Review of Don Giovanni

Settling into my seat in the Metropolitan Opera House, I attempted to work the screen in the seat in front of me so as to have subtitles available, however, it did not function.  There were two possibilities.  Either I did not know how to properly work the screen, or the screen was broken.  Considering my competency with almost all things, I am forced to assume the latter.  Of course, this made little difference to me, as I took it upon myself to date a dozen or so Italian girls during the first months of the semester in order to learn Italian prior to the performance.

My only prior knowledge of the Don Juan legend was Lord Byron’s epic poem.  It is truly ironic, that Byron’s interpretation of a Byronic character would make him so un-Byronic.  Keeping this in mind, along with our class discussion on Donna Anna, I considered different ways to interpret many of the characters in the opera.  Was Donna Anna raped/nearly raped by Don Giovanni? Or was she actually seduced by him?  Is Zerlina an ingénue being taken advantage of by Don Giovanni?  Or is she more of a coquette, who aims to leave behind Masetto for the Don’s charm and rank?  And Masetto, is he rash and needlessly jealous?  Or is he genuinely worried for Zerlina but feels inferior to Don Giovanni?

There were two parts of the performance that most impressed me.  The first, Leporello’s Catalogue Aria, was incredible not just as a musical piece, but also as an aid in the characterization of the Don.  Who knows, if Giovanni did not meet his demise at the end of the opera, he might have lived to reach numbers rivaling my own.  And that brings us to the end of the opera.  It was spectacular.  The flames were intense and entirely unexpected, but even without them, the commendatore’s part alone was enough to send chills down my spine.