I think Don Giovanni can be seen as both a comedy and a tragedy. Throughout the opera, I sensed the comedic aspects in Giovanni’s conversations with his servant Leporello about his desire for women.  I think Giovanni’s character is comedic; he charms a woman and shows great love for her, but forgets all about his relationship as soon as he sees another attractive woman.  For example, while one of his past mistresses, Donna Elvira suffers from the end of her relationship with Giovanni, he moves on with his conquests on other women including Donna Anna and Zerlina. He acts as if he never had a relationship with any of the women. He does not think twice about leaving his current mistress to pursue love with another, as if it is okay and he has done nothing wrong. As Elvira mourns for her lost love with Giovanni, he is busy wooing Zerlina and simply ignores her. I especially think that his conversations with Leporello are comedic because Giovanni asks Leporello to help him so he does not get in trouble for his numerous affairs. Of course he thinks he should not get in trouble, but he knows that society would punish him if his affairs were revealed. I think the tragic motif shows through when Giovanni’s actions hurt others. He does not pity the women’s feelings, but simply them for his own pleasure. Also, even though Leporello sees him as a friend, he does not treat him as so for he does not consider the pain Leporello has to go through to cover for him; Leporello almost gets killed by Donna Anna and Don Ottavio when he is forced to dress like Giovanni so he can pursue Zerlina. The character who seems to be most hurt by Giovanni’s selfish acts is Donna Elvira who constantly regrets Giovanni leaving her.

There were obvious class differences reflected in the libretto. Most of the couples included people from the same class: Donna Anna and Don Ottavio were both aristocratic and Zerlina and Massetto were both of the low class, maybe peasants. However, Don Giovanni did not discriminate women from different classes. He waged his conquests on both aristocratic (Donna Elmira and Donna Anna) and low class women (Zerlina). Also, as Don Giovanni tried to pursue Zerlina, Masseto, thought at first that he would not be able to speak out against an aristocrat like Giovanni.

The music definitely enhanced the story because it vividly depicted the mood and emotions of the libretto. When Don Giovanni woos Zerlina, the music had high pitch, harmonious sounds that fit well with the excitement in the scene. On the other hand, when Giovanni gets dragged into hell in his meeting with the Commendatore, the orchestra played low, strident sounds that emphasized the horrific situation. The music served the function of pouring out the intense emotions of this opera.

Seeing the opera was definitely as great of an experience as going to the contemporary performances. The difference between the opera and the contemporary performances was that we had read the libretto and were aware of how the opera would progress. On the other hand, the contemporary performances, such as that of RoseAnn Spradlin, were very intense and thrilling because we saw it for the first time. I think the contemporary performances included the element of awe more so than the opera because we did not expect certain things to happen. Don Giovanni opera was my first opera so it was a special, exciting event. However, it was like reading a book and watching a movie of it, which is less exhilarating than watching a movie or performance for the first time.

-Faryal

I think Don Giovanni can be classified as both a comedy and tragedy because it exhibits qualities of both genres.  One of the main aspects of comedy in the opera for me was the “Catalogue Aria” in which Leporello sings about all of the different women Don Giovanni has been with.  He takes out a book and sings about how there were so many women from each country and how the Don likes women of all sizes.  Although this may not be a very happy moment for Donna Elvira, the audience laughs at the different girls that Leporello is describing.  There were other comic parts in the production we saw, mostly from Leporello.  One example would be when he was dressed up as Don Giovanni and mimicking how his seducing of a woman.  Despite these comedic moments, Don Giovanni is also very much a tragedy.  Don Giovanni has a tragic flaw, his womanizing.  He goes after many women whoever they are even if they are married or if the refuse.  At the opera’s end, Don Giovanni dies tragically when he is dragged down to hell with fire.  In addition to Don Giovanni’s death is the death of the Commendatore at the beginning.  Thus, although Don Giovanni is often comical, it’s end is quite tragic.

The theme of class differences is seen throughout the opera.  Leporello is Don Giovanni’s slave, and Don Giovanni is of nobility.  Although he is Don Giovanni’s friend, Leporello complains often about wanting to leave the Don, but he does not until his master is dead.  Leporello must do things for Don Giovanni even when he does not want to.  It can also be said that because Don Giovanni is of nobility, he may feel entitled to whatever woman he wants.  For example, when he is trying to rape Donna Anna at the beginning, he may feel entitled to her, but she tried to fight back.  The “Catalogue Aria” which tells about all of the women that Don Giovanni has been with can also show gender differences.  In the live performance of the opera, we were able to see the class differences even more because of the costumes worn by the actors.  The peasants did not wear the same elegant clothing that the nobility wore.  For example, Zerlina’s dress was not as fancy as the dresses worn by Donna Anna and Donna Elvria.  The names in the opera show these class differences as well.  The characters with “Don” or “Donna” before their names have a higher status than the other characters.

I believe the music did enhance the story.  It emphasizes the lyrics and makes the message stronger.  Music can make the audience feel tension or happiness or whatever other feelings the composer is trying to convey.  Especially in Don Giovanni, I think the music can help the audience members follow the story because the language is foreign to many of us.  Leporello is one of the more comical characters in the play, which is displayed in his songs.  When he sings the “Catalogue Aria,” the music has an upbeat and carefree feel although what he sings about is not necessarily a good quality of his master.  This song can also contribute to the understanding of the relationships between Don Giovanni and the women he has seduced because the music almost reflects the qualities of the women that Leporello sings about.  For example, the lyrics about blonde girls were lighter than the music about the brunettes.

I enjoyed Don Giovanni; however, I tend to enjoy modern pieces more.  It was interesting to see Don Giovanni because I have never been to an opera before.  The type of singing is very different than most modern performances, such as Broadway Musicals.  Unlike most contemporary performances, the opera has music throughout.  The costumes are more ornate; however, modern performance can have very interesting, unique costumes as seen in some of the events we have been to as a class.  I enjoy contemporary shows more than operas because I like the breaks without music between songs as well as the fact that they are often mostly in English.  Still, I have only seen one opera so I cannot fully judge how much I like or do not like them.

At first, after only reading the libretto and a few online articles, I thought of Don Giovanni as neither a comedy or a tragedy but rather a nice balance between the two. The funny aspects stemming from Leporello and his behaviors with other characters along with the seriousness of the last scene between the Commodore and Don Giovanni made me come to this decision of a mixed bag of comedy and tragedy. I read online somewhere that Mozart actually meant it to be a so-called “dramatic comedy” or “dramma giocoso“: a mix of serious and comic action. This influenced my reading of the libretto, so I went along with the idea of it being a “dramma giocoso” and read it as such. However, after watching the adaptation at the MET Opera, I must say that my view has changed a little bit. Needless to say, the libretto and the opera rendition that we saw are two completely separate entities, but both followed the same story line. It all came down to the reader’s/viewer’s perspective along with the perspectives of those who produced the opera. With that said, I now feel that Don Giovanni is more of a comedy than a tragedy. Indeed, he did have a tragic flaw, which included his stubbornness and disregard for repentance, but the comedic aspects of the opera outweighed the seemingly sudden seriousness of the opera that was reared at the end. I felt that the comedic aspects were present throughout the the majority of the opera, while the tragic aspects only came to light during the end.

In the libretto, there are very evident class differences that are shown. For example, when Don Giovanni thinks he should just be entitled to basically marry Zerlina, a class difference is shown. Also, all of the nobles have “Don” or “Donna” before their names–this is a clear class difference. When Don Giovanni talks to the noble women such as Donna Anna and Donna Elvira, he has a different tone about him that’s separate from the tones he uses to plebeians such as Zerlina. Mozart may have been playing with the notion that nobles are also much more troublesome through all of the relationship problems. For example, Zerlina and Masetto seem to be a perfect couple, whereas Donna Anna and Don Ottavio/Don Giovanni and any other woman cannot have a stable relationship. Perhaps Mozart was trying to show that the lower-class are much more humble and would happily take what they have, while the upper-class cannot accept anything that’s thrown at them.

The music during the performance definitely enhanced the story. I felt that when a major moment was coming up, the music would get more tense. I also felt that the different tempos kept the pace of the story moving with varying flows. At one point the story would be fast-paced and moving, and other times the story would be slow and melodic. The festive parts of the opera also had fun music, which kept me wide-awake.

In my opinion, opera, as an older form of performance, is obviously extremely treasured and high-class, whereas the contemporary performances we viewed could have been viewed by anyone. The opera is expensive! Therefore, it gave off a very aristocratic feel. It was actually quite cool to have experienced that for my first time. However, I must say that I much rather prefer the contemporary performances to the older form of opera. To me, the opera was quite boring; I had to sometimes catch myself from nodding off (Sorry, Donna). I mean, the experience itself was fun, but the opera performance was too long and uneventful for me. Perhaps I have ADD and cannot pay attention for too long, but the opera felt very dragged out. I understand that this is the way an opera is meant to be, so I am appreciative of the opportunity we had. The skill of the performers is obviously astronomical. However, the opera just isn’t for me. The contemporary performances just keep my attention for a longer period of time, and there are more “ooh’s” and “ahh’s” that keep me interested and amazed.

I believe Don Giovanni was more of a serious opera rather than a comedic one. However, it may just be that the director of this specific production interpreted Mozart’s Don Giovanni as opera seria. Although the main tale of Don Giovanni offers a serious lesson to be learned, upon reading libretto, I felt as if Don Giovanni was comedy. I received a totally different feeling from the libretto than watching the live performance. I believe much of the seriousness of Don Giovanni relies upon the interpretations of the director and actors. In the performance we viewed, there were moments of dark setting, ominous music, and somber singing. In the text of the libretto, it is impossible to indicate these serious elements. Although the Don Giovanni we attended was resoundingly serious, some comedic content did make its way into the opera. To me, these were the keen moments where the opera shined. Much of the comedic relief took the form of Leporello’s peculiar relationship with Don Giovanni.

Social class is undoubtedly a vital motif in Don Giovanni, but class differences were much more noticeable in the live production than the text of the libretto. Much of the class differences can be seen in the differences in attire. Peasants such as Zerlina and Massetto wore clothes that were more homely than aristocrats such as Don Ottavio and Donna Anna. Characters of the upper social class also carried themselves with an air of elitism. This is especially evident in the scenes with master Don Giovanni and servant Leporello. The libretto did not reflect social class in the same ways the productions did, mainly because only so much can be inferred from the text.

Music definitely enhanced the story. I believe that had the opera been without music, it would be far more difficult to follow the plot of Don Giovanni. The music added cues that helped make it clear which scenes were meant to be sad, serious, escalating, or deescalating. For example, the scene where Giovanni is dragged down into hell is set to deep, low music. Many of the relationships between characters were also reflected in the sound of the music. Scenes with Don Giovanni and Leporello were often set to high pitched music to reflect the lighthearted and jocular nature of the scenes. I believe music helped communicate the story better because the singing in the opera was in an unfamiliar language. Whereas Italian may only be understood by certain individuals, the sound of music is universal. You can tell the mood of scenes of the opera by listening to the music alone.

I will admit that I found opera not as engaging as the more contemporary performances we attended throughout the semester. However, this did not surprise me because opera is more traditional and lacks the activity of modern dance and the like. The opera we viewed also had prolonged moments of downtime where the only thing happening on stage was repetitive singing. These moments were uneventful to say the least.

The opera itself gave a very different feel from the mood reflected in the libretto. The libretto makes the story of Don Giovanni seem more like a comedy than a tragedy, but after watching the opera, the tragic themes became more prominent. There were still many comic elements in the opera, such as the aria sung by Leporello, the quibbles between Leporello and Don Giovanni, the ruse Don Giovanni and Leporello play, and the party scene in Don Giovanni’s manor. The presence of many comedic moments makes the opera less of a tragedy than it was probably meant to be. This question was also asked in class and upon reading the libretto, I thought that it was an opera buffa rather than an opera seria. Leporello’s character made me laugh especially, even during the opera itself. I realized, however, just how tragic the story of Don Giovanni is once we saw the show. The lighting was very dim, the themes were dark, and Don Giovanni’s selfish motives were all too clear. Overall, I think of Don Giovanni as a tragedy with a multitude of comic elements mixed within it.

There were clear class differences reflected in the language of the libretto. For example, Don Giovanni took on a different tone and form of language when he talked to Zerlina or Donna Anna or Donna Elvira. He is much less formal when he talks to Zerlina than when he talks to the other two women. Even the names of characters reflect the class differences. The noblemen and noblewomen/ aristocrats have “Don” or “Donna” placed in front of their first names, whereas the working class/ peasantry are simply addressed by their names.

The music completely transforms the story. Reading the opera as it is written in the libretto and listening to it sung on stage are two completely different experiences. When I read the libretto, I adapted the mood, tone, setting, language, etc. to what I perceived them to be, whether my interpretation was accurate or not. Reading is an experience in your mind and although authors usually write their pieces with a message in mind, they often leave an opening for their readers to make their own interpretations about the plot. Listening to the opera, however, put our perceptions and interpretations at the hands of the composer, conductor, director, and opera singers. The music enhanced the story because it made it clearer that the opera is supposed to be a tragedy. The story came alive, but also overshadowed, by all of the dramatic elements that the music added. The music helped the audience understand the fully story of the characters: their inner struggles, aspirations, and desires. For example, the songs that Donna Anna sings are all very sad, angry, or full of vengeance. The music elucidates Donna Anna’s determination to avenge the murder of her father. The relationships present in Don Giovanni are quite complex, some of them more so than others. Don Giovanni and Leporello’s relationship is arguably the most important and most difficult to understand. I’m not exactly sure how the music helped me in understanding their friendship, but even now I still wonder who depends on whom to a higher degree. Would Don Giovanni be able to succeed in his undertakings without Leporello? Would Leporello be anyone if he weren’t with Don Giovanni?

The opera was very structured, unlike the contemporary performances we watched in this class. I knew what was going to happen next in the story because I had already read the libretto. The modern performances were completely unexpected and unfamiliar to me. The whole idea of modern and post-modern dance were unbeknownst to me before this class, whereas I had already heard of the opera from many, many years ago. I do, however, find that I enjoyed the contemporary performances more than I did the opera. I found the opera to be quite dry and static. The music and singing were beautiful, but I wanted to see more dynamic changes on stage and this wasn’t the case in the opera. Watching the contemporary performances kept me on my toes, because I never knew what was going to happen next. I don’t dislike the older forms of performance just because of one opera, and I would like to watch another one in order to attain a fuller, broader opinion of this form of performance before I make a ‘final’ decision.

Don Giovanni was an extreme pleasure to watch for the second time, as I already knew the lyrics and I had seen it in 8th grade. I think this opera was definitely a tragedy because although it contained elements of comedy here and there, it ended with the main character falling into Hell. Act II especially was submerged into this very dark tone of death and fate, which definitely out-shadowed the comedy. I also believe the biggest contribution to this tragic attribute was the moral within this story, which is that no one cannot simply abuse of others without paying for it, and the protagonist learned it on his own skin. Another important theme in the Don Giovanni was social classes. Class differences were very noticeable and well portrayed in the performance: both the costume choices and the way the actors behaved when confronted with each other reflected their social status and gave a sense of who had the power. Especially when Masetto and Don Giovanni had encounters one could really see the power-abusing manners of the noble class as compared to the zealous and humble lower-class.

The music contributed to the story in the sense that it set the tone of a scene before anything happened. One could already tell what kind of actions were going to take place just by listening to an allegro or a moderato; the different tempos really gave me hints about the happenings. The music also contributed to the understanding of the relationship between the characters as, for example, in love scenes the music would slow down to a dreamy game of notes.

Opera, to me, is one of the most articulated and noble of all art performances. As I was watching Don Giovanni I could not stop wondering how long it took to put such thing together, how much talent, creativity and genius was put into it. Opera must be one of the most well-rounded forms of performance out there, as it incorporates dance, acting, singing and music composition. I believe it must be preserved as precious treasure and harmony of different art fields.

Sara Camnasio

Entering the opera house in Lincoln Center, I knew I would be in for a great experience. Lincoln Center itself has one of the grandest atmospheres in Manhattan, and walking in that area, especially dressed-up and ready to go to the opera, is a special moment in New York City. After learning about Don Giovanni, I was curious to see how the performance would compare to my expectations. From the libretto, research, and discussions in class, I already formed my opinion that Don Giovanni was a tragedy. From the opening, Leporello complains about the trying life of having Don Giovanni as a master. Don Giovanni does not care about the morals of his servant; he pushes Leporello into vile acts so that his greedy thirst for women can be quenched. This behavior is completely self-centered, as it puts Leporello in a moral bind – and that is only the opening scene. From there, Don Giovanni is seen escaping from Donna Anna’s bedroom, which indicates a possible rape and he kills Donna Anna’s father while leaving. This man’s lifestyle cannot be characterized as merely indulgent or the womanizer lifestyle. This is a terrible man. While he may be humanized in the opera, it is also important to not that the opera was once called “The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni,” acknowledging his evil deeds. The finale, his death, is a proclamation that those who sin are ultimately punished. But while in the opera, I did not feel it was performed as tragically as I’d hoped. I knew that Mozart wrote Don Giovanni to go smoothly from serious to comedy, but I felt like the plot should be done in a more serious manner, so that the audience does not lose sight of the fact that he is committing terrible crimes. In the opera house, I felt that Don Giovanni was taken more as a comedy that a tragedy.

The opera also takes on the heavy subject of class, at a time when class was very important to a person’s entire being. In Mozart’s illustration of the relationship between Zerlina and Don Giovanni gives a very clear distinction from the relationship between two members of equal status. He feels that he can easily persuade her to fall for him with the temptation of money, status, and the mere flattery of having a nobleman interested in her, and she is interested. Donna Elvira, on the other hand, is persuaded by a promise of love; he does not offer her anything but himself in that relationship. Similarly, Zerlina and Masetto have a purer form of love that is similar to the love between Donna Anna and Don Ottavio. The only two people of different statuses who seem to have some sort of equality in their relationship are Don Giovanni and Leporello. While Leporello is Don Giovanni’s servant and has an obligation to act upon his request, they have some sort of mutual respect.

Music in the opera played a crucial role in relaying the message of each scene. Especially in the intimate scenes, such as Don Ottavio’s aria, the music was key. The lyrics alone simply do not demonstrate the intense emotions, as they are often repetitive and simple, but the music has depth. This is how the viewer can see into the emotions of the characters, by the way they are sung and performed, rather than by the actual text, which is more of a skeleton for the rest of the performance.

After seeing all of our more contemporary performances this semester, it was very interesting seeing such an old art form performed in a similar setting. While there are a lot of differences between the old and new, the universal themes of Don Giovanni allow anyone to feel some connection to the characters. A reminder of our history, it is comforting to think that everything we are going through has, in some form, been experienced by our ancestors. The opera is a reminder of our past, a reminder of those who came before us and experienced those same experiences we are now. While we have modern technology, opera stand to show that some things don’t change. Despite this, I found the opera to be a different experience from other, more modern experiences. The feeling of entering an opera theatre is much more formal than any modern performance I have attended. It has an antiquated feel, which is natural, but also comes with a distant reverence that modern performance has tried to shatter by crushing the boundaries between high art and everyday culture. The opera is something untouchable, and while this can be off-putting for some, it also makes the opera a special experience.

Meira