the ways
1–8
ACT I: Leporello’s Catalog Aria
9
10–12
ACT II: Troppo mi spiace
13–17
Non mi dir
18
19–26
27
Tracks 1–8 continuously
Musical Highlight: another view of love
Tracks 10–17 continuously
Musical Highlight: last words
Donna Elvira, Zerlina, Don Ottavio, Masetto,
Donna Anna, and Leporello
28
Don Ottavio and Donna Anna dance a minuet
29
Don Giovanni and Zerlina dance a quadrille
30
Waltz
31
Tracks 28–30 continuously
32–34
Overture
35–36
End of the opera, Don Giovanni descends into hell
musical highlight: drama or comedy?
FUN FACT
37–39
8. Liberty does not give a person the right to
destroy himself or any other creature.
(Do no harm/John Locke)
2. Everyone is born equal, neither good nor
bad. Inequality is the result of people’s
environments and experiences.
(Equal at birth/John Locke)
9. Everyone has the right to punish a person who
harms another person or obstructs another
person’s rights.
(Punish when needed/John Locke)
3. Humans are driven to protect their
independence and equality.
(The drive to be independent/John Locke)
10. Morality is an unspoken deal that every person
makes with everyone else—an agreement to
be part of society and follow its rules.
(Agree to be moral/Rousseau)
Tracks 19–26 continuously
Musical Highlight: three different dances
at the same time
1. When people act in their own interest,
society benefits.
(Self-interest/Adam Smith)
Dinner scene, melodies from other composers
4. People are naturally free. No one need ask
permission of anyone else before acting.
(Natural liberty/John Locke)
5. Everyone wants to control others, to be rich,
to be lazy and to enjoy pleasure.
(The drive to control/Voltaire)
6. It is impossible for all people to be equal.
Many people must have nothing so that some
people can have a lot.
(Necessary inequality/Voltaire)
7. No human can know anything perfectly, so no
human has the right to judge another.
(No judgment/David Hume)
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11. Anyone who tries to break society’s rules must
be forced to obey them.
(Zero tolerance/Rousseau)
12. All humans experience exactly two impulses:
the fear of death and the desire for power.
(Death and Power/Thomas Hobbes)
13. Humans want two things: to increase pleasure
and to avoid pain.
(Pleasure and Pain/Thomas Hobbes)
14. People are basically selfish, so we give the
authority to leaders in order to protect
ourselves from one another.
(Defense from selfishness/Thomas Hobbes)
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don giovanni
don giovanni
classroom activity sheet
classroom activity sheet
A Lot of “Light” Music: Scene A
A Lot of “Light” Music: Scene A (continued)
CD 1 of 2
CD 1 of 2
Giovanni, fresh from an attempt to seduce Donna Anna, kills
her father in a duel.
Track 7
DON GIOVANNI:
Track 1
Non sperar, se non m’uccidi,
Ch’io ti lasci fuggir mai!
DONNA ANNA:
Don’t hope that if you don’t kill me,
I will ever let you escape!
Track 2
DON GIOVANNI: Donna folle! indarno gridi,
Chi son io tu non saprai!
Crazy woman! You cry out in vain!
You’re not going to find out who I am!
Gente! Servi! Al traditore!
DON GIOVANNI:
DONNA ANNA:
Miserable man, wait, if you want to die!
Track 8
IL COMMENDATORE: Ah, soccorso! son tradito! L’assassino m’ha
ferito, e dal seno palpitante sento l’anima partir!
Help! I am betrayed! The assassin has wounded me and I feel
my soul departing from my beating breast!
DON GIOVANNI: Ah, già cade il sciagurato, affannoso e
agonizzante, già dal seno palpitante veggo l’anima partir.
Ah, The wretch already falls gasping and dying. I can already
see his soul departing from his beating breast.
LEPORELLO: Qual misfatto! qual eccesso! Entro il sen dallo
spavento palpitar il cor mi sento! Io non so che far, che dir.
What a crime! What an outrage! My heart is trembling with
fear in my breast! I don’t know what to say, what to do.
Track 9: Tracks 1–8 continuously
Track 3
DONNA ANNA:
Misero, attendi, se vuoi morir!
Taci e trema al mio furore!
Scellerato!
DON GIOVANNI:
Sconsigliata!
Somebody! Servants! Get this scoundrel!
Be quiet and tremble at my anger!
Villain!
Mad woman!
Track 4 Instrumental
Track 5
THE COMMENDATORE:
Lasciala, indegno! Battiti meco!
Let her go, you worthless creep! Fight with me!
Track 6
DON GIOVANNI:
Va, non mi degno di pugnar teco.
IL COMMENDATORE:
LEPORELLO:
Potessi almeno di qua partir!
DON GIOVANNI:
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Così pretendi da me fuggir?
Misero!
Go! It’s beneath my dignity to fight with you.
That’s how you try to run away from me?
At least I could get out of here!
Wretch!
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don giovanni
don giovanni
classroom activity sheet
classroom activity sheet
A Lot of “Light” Music: Scene B
A Lot of “Light” Music: Scene C
CD 1 of 2
CD 1 of 2
The wedding of Zerlina and Masetto. Giovanni tries to get
Masetto out of the way in order to seduce his bride.
The wedding of Zerlina and Masetto.
Track 14
Track 10
MASETTO:
Signore!
DON GIOVANNI:
MASETTO:
Cosa c’è?
La Zerlina senza me non può star.
LEPORELLO: In vostro loco ci sarà Sua Eccellenza
e saprà bene fare le vostre parti.
DON GIOVANNI:
Sir!
DON GIOVANNI: Alfin siam liberati, Zerlinetta gentil, da quel
scioccone. Che ne dite, mio ben, so far pulito?
What is it?
ZERLINA:
Signore, è mio marito…
We’re finally free of that fool, my lovely little Zerlina.
Don’t I know how to clean things up, my dear?
Sir, he’s my fiancé…
Zerlina can’t be without me.
His Excellency will take your place,
and you can be sure that he will take care of your duties well.
Oh, la Zerlina è in man d’un cavalier!
Oh, Zerlina is in the hands of a gentleman!
Va pur, fra poco ella meco verrà.
Get going. In a little while, she’ll come with me.
Track 15
DON GIOVANNI: Chi? Colui? Vi par che un onest’uomo, un nobil
cavalier, com’io mi vanto, possa soffrir che quel visetto d’oro,
quel viso inzuccherato da un bifolcaccio vil sia strapazzato?
Who? Him? Do you think a virtuous man, a noble gentleman
such as I pride myself in being, could allow this little golden
face, this sweet face, be wasted on such a contemptible hick?
Track 11
DON GIOVANNI:
ZERLINA:
Va, non temere. Nelle mani son io d’un cavaliere.
MASETTO:
ZERLINA:
E per questo?
E per questo non c’è da dubitar
MASETTO:
Ed io, cospetto…
DON GIOVANNI:
Olà!
Go, don’t be afraid. I am in the hands of a gentleman.
Which is to say?
Which is to say that there’s nothing to worry about.
And me, right here…
Track 16
ZERLINA:
Ma, signore, io gli diedi parola di sposarlo.
Tal parola non vale un zero. Voi non siete fatta
per essere paesana; un altra sorte vi procuran quegli occhi
bricconcelli, quei labbretti sì belli, quelle dituccie candide e
odorose, parmi toccar giuncata e fiutar rose.
DON GIOVANNI:
But sir, I have given my word to marry him.
Such a promise is worth nothing. You were not made to be a
peasant. Another fate is in store for those roguish eyes, those
beautiful little lips, those pale, fragrant fingers which seem to
me as soft as snow and sweet as roses.
Hey!
Track 17
ZERLINA:
Track 12
Finiam le dispute! Se subito senza altro
replicar non te ne vai, Masetto, guarda ben, ti pentirai.
DON GIOVANNI:
Let’s end this argument! If you don’t leave right away without
another word, Masetto, watch out. You will regret it.
Ah!… Non vorrei…
DON GIOVANNI:
Che non vorreste?
ZERLINA: Alfine ingannata restar. Io so che raro colle donne voi
altri cavalieri siete onesti e sinceri.
Ah! I don’t want to…
You don’t want to what?
To end up tricked. I know how rarely you noblemen are honest
and sincere with women.
Track 13
MASETTO: Ho capito, signor, sì! Chino il capo e me ne vo’,
giàcché piace a voi così, altre repliche non fo.
Cavalier voi siete già. Dubitar non posso affé;
Me lo dice la bontà che volete aver per me.
I understand, sir, yes! I should bow my head and go
since that’s how you want it. I won’t say another word.
You are after all a gentleman. I cannot doubt that.
I have heard about the kind of goodness you want to show me.
(to Zerlina) Bricconaccia, malandrina! Fosti ognor la mia
ruina!
You little fool, you minx! You always were my downfall!
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don giovanni
classroom activity sheet
classroom activity sheet
A Lot of “Light” Music: Scene C (continued)
A Lot of “Light” Music: Scene C (continued)
CD 1 of 2
CD 1 of 2
Track 18
Track 21
È un impostura della gente plebea!
La nobilità ha dipinta negli occhi l’onestà.
Orsù, non perdiam tempo;
In questo istante io ti voglio sposar.
DON GIOVANNI:
ZERLINA:
Voi!
Certo, io. Quel casinetto è mio.
Soli saremo e là, gioiello mio, ci sposeremo!
DON GIOVANNI:
…non son più forte.
That’s just a rumor started by the peasants!
Honesty shines in a nobleman’s eyes.
Come now, let’s not waste time.
I want to marry you right now.
ZERLINA:
You!
DON GIOVANNI:
Certainly me. That little cottage is mine.
We’ll be alone there, my little jewel—we’ll marry there!
ZERLINA:
DON GIOVANNI:
ZERLINA:
Track 19
Vorrei e non vorrei
There we will take each other’s hands.
There you will say yes to me.
Look, it’s not far off.
Let’s leave here, my precious.
ZERLINA: (Vorrei e non vorrei,
Mi trema un poco il cor.
Felice, è ver, sarei,
Ma può burlarmi ancor.)
(I want to and I don’t want to.
My heart is trembling a bit.
I would be happy, it’s true,
but he could still trick me.)
ZERLINA:
Vieni, mio bel diletto!
(Mi fa pietà Masetto.)
DON GIOVANNI:
ZERLINA:
Partiam, ben mio, da qui.
Ma può burlarmi ancor.
DON GIOVANNI:
DON GIOVANNI: Là ci darem la mano,
Là mi dirai di sì.
Vedi, non è lontano;
Partiam, ben mio, da qui.
Là mi dirai di sì.
Mi trema un poco il cor.
DON GIOVANNI:
ZERLINA:
Vieni, vieni—là ci darem la mano,
Io cangerò tua sorte.
Presto… non son più forte.
I don’t have the strength.
Come, come—there we will take each other’s hands.
I want to and I don’t want to.
There you will say yes to me.
My heart is trembling a bit.
Let’s leave here, my precious.
But he can still fool me.
Come, my delightful beauty.
(I pity Masetto.)
I will change your fate.
Quick… I don’t have the strength.
Track 22
Andiam, andiam, mio bene
A ristorar le pene d’un innocente amor.
DON GIOVANNI AND ZERLINA:
Let’s go, let’s go, my precious,
to savor the pangs of an innocent love.
Track 20
DON GIOVANNI:
ZERLINA:
(Mi fa pietà Masetto.)
DON GIOVANNI:
ZERLINA:
Vieni, mio bel diletto!
Io cangerò tua sorte.
Presto… non son più forte.
Come, my beautiful delight.
Track 23
(I pity Masetto.)
Fermati, scellerato! II ciel mi fece udir le tue
perfidie. Io sono a tempo di salvar questa misera innocente
dal tuo barbaro artiglio!
I will change your fate.
Quick… I don’t have the strength.
DONNA ELVIRA:
ZERLINA:
Meschina! Cosa sento?
Halt, villain! Heaven has enabled me to hear your lies.
I am in time to save this poor innocent girl from your
barbarian claws!
You wretched woman! What am I hearing?
Track 24
(Amor, consiglio!) (to Elvira) Idol mio, non
vedete ch’io voglio divertirmi?
dON GIOVANNI:
DONNA ELVIRA:
Divertirti, è vero?
(Love, advise me!) My darling, don’t you see that I just want to
amuse myself?
Amuse yourself? Really?
Track 25: Tracks 10–24 continuously
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don giovanni
don giovanni
classroom activity sheet
classroom activity sheet
A Lot of “Light” Music: Scene D
A Lot of “Light” Music: Scene E
CD 1 of 2
CD 1 of 2
Near the end of Act I, this is the only point in the opera at
which Mozart and Da Ponte refer to the subject of liberty.
Near the beginning of Act II, Leporello and Giovanni discuss
the latter’s attitude towards women.
Track 26
Track 30
LEPORELLO:
Venite pur avanti, vezzose mascherette!
DON GIOVANNI:
È aperto a tutti quanti, viva la libertà!
Come in, come in, charming masqueraders!
DON GIOVANNI:
My home is open to all! Long live liberty!
LEPORELLO:
Track 27
Ti basta l’animo di far quel ch’io ti dico?
Purchè lasciam le donne.
Do you have the guts to do what I tell you to?
Provided that we abandon the women.
Track 31
DONNA ANNA, DONNA ELVIRA, and DON OTTAVIO:
Siam grati a tanti
We are grateful for all of this generosity.
DON GIOVANNI:
Lasciar le donne? Pazzo!
Abandon the women? You’re crazy!
segni di generosità.
Track 32
Track 28
DON GIOVANNI:
È aperto a tutti quanti, viva la libertà!
DONNA ANNA, DONNA ELVIRA, and DON OTTAVIO:
Siam grati a tanti
segni di generosità.
Track 29: Tracks 26–28 continuously
My home is open to all! Long live liberty!
We are grateful for all of this generosity.
DON GIOVANNI: Lasciar le donne? Sai ch’elle per me son
necessarie più del pan che mangio, più dell’aria che spiro!
LEPORELLO:
E avete core d’ingannarle poi tutte?
DON GIOVANNI: È tutto amore! Chi a una sola è fedele, verso
l’altre è crudele: io che in me sento sì esteso sentimento, vo’
bene a tutte quante. Le donne poiché calcolar non sanno,
il mio buon natural chiamano inganno.
LEPORELLO:
Non ho veduto mai naturale più vasto, e più
Abandon the women? You know that, for me, they are more
necessary than the bread I eat, more than the air I breathe!
And so you have the heart to trick them all?
It’s all love! A man who is faithful to only one is cruel to all the
rest; I, who feel within such deep emotions, want to be good
to all of them. Since women don’t know how to appreciate my
behavior, they call my natural goodness trickery.
I’ve never seen a nature as great and as kind as yours.
benigno.
Track 33: Tracks 30–32 continuously
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don giovanni
don giovanni
classroom activity sheet
classroom activity sheet
A Lot of “Light” Music: Scene F
A Lot of “Light” Music
Which Side Are They On?
CD 1 of 2
At the end of the opera, Giovanni and the statue of
the Commendatore argue before Don Giovanni’s descent
into hell.
Track 34
THE STATUE OF THE COMMENDATORE:
Don Giovanni, a cenar teco
Don Giovanni! You invited me to supper, and here I am.
Scene A
Mozart & DaPonte
Individual Liberty score
0
1
2
3
4
5
Social Control score
0
1
2
3
4
5
Evidence in Scene A:
m’invitasti, e son venuto.
Enlightenment statements that apply:
Track 35
THE STATUE:
Pentiti, cangia vita! È l’ultimo momento!
Repent! Change your life! This is the final moment!
Track 36
DON GIOVANNI: No, no, ch’io non mi pento,
Vanne lontan da me!
No, no—I will not repent. Get away from me!
Pentiti, scellerato!
DON GIOVANNI:
Mozart & DaPonte
Individual Liberty score
0
1
2
3
4
5
Social Control score
0
1
2
3
4
5
Evidence in Scene B:
Track 37
THE STATUE:
Scene B
No, vecchio infatuato! No!
Repent, villain!
No, you conceited old man! No!
Yes!
Enlightenment statements that apply:
No!
Scene c
Mozart & DaPonte
Ah! Your time is up!
Individual Liberty score
0
1
2
3
4
5
DON GIOVANNI:
Da qual tremore insolito sento assalir gli spiriti!
Dond’escono quei vortici di foco pien d’orror?
What strange trembling do I feel attacking my spirits! Where
are these whirlpools of fire, filled with horror, coming from?
Social Control score
0
1
2
3
4
5
demons:
Tutto a tue colpe è poco! Vieni! c’è un
mal peggior!
No doom can match your crimes! Come! Worse torments
await you!
Don Giovanni: Chi l’anima mi lacera? Chi m’agita le viscere?
Che strazio ohimè! che smania! che inferno! che terror! Ah!
I’m being torn apart! Something’s clawing at my vitals!
What torture, what delirium! Hell and all its torments! Arrgh!
Che ceffo disperato! Che gesti di dannato!
Che gridi! che lamenti! Come mi fa terror! Ah!
Despair contorts his face! He writhes as one damned! What
shrieks! What groans! I’m terrified! Arrgh!
THE STATUE:
Sì!
Track 38
DON GIOVANNI:
THE STATUE:
No!
Ah! tempo più non v’è!
Leporello:
Evidence in Scene C:
Enlightenment statements that apply:
Track 39: Tracks 34–38 continuously
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don giovanni
don giovanni
classroom activity sheet
Resource Page for Musical Highlight
A Lot of “Light” Music
Which Side Are They On?
Count the Ways: Leporello’s Catalog Aria
CD 2 of 2
Track 1
Scene D
Mozart & DaPonte
Individual Liberty score
0
1
2
3
4
5
Social Control score
0
1
2
3
4
5
LEPORELLO: Madamina, il catalogo è questo
Delle belle che amò il padron mio;
Un catalogo egli è che ho fatt’io;
Osservate, leggete con me.
My little lady, this is the catalog
of the beauties that my employer has loved,
I have kept this catalog of his.
Take a look, read along with me.
Evidence in Scene D:
Track 2
In Italia seicento e quaranta;
In Almagna duecento e trentuna;
Cento in Francia, in Turchia novantuna;
Ma in Ispagna son già mille e tre.
Enlightenment statements that apply:
In Italy, 640.
In Germany, 231.
100 in France, in Turkey 91,
but in Spain, there are already 1,003.
Track 3
Scene E
Mozart & DaPonte
Individual Liberty score
0
1
2
3
4
5
Social Control score
0
1
2
3
4
5
Evidence in Scene E:
V’han fra queste contadine,
cameriere, cittadine,
v’han contesse, baronesse,
marchesine, principesse.
E v’han donne d’ogni grado,
D’ogni forma, d’ogni età.
There are among these ladies, peasants,
chambermaids, city women.
There are countesses, baronesses,
marquises, princesses.
And are women of every rank,
of every shape, of every age.
Track 4: Tracks 2–3 continuously
Enlightenment statements that apply:
Track 5
scene F
Mozart & DaPonte
Individual Liberty score
0
1
2
3
4
5
Social Control score
0
1
2
3
4
5
Evidence in Scene F:
Enlightenment statements that apply:
48
Nella bionda egli ha l’usanza di lodar la gentilezza,
Nella bruna la costanza, nella bianca la dolcezza.
Vuol d’inverno la grassotta, vuol d’estate la magrotta;
È la grande maestosa, la piccina è ognor vezzosa.
With blondes, he has the custom of praising their gentleness,
with brunettes their devotion, with fair-haired women their
sweetness. He likes a fat one in winter. He likes a skinny one in
summer. The large one he finds stately; the tiny one charming.
Track 6
Delle vecchie fa conquista pel piacer di porle in lista;
Sua passion predominante è la giovin principiante.
Non si picca—se sia ricca, se sia brutta, se sia bella;
Purché porti la gonnella,
He conquers old ones just for the pleasure of putting them on
the list. His main passion is the inexperienced young one.
It doesn’t bother him if she’s rich, if she’s ugly,
if she’s beautiful, as long as she’s wearing a skirt.
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Resource Page for Musical Highlight
Resource Page for Musical Highlight
Count the Ways: Leporello’s Catalog Aria (continued)
Another View of Love: Donna Anna’s Aria
CD 2 of 2
CD 2 of 2
Track 7
Track 10
Voi sapete quel che fa!
You know what he does!
DONNA ANNA: Troppo mi spiace allontanarti un ben che
lungamente la nostr’alma desia…
I am all too sorry to put off a happiness that our soul has
wanted for so long.
Track 8
In questa forma dunque mi tradì il scellerato?
È questo il premio che quel barbaro rende all’amor mio?
Ah! Vendicar vogl’io l’ingannato mio cor.
Pria ch’ei mi fugga si ricorra… si vada…
io sento in petto sol vendetta parlar, rabbia e dispetto.
DONNA ELVIRA:
So this is the way the villain betrayed me?
And this is the reward that this barbarian has for my love?
Ah! I want to avenge my heart broken from lies.
Before he escapes me, I’ll make him… I’ll go…
in my breast, I only feel revenge, anger, and hate.
Track 11
DONNA ANNA: Ma il mondo, o Dio! Non sedur la costanza del
sensibil mio core.
But the world, o God! Do not tempt the steadfastness of my
sensitive heart.
Track 12
Track 9: Tracks 1–8 continuously
DONNA ANNA:
Abbastanza per te mi parla amore.
Enough of you talking to me of love.
Non mi dir, bell’idol mio, che son io crudel con te.
Don’t tell me, my beautiful darling, that I am cruel to you.
Tu ben sai quant’io t’amai, tu conosci la mia fé’.
You know well how much I loved you. You are familiar with
my fidelity.
Track 13
DONNA ANNA:
Track 14
DONNA ANNA:
Track 15
DONNA ANNA: Calma, calma il tuo tormento, se di duol non
vuoi ch’io mora.
Calm, calm your anger if you don’t want me to die of grief.
Track 16: Tracks 13 and 15 repeated
Track 17
DONNA ANNA:
Forse un giorno il cielo ancora sentirà pietà di
Perhaps one day, heaven will again have pity on me.
me.
Track 18: Tracks 10–17 continuously
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Resource Page for Musical Highlight
Resource Page for Musical Highlight
Last Words: The Final Sextet
Last Words: The Final Sextet
CD 2 of 2
CD 2 of 2
Track 19
Track 24
DONNA ELVIRA, ZERLINA, DON OTTAVIO and MASETTO: Ah, dov’è il
perfido? Dov’è l’indegno? Tutto il mio sdegno sfogar io vo’!
DONNA ANNA:
Solo mirandolo stretto in catene alle mie pene
calma darò.
Ah, where is the evil one? Where is that worthless man? I want
to vent all my anger!
DON OTTAVIO: Al desio di chi m’adora ceder deve
un fido amor.
To the wish of the one who adores me, I must grant trust and
love.
Only when I see him bound in chains will all my suffering give
way to calm.
DONNA ANNA: Al desio di chi t’adora ceder deve
un fido amor.
To the wish of the one who adores you, you must grant trust
and love.
Track 20
Track 25
LEPORELLO: Più non sperate di ritrovarlo, più non cercate.
lontano andò.
all:
Cos’è? Favella! Via presto, sbrigati!
LEPORELLO:
Don’t hope to see him again. Don’t look for him. He went far
away.
What? Tell us! Quickly, quickly!
Venne un colosso… Ma se non posso…
There was a huge statue…but I can’t….
Presto! Favella! Sbrigati!
Quick! Tell! Hurry Up!
THE OTHERS:
DONNA ELVIRA:
ZERLINA:
Io men vado in un ritiro a finir la vita mia!
Noi, Masetto, a casa andiamo! A cenar in compagnia!
MASETTO:
Noi, Zerlina, a casa andiamo! A cenar in compagnia!
LEPORELLO:
Ed io vado all’osteria a trovar padron miglior.
I will go into seclusion for the rest of my life!
Masetto, let’s go home to have dinner with our friends!
Zerlina, let’s go home to have dinner with our friends!
And I’m going to the inn to find a better master.
Track 26
Track 21
Tra fumo e fuoco… Badate un poco… L’uomo di
sasso… Fermate il passo… Giusto là sotto… Diede il gran
botto… Giusto là il diavol—Se’l trangugiò.
LEPORELLO:
TUTTI:
Stelle, che sento!
LEPORELLO:
There was smoke and fire… Wait a moment…
The man of stone… stop running around…just there, below…
there was a big bang…just there, the devil…swallowed
him up.
ZERLINA, MASETTO, and LEPORELLO: Resti dunque quel birbon
con Proserpina e Pluton. E noi tutti, o buona gente, ripetiam
allegramente l’antichissima canzon:
Thus that rascal rests with Proserpine and Pluto,
and all of us, good people,
happily sing the ancient song again:
Questo è il fin di chi fa mal;
E de’ perfidi la morte alla vita è sempre ugual.
This is the end of someone who acts wickedly.
And the death of evildoers is always equal to their lives.
ALL:
My stars, what am I hearing!
Vero è l’evento!
It’s true.
Track 27: Tracks 19–26 continuously
Track 22
DONNA ELVIRA:
Ah, certo è l’ombra che m’incontrò!
DONNA ANNA, ZERLINA, DON OTTAVIO and MASETTO:
Ah, certo è
Ah, that must have been the ghost I encountered!
Ah, that must have been the ghost she encountered!
l’ombra che l’incontrò!
Track 23
DON OTTAVIO: Or che tutti, o mio tesoro, vendicati siam dal
cielo, porgi, porgi a me un ristoro, non mi far languire ancor.
DONNA ANNA:
Lascia, o caro, un anno ancora allo sfogo del
Now that we have be avenged for everything by heaven, o my
treasure, give me some relief—don’t make me languish longer.
Leave me one more year, dear, to clear my heart.
mio cor.
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Resource Page for Musical Highlight
Resource Page for Musical Highlight
Three Different Dances at the Same Time
Drama or Comedy? It’s All in the Overture
CD 2 of 2
CD 2 of 2
TRACK 28
Tracks 32–34: Orchestral Overture
Minuet
Track 35
The statue: Don Giovanni, a cenar teco m’invitasti,
e son venuto.
Don Giovanni! You invited me to supper,
and here I am.
Quadrille
Don Giovanni: Non l’avrei giammai creduto. Ma farò quel che
potrò! Leporello, un’altra cena fa che subito si porti!
I never thought you would. But I shall do what I can. Leporello,
ask for more food to be served immediately!
Track 30
Leporello:
Track 29
Waltz
(from beneath the table) Ah, pardon, siam tutti morti!
Don Giovanni:
Vanne, dico…
Ferma un pò. Non si pasce di cibo mortale chi si
pasce di cibo celeste. Altre cure più gravi di queste, altra
brama quaggiù mi guidò!
The statue:
Track 31: Tracks 28–30 continuously
Ah, master, we’re all as good as dead
Go along, I tell you…
Wait a moment. Those who have tasted the food of heaven
do not eat moral viands. Other, weightier concerns, another
need has brought me here!
Track 36
demons: Tutto a tue colpe è poco! Vieni! c’è un
mal peggior!
No doom can match your crimes! Come! Worse torments
await you!
Don Giovanni: Chi l’anima mi lacera? Chi m’agita le viscere?
Che strazio ohimè! che smania! che inferno! che terror! Ah!
I’m being torn apart! Something’s clawing at my vitals!
What torture, what delirium! Hell and all its torments! Arrgh!
Leporello: Che ceffo disperato! Che gesti di dannato!
Che gridi! che lamenti! Come mi fa terror! Ah!
Despair contorts his face! He writhes as one damned! What
shrieks! What groans! I’m terrified! Arrgh!
TRACK 37–39
See Fun Fact, p. 13.
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The met: LIve in HD
October 29, 2011
don giovanni
Don Giovanni: My Highs & Lows
Conducted by fabio luisi
October 29, 2011
Reviewed by
Performance Activity: Little Boxes
Name
Class
the stars
Teacher
For this production of Don Giovanni, the set designer, Christopher Oram, and the director, Michael Grandage,
envisioned the opera’s setting as a complex of open cubes—“buildings that can have balconies, and balconies that
can have interiors, and all the interior life of that and the exterior life of it.” On this worksheet, you can sketch the
set as it first appears, then keep track of its changes and uses as the opera—like the set itself—unfolds.
Act _, Scene _
Star PowerMy Comments
Mariusz Kwiecien as Don Giovanni
* * * * * Marina Rebeka as Donna Anna
* * * * * Barbara Frittoli as Donna Elvira
* * * * * Ramón Vargas as Don Ottavio
* * * * * Luca Pisaroni as Leporello
* * * * * Mojca Erdmann as Zerlina
* * * * * John Relyea as Masetto
* * * * * Act _, Scene _
THE SHOW, SCENE BY SCENE action
Act _, Scene _
Act _, Scene _
56
Act _, Scene _
Act _, Scene _
musicset design/staging
Leporello talks about his boss
1-2-3-4-5
1-2-3-4-5
My opinion 1-2-3-4-5
Donna Anna tries to hold Don Giovanni
1-2-3-4-5
1-2-3-4-5
My opinion
1-2-3-4-5
The duel
1-2-3-4-5
1-2-3-4-5
My opinion
1-2-3-4-5
Don Giovanni meets Donna Elvira
1-2-3-4-5
1-2-3-4-5
My opinion
1-2-3-4-5
Leporello sings about the Catalog
1-2-3-4-5
1-2-3-4-5
My opinion
1-2-3-4-5
Don Giovanni meets Zerlina and Masetto
1-2-3-4-5
1-2-3-4-5
My opinion
1-2-3-4-5
Don Giovanni sweet-talks Zerlina
1-2-3-4-5
1-2-3-4-5
My opinion
1-2-3-4-5
Donna Elvira appears
1-2-3-4-5
1-2-3-4-5
My opinion
1-2-3-4-5
57
October 29, 2011
Don Giovanni: My Highs & Lows
Conducted by fabio luisi
THE SHOW, SCENE BY SCENE action
musicset design/staging
Donna Anna realizes who the masked man was 1-2-3-4-5
1-2-3-4-5
My opinion
1-2-3-4-5
The party in the ballroom
1-2-3-4-5
1-2-3-4-5
My opinion
1-2-3-4-5
Leporello and Don Giovanni trade identities
1-2-3-4-5
1-2-3-4-5
My opinion
1-2-3-4-5
Leporello and Donna Elvira
1-2-3-4-5
1-2-3-4-5
My opinion
1-2-3-4-5
Don Giovanni and Masetto
1-2-3-4-5
1-2-3-4-5
My opinion
1-2-3-4-5
The graveyard
My opinion
1-2-3-4-5
1-2-3-4-5
1-2-3-4-5
Don Ottavio and Donna Anna
My opinion
1-2-3-4-5
1-2-3-4-5
1-2-3-4-5
Don Giovanni’s dinner guest
My opinion
1-2-3-4-5
1-2-3-4-5
1-2-3-4-5
The big finish
My opinion
1-2-3-4-5
1-2-3-4-5
1-2-3-4-5
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