The Arts in New York City
I was impressed at how well the orchestra and opera singers were keeping up with each other. They were able to match each other down to each individual word and note. It showed how much effort and time was spent trying to perfect the performance and it made me gain newfound respect for them. I was also surprised at the last scene of the opera where Don Giovanni was dragged down to hell. Throughout the entire opera, I kept wondering how that scene would play out. While debating about it in my head, I finally convinced myself that they would probably skip that scene since it would be difficult to have real fire on the stage. It was at the same moment that stage cracked and fire appeared while Giovanni was being dragged down to “hell”. However, I wasn’t the only one that was surprised. I found that once that scene came on, everyone around me became wide-awake. Out of the whole performance, it was the most exciting and unexpected scene.
I also found that watching the opera, as opposed to just reading it, gave a better glimpse at the characteristics of each character. For example, Don Giovanni represents pleasure and greed. Giovanni’s only goals in life are women and wine. He refuses to back down or change his ways as evident when he chooses hell. He ultimately doesn’t care about the feelings of the people, such as Leporello and the women he played, that surrounded him. Leporello is essentially Giovanni’s shadow as he represents the polar opposite of Giovanni. The idea of Leporello being Giovanni’s shadow is further supported by the resemblance between the actors of Leporello and Giovanni during the opera and the twins that were casted to play them in the clip we saw at the library. Leporello represents restraint, poverty, cowardice and failure with women. The women in the opera portray fickleness. For example, Donna Elvira moves between hating and loving Giovanni. In the beginning of the opera, Donna Elvira wants revenge on Giovanni but after some coaxing she goes back to loving him. Zerlina, on the other hand, alternates between Maestro and Giovanni. Donna Anna doesn’t stay true to her word and keeps giving excuses. In the beginning of the opera, she refuses to marry until she gets revenge for her father but at the end she still refuses to marry because she needs a year of mourning. Don Ottavio represents loyalty. He is devoted to Donna Anna and swears to get revenge for her, even if it means killing a friend.
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I enjoyed reading this remarkable review because it is written in a non-opaque, unambiguous manner and the opinions mentioned are similar to the many thoughts I had pertaining to Don Giovanni. At first, I believed that it would be impossible to execute the “Hell” part in a live opera performance, but as soon as I visually saw it with my two eyes, I was in complete disbelief. The middle of the stage erupted, with flames bursting out of the hole produced, and the statue of the Commendatore literally dragged Don Giovanni into the Earth below for failing to repent for his actions, ultimately getting his revenge. The fire was so intense, I actually felt the heat rising high up, high enough to reach our seats. To some extent, I found it to be quite hysterical because I did not actually think that Don Giovanni would be dragged into “Hell.”
Reading the libretto and watching the libretto substantiate into a well-organized opera performance were completely different. By actually seeing the physical characters rather than mentally imagining them, it helped in better understanding the opera. Even though it would have been more beneficial to be seated at a lower level to improve our ability to see the expressions of the performers, the acting compensated for this detriment. I agree with your view of Don Giovanni, as it is substantiated by his actions, most noticeably seducing women and drinking alcoholic beverages. Overall, the performance was probably the best one out of all the ones attended this semester, with the “Hell” part certainly contributing to this opinion.
I must say that I agree with Christine’s character assessments. The characters do seem to represent specific attitudes and emotions. Giovanni, to me, is the embodiment of the seven deadly sins. (Give me a moment to go to Wikipedia.) Lust I don’t need to elaborate on; gluttony I am associating not with his overconsumption of food, but of women. Greed and envy he shows when he tries to rape Zerlina on her wedding day. Don Giovanni’s pride is shown in Leporello’s aria about all the women his master has seduced. Wrath and sloth aren’t very obvious, although I’m pretty sure wrath was involved when the stage exploded and Don Giovanni was dragged down to Hell.