When reading the libretto, I thought of Don Giovanni as being more tragic than comedic. There were some comedic moments that seemed to be sprinkled throughout the libretto; for example, Leporello’s aria where he sings about the different women that Don Giovanni has been with. Don Giovanni as a whole (the libretto and the opera) is a mix of both comedy and tragedy, but to me, the libretto highlights the tragedies and the opera highlights the comedic moments. While watching the opera, I felt myself laughing more than I felt myself feeling sad for the characters. There were a lot more moments in the opera that when acted out, was funnier than read in the libretto. For example, I didn’t think that interactions between Don Giovanni and Leporello when they were alone were as funny as the opera made it seem. When I was reading it in the libretto, I thought it had a more serious tone, rather than Don Giovanni joking and playing around with Leporello. Everything though, did happen because of Don Giovanni’s tragic flaw, which is his womanizing ways. He didn’t even repent at the end, which ultimately caused his death. Even with such a tragic ending (or what was supposed to be tragic), the rest of the characters like Zerlina, Don Octavio, Donna Anna, Masseto, Donna Elvira and Leporello made everything light-hearted as they each told the audience what they were going to do. For example, one of the two couples said they were just going to go back home to eat dinner, and Leporello only said that he was going to find a new master. With each tragic scene, the next scene seems to offset the tragic atmosphere with comedy. To me, it seems like the live version of Don Giovanni was more comedic than tragic.

There were clear differences in class that were reflected in the libretto and the opera. Clothes, for instance, were strikingly different between the nobility and the peasants. Even the names give off the clear differences in social class; the nobility had Don/Donna in front of their names whereas the peasants were just referred to as their first names. Mere actions in the opera defined the differences in social class. For example, Leporello practically tends to everything Don Giovanni does, because Don Giovanni is his master and therefore is of higher status than him. When Don Giovanni drops down Leporello’s jacket (after they switched clothes) Leporello rushed to pick up the jacket and puts it back on Don Giovanni. Don Giovanni exudes an air of nobility when dealing with women, like Zerlina and Donna Elvira.

The music did enhance the story. There were certain parts where the music became thunderous, which was almost like a warning to the audience that there was something bad happening. This anticipation creates a mood, and that enhanced the story. The music were like cues to the different scenes and set up the transitions between the different scenes. The music definitely reflecte the type of relationships between the characters, therefore reflecting the mood at the particular scene. For example, most of the scenes where Leporello and Don Giovanni interact had light-hearted music, when it was more comedic than tragic. The music enhances the story and gives you expectations.

Opera differs from the contemporary performances in the way that it incorporates dancing, singing and acting. It is more structured in the sense that the actors have to become someone else and express emotions that the character is feeling, whereas in contemporary performances it seems like the dancers are able to express themselves to a certain extent given the choreography. They don’t have to pretend to be someone else, but instead can be themselves. To me, operas are more enjoyable since it is more clear in its story line, whereas contemporary performances can be interpreted in so many different ways.