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.