MOZART had been so well satisfied with Da Ponte's libretto for "Figaro"
that he had no hesitation in intrusting the new libretto to him, and
immediately on his return to Vienna they consulted together as to the
choice of subject. Da Ponte, fully convinced of the many-sidedness of
Mozart's genius, proposed "Don Giovanni," and Mozart at once agreed to
it. Da Ponte relates,[1] with an amusing amount of swagger, that he was
engaged at one and the same time on "Tarar" for Salieri, on the "Arbore
di Diana" for Martin, and on "Don Giovanni" for Mozart. Joseph II. made
some remonstrance on this, to which Da Ponte answered that he would do
his best; he could write for Mozart at night and imagine himself
reading Dante's "Inferno"; for Martin in the morning, and be reminded
of Petrarch; and in the evening for Salieri, who should be his Tasso.
Thereupon he set to work, a bottle of wine and his Spanish snuffbox
before him, and his hostess's pretty daughter by his side to enact the
part of inspiring muse. The first day, the two first scenes of "Don
Giovanni," two scenes of the "Arbore di Diana," and more than half of
the first act of "Tarar" were written, and in sixty-three days the
whole of the first two operas and two-thirds of the last were ready.
Unfortunately we have no certain information either of the share taken
by Mozart in the construction of the text, nor of the manner in which
his composition was carried on. The warmth of his reception at Prague
made the contrast of his position in Vienna all the more galling to
him. On the departure of Storace, Kelly, and Attwood for England, in
February, 1787, he had seriously entertained the idea of following them
as soon as they had found a situation worthy of his acceptance
{VIENNA, 1787--DITTERSDORF.}
(127)
in London. The bass singer Fischer, who was visiting Vienna,[2] wrote in
Mozart's album on April 1, 1787, the following verses, more well-meaning
than poetical:--
Die holde Göttin Harmonie Der Tone und der Seelen,
Ich dächte wohl, sie sollten nie
Die Musensöhnen fehlen,
Doch oft ist Herz und
Mund verstimmt;
Dort singen Lippen Honig,
Wo doch des Neides Feuer glimmt--
Glaub mir, es gebe wenig Freunde die den
Stempel tragen Echter Treu, Rechtschaffenheit.
The lines throw a light on Mozart's relations to his fellow-artists,
and the hint contained in Barisani's album verses, written on April 14,
1787, that the Italian composers envied him his art (Vol. II., p. 306),
leaves no doubt as to whose envy, in the opinion of himself and his
friends, he had to dread. A musical connoisseur, visiting Vienna on his
return from Italy in the spring of 1787,[3] found everybody engrossed
with Martin's "Cosa Rara," which, Storace's departure having rendered
its performance in Italian impossible, was being played in a German
adaptation at the Marinelli theatre with success. Dittersdorfs success
in German opera had also the effect of throwing Mozart completely into
the shade.
Dittersdorf (1739-1799)[4] came to Vienna during Lent, 1786,[5] to
produce his oratorio of "Job" at the concerts of the Musical Society,
and he afterwards gave two concerts in the Augarten, at which his
symphonies on Ovid's "Metamorphoses" were performed. The genuine success
of these compositions led to his being requested to write a German
opera. Stephanie junior, theatrical director at the time, provided him
with the incredibly dull libretto of the "Doctor und Apotheker," which
was played for the first
{DON GIOVANNI.}
(128)
time on July 11, 1786, and twenty times subsequently during the year.
That which had not been attained by the success of the "Entführung,"
happened in this case. Dittersdorf was at once requested to write a
second opera, "Betrug durch Aberglauben," which was performed on October
3, 1786, with not less applause than the first; it was followed by a
third "Die Liebe im Narrenhause," also very well received on April 12,
1787. On the other hand, an Italian opera by Dittersdorf, "Democrito
Corretto," first performed on January 2, 1787, was a complete failure.
Dittersdorf's brilliant triumph over such composers as Umlauf, Hanke,
or Ruprecht, is not to be wondered at; his operas rapidly spread from
Vienna to all the other German theatres, and he acquired a popularity
far in excess of most other composers.[6] True merit was undoubtedly at
the bottom of this; he was skilful in appropriating the good points both
of opera buffa and of French comic opera, and his finales and ensemble
movements are specially happy in effect; he was not only thoroughly
experienced in the management of voices, but, being a fertile
instrumental composer, he had learnt from the example and precedent of
Haydn to employ his orchestra independently, and with good effect.
His easy flow of invention furnished him with an abundance of pleasing
melodies, a considerable amount of comic talent showed itself in
somewhat highly flavoured jokes, and his music had an easy-going,
good-tempered character, which, though often sinking into Philistinism,
was, nevertheless, genuinely German. Far behind Grétry as he was in
intellect and refinement, he decidedly excelled him in musical ability.
Life and originality were incontestably his, but depth of feeling or
nobility of form will be sought for in vain in his works. Each new
opera was a mere repetition of that which had first been so successful,
affording constant proof of his limited powers, which were rightly
estimated by some of his contemporaries.[7] Joseph II.
{COMPOSITIONS IN 1787.}
(129)
shared the partiality of the public for Dittersdorf's lighter style of
music, and rewarded him munificently when he left Vienna in the spring
of 1787. But the Emperor took no real interest in German opera--the
company received their dismissal in the autumn of 1787, and the
performances ceased in February, 1788.[8]
Mozart's autograph Thematic Catalogue contains few important works
between his return to Vienna and his second journey to Prague:--
1787. March 11. Rondo for pianoforte, A minor (511 K.).
March 18. Scena for Fischer, "Non sö d'onde viene" (512 K.).
March 23. Air for Gottfried von Jacquin, "M entre ti lascio" (513 K.).
April 6. Rondo for the horn, for Leutgeb (514 K.).
April 19. Quintet for two violins, two violas, and violoncello, C major
(Vol. III., p. 19) (515 K.).
May 16. Quintet, G minor (Vol. III., p. 20) (516 K.).
May 18, 20, 23, 26. A song on each (517-520 K.).
May 20. A piano sonata for four hands, in C major (521 K.).
June 11. A musical jest (Vol. II., p. 367, 522 K.).
June 24. Two songs (523, 524 K.).
August 10. Serenade (525 K.).
August 24. Pianoforte sonata with violin, in A major (526 K.).
These were probably all composed for social or teaching purposes; even
the two quintets, which are worthy of the first rank, were no doubt
written to order for a particular musical circle. Nor were these
compositions to the taste of the Viennese public of the day. The
traveller already mentioned notes as follows:[9]--
Kozeluch's works hold their ground, and are always acceptable, while
Mozart's are not by any means so popular. It is true; and the fact
receives fresh confirmation from his quartets dedicated to Haydn, that
he has a decided leaning to what is difficult and unusual. But on the
other hand, how great and noble are his ideas--how daring a spirit does
he display in them!
The amount of industry with which Mozart worked at "Don Giovanni" is
unknown to us. We may conclude that, if he followed his usual habit,
he plunged eagerly into his new libretto at first, and afterwards
procrastinated over
{DON GIOVANNI.}
(130)
the actual transcription of his ideas. The received tradition represents
him as bringing the unfinished opera to Prague in September, 1787,[10]
and completing it, incited by intercourse with the intended
performers and the stimulating society of his enthusiastic friends and
admirers.[11] The impresario, who was bound to provide accommodation for
the composer until after the performance, had lodged Mozart in a house,
"bei drei Löwen" (on the market-place).[12] He preferred, however,
the vineyard of his friend Duschek at Kossir (Kosohirz); and the
summer-house and stone table are still shown at which he used to sit
writing his score, with lively talk and bowl-playing going on round
him.[13] All such stories as those of the delicate diplomacy with
which Mozart apportioned the several parts to the satisfaction of the
performers, of his having been obliged to appease L. Bassi, indignant at
Don Giovanni having no proper grand air to sing; of his having
composed "La ci darem la mano" five times before he could satisfy the
singers,[14] repose on the same foundation as those of his
{PERFORMANCE IN PRAGUE, 1787.}
(131)
love-making with the female performers.[15] As to this, we know his
relations with the Duscheks; Teresa Saporiti is said to have expressed
her surprise that so great an artist should be so insignificant in
appearance; whereat Mozart, touched on his weakest point, diverted his
attentions from her and bestowed them on Micelli or Bondini--there were
no other female artists in Prague at that time. We are unfortunate in
having no information as to the influence exerted on the details of
the composition by the idiosyncracies of the singers and other
circumstances. Two anecdotes obtained credence at the time, both
relating to the rehearsals for which Da Ponte had also come from
Vienna;[16] he was lodged at the back of the inn "Zum Platteis," and the
poet and composer could converse with each other from their respective
windows.
In the finale of the first act Teresa Bondini as Zerlina failed to utter
the cry for help in a sufficiently spontaneous manner. After many vain
attempts, Mozart went himself on to the stage, had the whole thing
repeated, and at the right moment gave the singer so unexpected and
severe a push that she shrieked out in alarm. "That's right," he
exclaimed, laughing, "that is the way to shriek!" The words of the
Commendatore in the churchyard scene were originally, it is said,
accompanied only by the trombones. The trombone-players failing to
execute the passage, Mozart went to the desk, and began to explain how
it might be done, whereupon one of them said: "It cannot be played in
that way, nor can even you teach us how to do it." Mozart answered,
laughing: "God forbid that I should teach you to play the trumpet; give
me the parts, and I will alter them." He did so accordingly, and added
the wood wind instruments.[17]
{DON GIOVANNI.}
(132)
A good omen for the reception of the new opera was afforded by a
brilliant performance of "Figaro" on October 14,[18] under Mozart's
direction, in honour of the bride of Prince Anton of Saxony, the
Archduchess Maria Theresa of Toscana, who was passing through Prague on
her wedding tour.[19] Nevertheless, Mozart himself felt far from secure
of the success of "Don Giovanni"; and after the first rehearsal, while
taking a walk with the orchestral conductor Kucharz, he asked him in
confidence what he thought of the opera, and whether it was likely to
achieve so decided a success as that of "Figaro." Kucharz answered that
he could entertain no doubt of the success of such fine and original
music, and that anything coming from Mozart would meet with ready
recognition from the Prague public. Mozart declared himself satisfied
with such an opinion from a musician, and said he was ready to spare
neither pains nor labour to produce a work worthy of Prague.[20]
Thus approached the day of performance, October 29 (not November 4),
1787; and on the previous evening the overture was still unwritten, to
the great consternation of Mozart's assembled friends. We have already
told (Vol. II., p. 414) how he parted late from the merry company, and
sat down to write with a glass of punch before him, and his wife telling
him stories by his side; how sleep overcame him, and he was obliged
to lie down for several hours before completing his task; and how the
copyist was sent for at seven o'clock in the morning, and the overture
was ready at
{SUCCESS IN PRAGUE}
(133).
the appointed time.[21] There was barely time to write out the parts
before the beginning of the opera, which indeed was somewhat delayed
on this account. The well-drilled and inspired orchestra played the
overture at sight so well that, during the introduction to the first
act, Mozart observed to the instrumentalists near him: "Some of the
notes fell under the desks, it is true, but the overture went capitally
upon the whole." The success of the first representation was brilliant.
The theatre was full to overflowing, and Mozart's appearance as
conductor at the piano was the signal for enthusiastic clapping and
huzzas. The suspense with which the overture was awaited found vent in
a very storm of applause, which accompanied the opera from beginning to
end. The cast of this performance was as follows:--[See Page Images]
The performance, though not including any virtuosi of the first rank or
fame, was considered an excellent one; the inspiring influence of
the maestro and the elevated mood of the public united to induce
the performers to put forth all their powers, and stimulated them to
extraordinary efforts. Guardasoni, who was associated with Bondini in
the management of the theatre,[22] was so delighted with the success of
{DON GIOVANNI.}
(134)
the opera that he announced it to Da Ponte (who had been obliged to
hurry back to Vienna to put "Axur" upon the stage) in the words: "Evviva
Da Ponte, ewiva Mozart! Tutti gli impresari, tutti i virtuosi devono
benedirli! finchè essi vivranno, son si saprà mai, cosa sia miseria
teatrale."[23] Mozart also communicated to' Da Ponte the happy result
of their joint labours, and wrote to Gottfried von Jacquin (November 4,
1787):--
Dearest Friend,--I hope you have received my letters. On October 29,
my opera, "Don Giovanni," was put in scena, with the most unqualified
success. Yesterday it was performed for the fourth time, for my benefit.
I intend to leave here on the 12th or 13th, and as soon as I arrive in
Vienna you shall have the airs to sing. N.B.--Between ourselves--I only
wish my good friends (particularly Bridi and yourself) could be here for
a single evening to share in my triumph. Perhaps it will be performed in
Vienna. I hope so. They are trying all they can here to persuade me to
remain two months longer, and write another opera; but flattering as the
proposal is, I cannot accept it.[24]
Mozart met with constant and unequivocal proofs of esteem on all sides
during his visit to Prague; an esteem, too, not of mere fashion or
prejudice, but founded on a genuine love of art; he gave himself up
unreservedly to the pleasure afforded him by intercourse with his
friends and admirers; and many of these retained long after, as
Niemet-schek says (p. 93), the memory of the hours passed in his
society. He was as artless and confiding as a child, and overflowing
with fun and merriment; it was difficult for
{SONG FOR MADAME DUSCHEK, 1787.}
(135)
strangers to realise that they were in the society of the great and
admired artist.
Mozart had promised his friend, Madame Duschek, that he would compose a
new concert air for her; as usual, however, he could not be brought to
the point of transcribing it. One day she locked him into a summer-house
on the Weinberg, and declared she would not let him out until he had
finished the air. He set to work at once, but having completed his task,
retorted that if she could not sing the song correctly and well at first
sight, he would not give it to her.[25] In truth, the words: "Quest'
affanno, questo passo è terribile," in the andante of this song ("Bella
mia fiamma," 528 K., part 2) are rendered after a highly characteristic
manner; and the intervals for the voice, not easy in themselves,
become, by their harmonic disposition, a severe test of pure and correct
intonation. Altogether, this is one of the most beautiful of Mozart's
concert airs; it makes no great claims on the singer's powers of
execution, but it requires a soprano voice of considerable compass and
power, and a grand and expressive delivery. It is interesting to observe
how this song, animated and energetic as it is in expression, yet
differs essentially from the properly dramatic music of "Don Giovanni."
Unconnected with any plot, and not designed for the stage, the situation
adopts a modified character, the concert singer being in a totally
different position from the actor; and the form in which the composer
clothes his conception is suitably modified also. On November 15, 1787,
immediately after Mozart's return to Vienna, Gluck died; and the success
of "Don Giovanni" in Prague may have contributed to induce Joseph II.
to retain Mozart in Vienna by appointing him Chamber-Musi-cian
(Kammermusikus) on December 7, 1787. For the present, however, there was
no prospect of a performance of "Don Giovanni" in Vienna.
Salieri had produced his opera of "Tarar" in Paris, in June, 1787,
Beaumarchais having spared no pains to create
{DON GIOVANNI.}
(136)
an effect by a lively and exciting plot, by lavish decorations and
costumes, and by political and philosophical allusions. The public was
at first somewhat disappointed, and the music was considered inferior
to that of the "Danaides," produced in 1774; but the extraordinary piece
made in the end a great effect, and attracted large audiences.[26] The
Emperor was exceedingly pleased with the music, and commissioned Da
Ponte to prepare Italian words for it upon the occasion of the marriage
of the Archduke Francis with the Princess Elizabeth. This Italian opera
of "Axur" retained only the groundwork of the original, both the words
and the music being completely remodelled. Da Ponte gave fresh proof
of his dexterity, and Salieri, finding his task far more congenial than
before, did not grudge the trouble of recomposition.[27] On January 8,
1788, the Festival opera "Axur" was performed as a "Freispektakel," the
betrothal of the distinguished pair by the Archduke Maximilian having
taken place on January 6.[28]At first the audience were somewhat taken
aback by the traces of the French "Tarar" in the Italian "Axur," but
very soon they felt the lively, brilliantly appointed plot, and the
freer development of musical forms to be additional charms bestowed on
the essentially Italian music. Several representations, following in
quick succession, increased the favour in which this opera came to be
held in Vienna,[29] especially by the Emperor Joseph,[30] and very soon
on every stage in Germany.[31]
The present, therefore, was no time for "Don Giovanni." Mozart catered
for the amusement of the Viennese by the dances (534-536 K.), which
he wrote in January, 1788, for the balls in the Redoutensaale, and he
indulged his patriotic feelings by a song on the Turkish war, which
Baumann sang at the theatre in the Leopoldstadt (539 K.). He
{PERFORMANCE IN VIENNA, 1788.}
(137)
appears also to have given a concert during Lent, for which he wrote his
pianoforte concerto in D major (537 K.). But Joseph II. commanded the
production of "Don Giovanni," and there was no more to be said; it
was given on May 7, 1788,[32] and was a failure. Everybody, says Da
Ponte,[33] except Mozart, thought it a mistake; additions were made,
airs were altered, but no applause followed. Nevertheless Da Ponte
took Mozart's advice, and had the opera repeated several times in quick
succession, so that people grew accustomed to what was unusual, and the
applause increased with every representation.[34] The cast of the opera
in Vienna was as follows:--[See Page Image]
There was no reason, as will be acknowledged, to ascribe the tardy
success of "Don Giovanni" to the inferiority of its performance.[35] Da
Ponte appears also to have
{DON GIOVANNI.}
(138)
exaggerated with respect to the frequent alterations. Mozart's Thematic
Catalogue contains three pieces for insertion written _before_ the
first performance (April 24, 28, 30) and incorporated in the book of
words.[36] Mdlle. Cavalieri, of whom it was said at the time[37] that,
deserving to be placed in the first rank of Italian singers, and almost
deified as she was in Italy, not a word in her praise was ever uttered
in Vienna, insisted on having a grand scena in the part of Elvira, in
order to maintain her reputation as a singer. This gave rise (April 30)
to the magnificent air "Mi tradi quell' alma ingrata" (527, 25 K.).[38]
Mozart could not indeed persuade himself to sacrifice so much to the
"voluble organ of Mdlle. Cavalieri" as he had formerly done in the
"Entführung" (Vol. II., p. 235), but even as it is, the dramatic
interest has to yield to the vocal--the character of Elvira to the
individuality of the singer. The tenor singer, Signor Francesco
Morelia,[39] on the contrary, seems to have found Ottavio's grand air
too much for him, and the air in G major "Della sua pace" (527, 27 K.),
composed for him is more modest in every respect.
A stronger effort after popularity was made by the duet between Zerlina
and Leporello, "Per queste tue manine" (527, 28 K.). The situation is
broadly comic, and has no proper connection with the plot; Leporello
is roundly abused, and finally tied hand and foot by Zerlina. It was
probably intended as a sacrifice to the taste of the audience, who
expected an opera buffa to make them laugh heartily. We know that
Benucci was an excellent comedian in every branch of his art, and this
duet leads to the conclusion that Signora Mombelli's forte was buffa.
Zerlina expresses her anger and revenge volubly enough, but her own
special grace
{CRITIQUES ON DON GIOVANNI.}
(139)
and roguery have quite deserted her here. In a true opera buffa the
duet would have been quite in keeping; but it is out of place in "Don
Giovanni," because it brings Leporello and Zerlina to the foreground in
a degree which does not accord with the plot, and places them both in a
harsh light, false to their character as elsewhere displayed. Mozart was
right, then, in his opinion that additions and alterations were not the
means to make his opera gain favour; it was altogether too unusual a
phenomenon to take immediate effect upon a Viennese audience. We have
already seen how Haydn was constrained to put to silence the adverse
criticisms of musicians and connoisseurs assembled at Count Rosenberg's,
by declaring his conviction that Mozart was the greatest composer in the
world. "Don Giovanni" first made its way upon the stages of Germany in
German adaptations. It was given at Mannheim with extraordinary success
in October, 1789,[40] and Schroder produced it in Hamburg at about the
same time; Schink, while severely criticising the libretto of the opera,
expresses himself enthusiastically in praise of the music--
How can this music, so full of force, majesty, and grandeur, be expected
to please the lovers of ordinary opera, who bring their ears to the
theatre with them, but leave their hearts at home? The grand and noble
qualities of the music in "Don Juan" will appeal only to the small
minority of the elect. It is not such as to tickle the ear of the crowd,
and leave the heart unsatisfied. Mozart is no ordinary composer. His
music has been profoundly felt and thought out in its relation to the
characters, situations, and sentiments of his personages. It is a
study in language, treated musically. He never decks out his songs
with unnecessary and meaningless passages. That is the way in which
expression is banished from music: expression consisting not in
particular words, but in the skilful and natural combination of sounds
as a medium of real emotion. Of this method of expression Mozart is
a consummate master. Each sound which he produces has its origin in
emotion, and overflows with it. His expression is glowing with life and
picturesqueness, yet without the taint of voluptuousness. He has the
richest, and at the same time the most temperate imagination. He is a
true virtuoso, never allowing his creative impulse to run away with his
judgment; his inspiration is guided by reason, his impersonations are
the result of calm deliberation.[41]
{DON GIOVANNI.}
(140)
The Berlin criticism was not quite so favourable, the opera having
been there performed for the first time in the presence of the King on
December 20, 1790:[42]--
If ever an opera was looked forward to with curiosity, if ever a
composition of Mozart's was lauded to the skies before its performance,
it was surely this "Don Juan." Every one will allow that Mozart is a
great and admirable composer, but that nothing good or great has been
written before this opera, or will be written after it, is a point on
which we may be allowed to doubt. Theatrical music admits of no rules,
of no appeal but to the heart, and its worth is in proportion to its
effect thereon. No amount of art in heaping up instrumental effects will
make a great musician or render his name immortal, unless he can give
utterance to the passions and emotions of the heart. Grétry, Monsigny,
and Philidor are instances to the point. Mozart has aimed at writing
something extraordinary, something inimitably grand in his "Don Juan";
the extraordinary is there, certainly, but not the inimitably grand.
Vanity, eccentricity, fancy, have created "Don Juan," not the heart;
and we should have preferred being called upon to admire the highest
capabilities of music in one of his oratorios or solemn church
compositions than in his "Don Juan."[43]
The extraordinary success of the opera[44] is attested by a notice of
it[45] which proceeds to prove that this musical drama satisfies the
eye, enchants the ear, does violence to the intellect, offends against
morals, and suffers vice to trample upon virtue and good feeling. The
author of the criticism accounts for the popularity of the opera by the
quality of the music, which is beyond all expression grand:--
If ever a nation might be proud of one of its children, Germany may be
proud of Mozart, the composer of this opera. Never was the greatness of
the human mind more perceptible, never did music reach so high a level!
Melodies which an angel might have conceived are accompanied by divinest
harmonies, and those whose souls are in any degree susceptible to what
is truly beautiful will agree with me in saying the ear is bewitched.
At the same time he cannot refrain from the pious wish:--[See Page
Image]
{CRITIQUES ON DON GIOVANNI.}
(141)
Oh, that he had not so wasted the energies of his mighty mind!--that his
judgment had been brought to the aid of his imagination, and had shown
him a less miry path to fame! How can it please him that his name should
appear set in diamonds upon a golden tablet, and the tablet suspended on
a pillory?
Spazier, who acknowledged Mozart's "true, unborrowed, unartificial
wealth of ideas,"[46] and said of "Don Giovanni" that some of its single
airs were worth more than whole operas by Paesiello,[47] remarks on
another occasion:[48]--
The pleasure of seeing a genius strike out a new path with ease, which
one feels would possess insurmountable obstacles to others, becomes pain
and grief, which can only be turned to enjoyment again by minute study
of the work, when such an artist puts forth his whole strength as Mozart
has in "Don Juan," where he overwhelms his hearers with the vastness of
his art, giving to the whole an almost boundless effect.
His promise of a more minute description remained unfulfilled. The
various notices of the work which followed its performance in other
places were all of the same kind, both praise and blame recognising the
fact that a novel and important phenomenon was being treated of.[49]
After the performance in Weimar, Goethe wrote to Schiller (December 30,
1797) ^
Your hopes for the opera are richly fulfilled in "Don Juan"; but the
work is completely isolated, and Mozart's death frustrates any prospect
of his example being followed.[50]
{DON GIOVANNI.}
(142)
The popularity of the opera with the general public spread rapidly,
and very soon there was no stage in Germany where "Don Juan" had not
acquired permanent possession. According to Sonnleithner's calculation,
"Don Giovanni" had been performed 531 times at Vienna at the end of the
year 1863; at Prague, Stiepanek asserts that 116 representations took
place during the first ten years, and 360 before 1855;[51] at the
celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of "Don Giovanni" at Berlin,
in 1837, more than 200 performances were calculated to have taken
place;[52] similar celebrations took place at Prague[53] and
Magdeburg.[54] The opera was first introduced at Paris in 1805, in
a fearfully distorted and mangled version, by C. Kalkbrenner; a
characteristic instance was the masque terzet, where the words "Courage,
vigilance, adresse, défiance, que l'active prudence préside à nos
desseins" were sung by three gendarmes. Kalkbrenner also interpolated
some of his own music, and, spite of it all, the fabrication pleased
for a time.[55] In the year 1811 "Don Giovanni" was first given in its
original form by the singers of the Italian opera, and ever since the
most distinguished artists have retained Mozart's masterpiece upon
this stage in an uninterrupted succession of performances.[56] A French
translation of "Don Juan," by Castil-Blaze,[57] was given at Lyons in
1822, at the Odéon in Paris in 1827, and at the Académie de Musique in
1834, admirably cast and brilliantly appointed, besides being more true
to the original;[58] a still newer adaptation has been performed at the
Théätre Lyrique.[59] In London the great success of "Figaro" had paved
the way for "Don Giovanni," which has ever since its
{STATISTICS OF PERFORMANCES.}
(143)
first performance, in April, 1817, occupied a prominent place at the
Italian opera of that city. The applause which followed the first
Italian representation was so great that the lessee of Covent Garden
theatre produced an English version in May of the same year, which was
excellently performed, and with considerable success.[60]
While "Don Giovanni" was thus becoming familiar to opera-goers in the
north, and even in Petersburg, Stockholm, and Copenhagen, it had not met
with any very warm or general sympathy in Italy, where repeated attempts
to introduce it to the public had resulted only in a certain amount of
respectful recognition from connoisseurs. "Don Giovanni" was first given
in Rome in 1811, no pains having been spared in the rehearsals, and
few alterations made in the opera. The audience was very attentive, and
applauded loudly; the music was termed "bellissima, superba, sublime,
un musicone"--but not altogether "del gusto del paese"; the many
_stranezze_ might be "belissime," but they were not what people were
accustomed to.[61] A more successful attempt was made in Naples in the
following year, although not on so grand a scale; the audience were
attentive, and seemed to accustom themselves to the _musica classica_,
but even here the success was not lasting.[62] The first representation
at Milan in 1814 provoked quite as much hissing as applause, but
subsequent performances were more successful.[63] At Turin the
opera appears to have pleased in 1815, in spite of its wretched
performance.[64] A mangled version of "Don Giovanni" was given at
Florence in 1818, and failed, but it was afterwards very well received
in its true form;[65] in 1857, as a friend wrote to me, "the antiquated
hyperborean music" was so emphatically hissed that it could not be
risked again. In Genoa, too, in 1824, "Don Giovanni" pleased the
learned, but not the public;[66] and at Venice, in 1833, it gained some
{DON GIOVANNI.}
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little popularity by slow degrees.[67] Quite lately a celebrated Italian
singer exclaimed angrily at a rehearsal of "Don Giovanni": "Non capisco
niente a questa maledetta musica!"[68] Against all this must be placed
Rossini's charming answer when he was pressed to say which of his own
operas he liked best: one person present suggested one, another the
other, till at last Rossini exclaimed: "Vous voulez connaître celui de
mes ouvrages que j'aime le mieux; eh bien, c'est 'Don Giovanni.'"[69]
The fame of "Don Giovanni" did not long remain confined to the old
world. When Garcia and his daughters were giving Italian operas at New
York in 1825, at Da Ponte's suggestion they produced
"Don Giovanni."[70] At the conclusion of the first finale everything
went wrong; Garcia, who was playing Don Giovanni, exerted himself in
vain to keep the singers and orchestra in time and tune, until at last,
sword in hand, he came forward and, commanding silence, exclaimed that
it was a shame so to murder a masterpiece. They began again, collected
themselves and took pains, and the finale came happily to an end.[71]
The applause of the public renewed Da Ponte's youth; he recounts the
satisfaction with which he heard the assurance of a friend, whose custom
it was to go regularly to sleep at the opera, that such an opera as that
would keep him awake all night.[72] "Don Giovanni" brought him still
further good fortune; he placed his unexpectedly large profits obtained
therefrom in the lottery, and for the first time drew a prize.[73] "Don
Giovanni," once having made its way, was soon unanimously pronounced
first among all, Mozart's operas; he was said to have declared that he
wrote
{THE LIBRETTO.}
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it not at all for Vienna, a little for Prague, but mostly for himself
and his friends.[74] It is true that the libretto was formerly
considered as a bungling fabrication only tolerated for the sake of the
music; nevertheless, and especially after Hoffmann's clever vindication
of its poetical meaning,[75] "Don Giovanni" gradually became the
accepted canon of dramatic music, and the subject of wide-reaching
discussion.[76] In "Figaro" Da Ponte had opened a new field to opera
buffa, by representing the actual life of _bourgeois_ society; in "Don
Giovanni" he raised opera buffa in another direction to an altogether
higher sphere.[77] The legend on which the opera is founded had reached
the people through the tradition of centuries, and, familiar upon every
stage in Europe, it held the same place in the popular mind as the myths
of Greek tragedy. The facts, in spite of their wonderful and fantastic
character, offered a good groundwork to the dramatist, and the main
conception and essential elements of the situations and characters being
given, the fullest freedom of construction and development was permitted
in the treatment of the legend.[78] Whether the legend current in
Seville
{DON GIOVANNI.}
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of Don Juan Tenorio,[79] who invited to supper the statue of a warrior
slain by him in a duel, and who, warned in vain to repent, was doomed to
everlasting perdition, is of ancient origin or not, would be difficult
to determine from the contradictory accounts given of it.[80] It is said
to have been performed in monasteries from an early date, adapted by an
unknown writer with the title of "El Ateista Fulminado:"[81] the first
authentic dramatic version of the story being that by Gabriel Tellez,
contemporary of Lope de Vega, monk and prior of a monastery in Madrid.
His active ecclesiastical life did not prevent his acquiring, under the
name of Tirso de Molina, an honourable place in Spanish literature as
a dramatic poet.[82] His "Burlador de Sevilla y Convidado de Piedra"
belongs, according to Schack, both in design and workmanship to his
most fugitive pieces, but contains portions which could only have
been written by a poet of the first rank.[83] The plot is briefly as
follows:--
First Day [The scene is laid in Naples].--The Duchess Isabella is having
a parting interview with her lover, Duke Ottavio, when she discovers
that Don Juan has stolen into her apartment in Ottavio's stead. Her
cries for assistance bring the King, who gives Don Juan into the custody
of his uncle, Don Pedro Tenorio, the Spanish
{TIRSO DE MOLINA'S "CONVIDADO DE PIEDRA."}
(147)
Ambassador; the latter, discovering his relationship with his prisoner,
allows him to escape, and denounces Don Ottavio to the King as
Isabella's seducer. Don Pedro is thereupon commanded to arrest Don
Ottavio, to whom, however, he declares that a man having been found with
Isabella, she reported him to be Ottavio; the lover believes himself to
be deceived and betrayed, and Don Pedro connives at his escape.
[Coast scene in Tarragona.] Catalinon, Don Juan's servant, bears his
shipwrecked master lifeless to shore, where they are discovered by
Tisbea, a fisher-girl; Don Juan awakes to consciousness upon her bosom,
and they fall violently in love with each other.[84] Their love-making
is interrupted by a scene in which the Commandant, Don Gonzalo de Ulloa
gives Don Albeso, King of Castile, an account of his diplomatic mission
to Portugal. Then the story returns to Tisbea, who is deceived and
deserted by Don Juan, and left to her passion of despair.
Second Day [The scene is in Seville].--Don Diego Tenorio, Don Juan's old
father, acquaints the King with the crime which his son has committed
in Naples against Isabella and Ottavio; the King banishes Don Juan from
Seville until he shall make reparation by marrying Isabella. Ottavio
enters and puts himself under the protection of the King, who promises
to demonstrate his innocence in Naples, and to give him the hand of
Donna Anna, Ulloa's daughter, and Don Juan's fiancée. Don Juan appears,
greets Ottavio in friendly fashion, and enters into a long conversation
with the Marquis de la Mota, wherein they discuss the beauties of the
day like the regular roués they are; finally the Marquis declares his
love for Donna Anna. He has no sooner departed than a note is brought to
Don Juan to be conveyed to the Marquis; he opens it, and finding that in
it Donna Anna appoints an interview, determines to keep the appointment
himself; and he acquaints De la Mota, who returns, with the invitation,
but names a later hour. He is as indifferent to his father's sentence of
banishment as to his repeated exhortations, and upon the arrival of the
Marquis to serenade Donna Anna, he borrows his mantle, ostensibly to
enable him to visit one of his many sweethearts, but really that he may
gain access to Donna Anna herself. Discovering the deceit, she cries for
help; her father stops Don Juan's way with drawn sword, and falls by
his hand. The murderer flies; De la Mota enters for the rendezvous;
the King, hurrying in with his guards, takes him for the murderer,
and delivers him to judgment, commanding a magnificent funeral for
the Commandant, and the erection of a monument in his honour. [Country
scene.] Patricio is celebrating his wedding with Aminta, when Don Juan,
journeying through, mingles with the guests, and placing himself close
to the bride, excites the jealousy of the bridegroom.
Third Day.--Don Juan prevails upon the jealous Patricio to renounce
{DON GIOVANNI.}
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Aminta by falsely representing that she was formerly seduced by him, and
had summoned him to interrupt the wedding; he gains the consent of
her father by means of a solemn promise of marriage, and after a long
resistance, Aminta gives way. [The Sea-coast.] Isabella, arriving at the
King's summons for her espousals with Don Juan, falls in with Tisbea,
who complains of Don Juan's treachery, and repairs with Isabella to
Seville to seek justice from the King. [Seville.] Don Juan, informed by
Catalinon of how his victims are united to revenge themselves on him,
sees the statue erected to the Commandant, with an inscription calling
for vengeance on his murderer. This rouses his haughty insolence; he
plucks the statue by the beard, and invites it to supper, that it may
execute his vengeance. While Don Juan is entertaining his followers at
table, the statue appears, to the consternation of all but Don Juan,
and remains silent until the meal is over. Left alone with Don Juan,
the Commandant invites him to supper in the chapel, and he accepts the
invitation, after repressing an involuntary shudder. [The Palace.] The
King promises Don Diego that he will create Don Juan Count of Lebrija,
and bestow Isabella upon him, at the same time pardoning the Marquis
at Donna Anna's request, and uniting the two in marriage. Don Ottavio
requests the King's permission to fight a duel with Don Juan, his father
proposing to judge between the two; the King commands a reconciliation.
As he goes out, Aminta enters with her father, to acquaint the King with
her claims on Don Juan's hand, and Ottavio promises her his support.
[The Street.] Don Juan, pardoned by the King, and on the point of
wedding Isabella, prepares to keep his appointment with the Commandant,
and enters the church where Ulloa has spread a meal for him and
Catalinon. The dishes contain scorpions and snakes, the wine is gall and
verjuice, and the table music is a penitential psalm. After the meal,
the Commandant grasps Don Juan's hand with a grip which cannot be shaken
off;[85] "Thou art summoned to the eternal judgment-seat" exclaims the
Commandant; "thy reward shall be fitted to thy deserts." Don Juan falls
down lifeless and sinks below with the statue. [The Palace.] The King
wishing to see the nuptials celebrated, Isabella, Aminta, and Tisbea
come forward to make good their claims to Don Juan's hand, and the
Marquis reveals the treachery practised on him by Don Juan. The King is
in the act of promising justice, when Catalinon enters and makes known
Don Juan's dreadful end. Thereupon Ottavio and Isabella, De la Mota and
Donna Anna, Patricio and Aminta, are severally united, and "the story of
the Marble Guest comes to an end."
{TIRSO DE MOLINA'S "CONVIDADO DE PIEDRA."}
(149)
The drama, necessarily, in this rapid sketch, stripped of all the
elegance and brilliancy of its poetical rendering, bears to an
extraordinary degree the stamp of the time and nation to which it
belongs. The freedom and unreserve with which the various love intrigues
are treated and described are certainly peculiar to the age, and the
story is distinguished by a dash of chivalric bravery all its own; the
audience, while recognising a faithful representation of their own
state of morals, were little inclined to take umbrage at the summary
punishment of the sinner before them.[86] This point is, indeed,
emphasised by various observations made in a truly catholic spirit; for
instance, when Don Juan says to his stony guest, after having mockingly
invited him to sup: "What will'st thou, vision, ghost? Dost thou suffer
still the pains of purgatory? Dost thou demand satisfaction? What is
thy will? I pledge my word to do as thou com-mandest. Why hast thou left
God's throne? Do thy sins cause thee still to wander?" The effect is
greatly heightened again by the reply of the statue when Don Juan is
about to light him out: "Let be; God lights my path." And when Don Juan
sees that all is over, he begs for a confessor, and the statue answers,
"Too late, too late is thy contrition!" and Don Juan falls dead. The
intricate plot is very unequally treated, and so indeed are also the
characters. Among the female characters, Tisbea as a type of passion,
and Aminta as a type of naïve simplicity, are both attractive and
original; and among the men Don Juan, boldly and freely sketched, and
his servant Catalinon, the inevitable "Gracioso" of the Spanish drama,
are most remarkable. Catalinon in particular is treated with moderation
and delicacy; neither his cowardice, his moralising, nor his wit is
brought too prominently forward, and he always appears as the shadow of
his master. Even in the spectre scenes he fails to rise to any grandeur
of character. The influence of Spain upon the Italian drama[87]
necessarily
{DON GIOVANNI.}
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brought Tirso's "Don Juan" to Italy. According to Ricco-boni, it first
appeared upon an Italian stage soon after 1620.[88] The first printed
translation known is that by Onofrio Giliberti, entitled "ü Convitato
di Pietra," performed in 1652 at Naples; others followed with the same
title by Giacinto Andrea Cicognini (1670) and Andrea Perucci (1678);[89]
the subject was familiar on the Italian stage, and unfailingly
popular.[90]
The Italian dramatic company, who were naturalised in Paris at the
theatre of the Hötel de Bourgogne, were accustomed to appoint one of
their number to arrange the plan of the pieces which they performed, but
the actual performance was improvised. In this fashion they played an
improvised version of Giliberti's "Convitato di Pietra," which had an
extraordinary run.[91] The chief situations of the Spanish drama, much
simplified and coarsened, are compressed into five acts, and Arlecchino,
who appears here as Don Juan's servant, is brought into the foreground
and made the mouthpiece of a great deal of very questionable badinage:--
The first act represents Isabella's seduction in Naples. Don Pedro, her
father and Don Juan's uncle, agrees with her to denounce Ottavio, her
lover, as her seducer, which causes the latter to take flight.[92] In
the second act Don Juan and Arlecchino swim to shore [a very favourite
scene, richly garnished with jokes], and Don Juan's love passages with
the lovely fisher-maiden Rosalba take place. On her claiming his promise
of marriage, he mockingly refers her to Arlecchino, who unrolls the long
list of his master's mistresses. It was customary to allow the end
of the roll to fall, as if by chance, into the pit, and the audience
delighted themselves by looking for the names of their friends or
connections in the list. Rosalba, in despair, casts herself into the
sea.[93]
{THE ITALIAN "CONVITATO DI PIETRA."}
(151)
The third act shows Ottavio in great favour at the court of Castile, on
the point of marriage with Donna Anna. He is attended by Pantaloon, who
carries on the usual by-play with Arlecchino. Don Juan intercepts the
letter in which Donna Anna summons Ottavio, steals in to her, Arlecchino
keeping watch outside, and slays the Commandant, her father, who
surprises them. In the fourth act Donna Anna demands justice from the
King; a reward of 6,000 thalers is placed upon the head of the murderer,
and Arlecchino is greatly tempted to gain it, which gives rise to
much jesting between him and Pantaloon. In the fifth act Don Juan
is discovered before the statue of the Commandant, which he mocks.
Arlecchino is made to invite it to supper, whereupon it nods, and,
upon Don Juan's repetition of the invitation, answers him in words. Don
Juan's supper gives opportunity for much comic display of greediness and
cunning on the part of Arlecchino, continuing even after the appearance
of the Commandant, who invites Don Juan and departs. The King, made
acquainted with Don Juan's crimes, commands him to be seized and brought
to justice. Before escaping he keeps his appointment with the Commandant
in the church, and is dragged below by the spectre. The closing tableau
shows Don Juan burning in hell, and expressing his torment and his
remorse:--
To which the demons answer: "Mai!"[94]
This extravaganza was extraordinarily successful. In 1673 a second
version, with additions and new scenery ("Aggiunta al Convitato di
Pietra"), was announced.[95] The new Italian company of the Duke of
Orleans replaced the improvised "Convitato di Pietra" upon the stage in
1717, and it was revived in 1743.[96] This gave rise to a dispute with
the French actors, who were not willing to renounce their claim to so
taking a piece.[97] Dorimon first produced a translation of Giliberti's
piece with the title of "Le Festin de Pierre,[98] ou le Fils Criminel,"
at Lyons in 1658, when
{DON GIOVANNI.}
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Louis XIV. met the Princess of Savoy there, and it was performed again
at the Théätre de la Rue des Quatre Vents, in Paris, during 1661. But
De Villiers had been beforehand with him here, having produced his
_tragi-comédie_ with the same title and almost verbal identity in 1659
at the theatre of the Hötel de Bourgogne.[99] Don Juan's afflicted
father, exposed to the insolence of his son and the mockery of the
servant, appears quite at the beginning of the piece. Afterwards Don
Juan changes clothes with his servant Philippin in order to elude
justice, robs a monk of his cowl, and in this disguise slays Don
Philippo (Ottavio), the lover of Amarillis (Donna Anna). After the
Commandant has supped with him and invited him, Don Juan again seduces a
newly married woman, and then repairs to the chapel, where he is struck
by lightning as he sits at table.
Molière did not neglect so promising a subject for the use of his
company, and his "Don Juan, ou le Festin de Pierre" was first performed
at the Palais-Royal on February 15, 1665. In contrast with the
buffoonery of the Italians he has tried to raise the subject into the
sphere of genuine comedy, and has thereby obliterated the last trace of
the national-historical character of the drama in its Spanish form. Both
sensual passion and chivalric boldness have disappeared. Molière's "Don
Juan" is a cold-blooded egotist in his love and his want of faith, an
enlightened rationalist, even when preserving his honour as a cavalier
with personal bravery; his servant Sganarelle reasons as morally as his
master immorally, but is quite as great an egotist, and a coward into
the bargain. The striking situations, in which the original was so rich,
are either merely related, as in the case of the seduction of Donna Anna
and the murder of the Commenda-tore, or they have lost all their lively
colouring by a new turn, as in the case of the adventures with the
fisher-girl and the peasant; everything that might shock or injure the
{MOLIÈRE'S "FESTIN DE PIERRE."}
(153)
refined tone of comedy was omitted. On the other hand, the interests of
morality required that every opportunity for repentance and amendment
should be given to Don Juan; the more he is preached at from every
quarter, the more obstinate he becomes in his evil courses. The
truthfulness of psychological development thus striven after makes the
catastrophe all the more glaringly absurd; such a sinner as this could
not be carried off by a ghost. As a compromise, Molière makes Don Juan
to be warned by a spirit in the form of a woman, who is transformed into
an appearance of Time with his scythe; this was an allegory quite after
the taste of the time, and rendered the marble guest a superfluity. Some
of the situations, such as the adventure in the country, or the scene
with the merchant, are excellently rendered, and delicate traits of
characterisation are always to be found; in fact, the better a point
is, the less it is found to have to do with the original "Don Juan."
Molière's "Don Juan" was not printed during his life, and was only
played fifteen times. A versified adaptation of it by Thomas Corneille,
given in 1677, was well received, and kept the stage until 1847, when
Molière's comedy was again substituted.[100]
Incited by Molière's example, Goldoni produced the "mauvaise pièce
espagnole," which he could not contemplate without horror, at Venice in
1736, in the worthier form of a regular comedy entitled "Don Giovanni
Tenorio, ossia il Dissoluto":--
In the first act, Donna Anna obeys her father against her will, and is
betrothed to Don Ottavio. The second act shows Elisa, a peasant girl,
taking leave of her lover Carino. Immediately after Don Juan appears,
plundered by robbers, and gains her favour. Carino surprises them
bidding farewell, but Elisa appeases his jealousy. Isabella, who has
been deserted by Don Juan in Naples, follows him disguised as a man. In
the third act she enters Seville with Ottavio, whom she has delivered
from the hands of robbers on the way hither. When Donna Anna discovers
her sex, she makes it the excuse for renouncing Ottavio's hand.
Isabella, meeting Don Juan, forces him to fight with her; but, refusing
from shame to give the standers-by any account of herself, she is
pronounced by Don Juan to be a maniac. Elisa also
{DON GIOVANNI.}
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pursues Don Juan, but he is warned against her by Carino, to whom she
has been faithless. Don Juan declares himself ready to give her up,
but Carino will have none of her. In the fourth act, Don Juan makes
declaration of love to Donna Anna, who is not unfavourably disposed
towards him, but refers him to her father for consent. He seeks,
however, with drawn sword to gain her favour on the spot; she calls for
help; her father hastens in, and is slain by Don Juan, who then escapes.
It is resolved to pursue him and to seek redress against him from the
King. In the fifth act Elisa promises to liberate him, having relatives
among the guards, if he will marry her. Isabella interposes and renews
her challenge to him to fight. Donna Anna, in mourning robes, calls
for vengeance, but Don Juan displays so much passion for her that she
relents and pardons him. Thereupon comes a letter from the King of
Naples, demanding Don Juan's punishment, and disclosing Isabella's
secret. Don Juan, seeing himself hopelessly lost, beseeches Carino to
slay him. A thunderbolt from the mausoleum of the murdered Commendatore
strikes him dead.
Goldoni asserts[101] that the public were astonished at first, and did
not know "Ce que voulait dire cet air de noblesse que l'auteur avait
donné à une ancienne bouffonnerie." But it soon became known that
the coquettish Elisa was an actual portrait of the actress, Elizabeth
Passalacqua, who played the part, and that Goldoni had chosen this way
of being revenged on her for bestowing her favours simultaneously on
him and on the actor Vitalba. This roused interest in the piece, and
convinced people "que le comique raisonné était préférable au comique
trivial." Rosimond looked at the subject from quite another point
of view in his _tragi-comédie_ "Le Festin de Pierre, ou l'Athéiste
Foudroyé," produced in 1669 at the Théätre du Marais. This theatre was
then noted for its brilliant decoration and spectacle pieces, which
often necessitated high prices of admission. Such a piece was this of
Rosimond's, and he had been careful to lay the plot in heathen times,
that his atheism might vaunt itself with impunity.[102] Again, in 1746,
"Le Grand Festin de Pierre" was given in Paris as a pantomime,[103] and
has always been popular on village and marionette stages.
{DON JUAN IN ENGLAND AND GERMANY.}
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In England also "Don Juan" was put on the stage at about the same time.
Whether in his "Libertine Destroyed," which was produced in 1676, Thomas
Shadwell followed the Spanish original or the French or Italian version,
I cannot pretend to determine. The piece was very successful, but Don
Juan's villainy was so dreadful, and the piece altogether so horrible,
"as to render it little less than impiety to represent it on the
stage."[104] In 1725 Antonio de Zamora, Chamberlain to King Philip V. of
Spain, adapted the same subject under the title, "Non hay deuda que
no se pague y convi-dado de piedra." "This adaptation, displaying much
talent and skill, is cast almost in the same form as the opera; the
earlier adventures of Don Juan in Naples are omitted, and Zamora,
like the author of the libretto, begins with the murder of the
Commandant."[105] In Germany, "Don Juan, oder das Steinerne Gastmahl,"
belonged to the standing repertory of the improvising actor from the
beginning of the eighteenth century. Prehauser, the celebrated buffoon
of the Vienna Theatre, made his first dramatic attempt in 1716 as Don
Philippo in the "Steinerne Gastmahl."[106] Schroder appeared in
Hamburg, in 1766, as Sganarell in "Don Juan," and "surpassed all
expectation."[107] This may have been a version of Molière's "Don Juan,"
but as early as 1746 an afterpiece entitled "Don Juan" was on the
repertory of Ackermann's Company,[108] and in 1769 the pantomime
ballet of "Don Juan" was given by them.[109] At Vienna, up to 1772, an
improvised "Steinerne Gastmahl" was regularly given during the octave of
All Souls;[110] a proof that Don Juan's dissolute life was contemplated
with pleasure, and that morality was considered as abundantly vindicated
by his being carried off by the devil after a long penitential
{DON GIOVANNI.}
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speech.[111] The traditions of this burlesque degenerate into a mere
puppet-show. "Hanswurst" becomes the chief personage, and Don Juan's
love adventures are made subservient to his deeds of blood; both the
names and situations point to the French version of the Italian piece as
the principal source, but many additions have been made, and these, for
the most part, not happy ones.[112]
It was in Paris that the first attempt was made to treat "Don Juan"
operatically. In the year 1713, Le Tellier produced "au jeu d'Octave,"
a comic opera "Le Festin de Pierre," in three acts, and "en vaudevilles
sans prose" at the Théätre de la Foire Saint-Germain.[113] It was well
received, but exception being taken to the representation of hell at the
conclusion of the opera, it was suppressed; but a few days after, we are
told, "Le magistrat, mieux informé, révoqua cette sentence."[114] The
piece followed the old lines, only a few new jokes were introduced; and
the language of the couplets, judging by the specimens which are given,
must have been tolerably free.
A ballet of "Don Juan," with music by Gluck, was performed in Vienna
in 1761.[115] The programme indicates four divisions, each of them
containing an important situation, worked out and enlivened by means of
different dances.
{GLUCK'S BALLET, "DON JUAN."}
(157)
Unfortunately we have no hints as to the details of the music, which
consists for the most part of short and unelaborated dance melodies:--
In the first division, Don Juan serenades his mistress, Donna Anna, and
is admitted by her; surprised by her uncle, he escapes into the street,
and slays his pursuer. In the second division, Don Juan is giving a
feast, at which Donna Anna is present, and dances, a _pas de deux_ with
him; the appearance of the statue scares away the guests. After a short
stay, the Commendatore invites Don Juan, who accepts, and conducts him
to the door. In the meantime the guests reassemble, but seized with
fresh terror, rush from the house; Don Juan prepares to seek the
Commendatore alone, his servant, spite of threats and persuasions,
refusing to accompany him. The third part takes place in the mausoleum;
the Commendatore tries vainly to bring Don Juan to repentance, and
finally plunges him into the abyss. In the last division, Don Juan is
tormented by demons in the lower world; he strives in vain to escape or
to resist, and at last, in despair, he resigns himself and is devoured
by the flames.[117]
Ten years before Mozart's "Don Giovanni," a _dramma tragicomico_,
entitled "ü Convitato di Pietra, ossia il Dissoluto," was performed
both at Vienna (first on August 21,1777) and at Prague; the composer was
Vine. Righini.[118] The plot is briefly as follows:[119]--
The fisher maiden Elisa, and her lover Ombrino, save Don Giovanni and
his servant Arlechino from the waves. Don Giovanni, who has betrayed
Isabella, daughter of the Duca d'Altamonte, in Naples, and is a fugitive
in consequence, readily wins the love of the too-confiding Elisa. The
Commendatore di Loioa, returning from victorious war, is greeted by Don
Alfonso in the name of the King of Castile, who has erected a statue
to his honour, and promises to wed his daughter Donna Anna to the Duca
Ottavio. Donna Anna, in defiance of her father's threats, refuses the
honour. Don Giovanni, whose crime and flight have been made known to
Don Alfonso, enters with Arlechino the house of the Commendatore, where
Donna Anna, having dismissed her maid Lisette, is preparing to retire
to rest. He offers her violence, which she resists, and recognises him;
thereupon enters the Commendatore and falls in
{DON GIOVANNI.}
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combat with Don Giovanni. Donna Anna vows vengeance on the murderer. In
the second act Don Giovanni determines to flee, and orders Arlechino to
be ready in the tavern, and to order a meal. Isabella, who has pursued
Don Giovanni, extorts from Don Alfonso a promise of reparation. Don
Giovanni, seized with remorse, takes refuge in the mausoleum, and falls
asleep near the statue of the Commendatore. There he is found by
the sorrowing Anna, whose love and pity he seeks in vain to kindle.
Arlechino summons him to the tavern, where all is prepared; he invites
the statue to be his guest, and is sorely perplexed by the answer given.
Arlechino in the tavern makes love to the hostess Corallina. Donna
Anna receives from Don Alfonso the assurance of the speedy pursuit and
punishment of Don Giovanni. The latter sups with Arlechino, waited upon
by Corallina and Tiburzio; he toasts the approving audience, Arlechino
and the pretty maids, in German verse! The statue appears, but does not
eat, invites Don Giovanni and disappears; the meal is continued with
the utmost composure. In the third act, Don Giovanni is the guest of the
Commendatore in the mausoleum; he refuses to repent, and is cast into
the abyss. Don Alfonso and Donna Anna are acquainted by Arlechino of
this consummation. Don Giovanni is seen tormented by demons.
The libretto differs neither in design nor execution from that of an
ordinary opera buffa.
In 1787 "Il Convitato di Pietra," by Gius. Gazzaniga, was given in
Venice at the Teatro di S. Mosè, and was received with much applause.
The opera was given in Ferrara, Bergamo,[120] and Rome, "every evening
for a month, till no one was satisfied who had not seen Don Juan
roasting in hell, and the late lamented Commandant rising to heaven as a
disembodied spirit";[121] it was played in Milan, 1789; in Paris, 1791,
where, however, in spite of the brilliant concluding scene, it was only
moderately successful,[122] and in London (notwithstanding Da Ponte's
contradiction) in 1794.[123] The libretto is lost, but fragments of a
score which Sonnleithner discovered in Vienna[124] show that Da Ponte
{GAZZANIGA's "CONVITATO DI PIETRA."}
(159)
must have made liberal use of this libretto,[125] if, indeed, the two
have not a common source:--.
Pasquariello is reluctantly keeping watch before the house of the
Commandant, when Don Giovanni rushes out, and strives to free himself
from Donna Anna, who snatches the mask from his face and calls her
father to help; he appears and falls in combat, a terzet for the men
closing the introduction [there is no overture]. After some little talk,
Don Giovanni flies with Pasquariello. Donna Anna hastens in with her
betrothed Duca Ottavio, and finds to her horror the corpse of her father
[accompanied recitative]; more composedly she acquaints him with Don
Giovanni's villany, and declares her intention of retiring to a
nunnery until Ottavio shall have discovered and punished the murderer
[air],[126] to which he consents sorrowfully [air]. Don Giovanni,
waiting for Donna Eximena in a casino, converses with Pasquariello,
when Donna Elvira enters in travelling guise; she has been deceived and
deserted by Don Giovanni in Burgos, and has followed him hither [air].
They recognise each other, Don Giovanni refers her to Pasquariello for
the motives of his departure, and goes out. Pasquariello gives her the
list of his master's mistresses [air]; she vows to gain justice or
be avenged. Don Giovanni enters in loving converse with Eximena, and
satisfies her jealous doubts of his fidelity [air]. A peasant couple,
Biagio and Maturina, are celebrating their wedding [chorus and
tarantella]. Pasquariello pays court to the bride, but on the entrance
of Don Giovanni retires; and Don Giovanni treats the bridegroom so
rudely that he finally goes off in dudgeon [air]. Don Giovanni befools
Maturina by flattery and a promise of marriage. Two scenes are wanting
here (14 and 15). Biagio enters in jealous mood, but is appeased by
Maturina [scena and rondo]. Eximena questions Pasquariello concerning
his master, and rejoices to learn that he is constant to her [air].
Don Giovanni is besieged with questions by Donna Elvira, Eximena, and
Maturina all at once, and satisfies each in turn by assuring her that
love for him has turned the brains of the other two.[127] Duca Ottavio
is discovered in the mausoleum adding the inscription to the statue
which the Commandant had erected to himself in his lifetime. Don
Giovanni enters with Pasquariello to view the monument, and obliges
the latter to invite the statue [duet]. The cook Lanterna attends Don
Giovanni; Elvira comes and meets him returning with Pasquariello; she
exhorts him earnestly to repent, but he scornfully refuses, whereupon
she leaves him
{DON GIOVANNI.}
(160)
and retires to a nunnery. Don Giovanni proceeds to sup merrily
[concertino]; Pasquariello eats with him, and Lanterna wait upon them;
they toast the town of Venice and its lovely women.[128] A knock is
heard, and, to the horror of the two servants, the Commandant appears.
Don Giovanni bids him welcome, and orders Pasquariello to serve him;
he accepts the Commandant's invitation, giving him his hand on it, but
rejects his exhortation to repentance, and is delivered over to the
demons.[129]
A "Convitato di Pietra," by Tritto, is known to me only through Fétis,
who places it in the year 1783.[130]
A wealth of material, which made the task of selection difficult, left
Da Ponte no necessity to task his invention for his libretto.[131]
We have no means of ascertaining how deep or how extensive were his
previous studies,[132] but even compared with Gazzaniga's libretto,
which he closely followed for the greater part of the first act and
the second finale, we cannot fail to recognise his superiority in the
arrangement of the plot, in the delineation of character, and in
the grouping of situations for musical treatment, especially in the
ensembles. His discrimination in the selection of material was also very
just. He saw clearly that if the spectral apparition was to have its
due effect it must be set in vivid contrast with the representation
of actual life, with all its impulses of passion, of love, hate, or
despair, of humour and merriment. He cannot be said to have cast the
magic of true poetry over his work, nor has it the knightly tone of the
Spanish original, but he has endowed
{DA PONTE'S LIBRETTO.}
(161)
his characters with the easy pleasure-loving spirit of the time; and the
sensual frivolity of life at Venice or Vienna is mirrored in every
page of his "Don Giovanni." The language displays a versatility almost
amounting to gracefulness; and, remembering to what a low level of
vulgarity the treatment of the subject had been brought, we shall be
the more ready to recognise the effort to raise the dialogue to a more
sensible and refined standard. Da Ponte was right in placing the main
points on which the action turns upon the stage, and in furnishing the
composer with a number of musically effective situations, in which the
elements of tragedy and comedy, of horror and merriment, meet and
mingle together. This curious intermixture of ground-tones, which seldom
allows; expression to any one pure and unalloyed mood, is the special
characteristic of the opera. Mozart grasped the unity of these contrasts
lying deep in human nature, and expressed them so harmoniously as
to open a new province to his art, for the development of which its
mightiest forces were henceforward to be concentrated. Great as has been
the progress of music in the expression of this inner life of man since
Mozart's time, he has not yet been surpassed in his power of creating
living forms instinct with artistic beauty, and endowed with perfect
dramatic truth. When Goethe declared that Mozart would have been the man
to compose his "Faust,"[133] he was thinking of "Don Giovanni"; but it
could scarcely have been the merely external manipulation of the plot,
however skilful, which directed his opinion. With the instinctive
certainty of genius he felt the universality of Mozart's conception and
representation of humanity, and acknowledged him as his equal on what
was, in his judgment, a far more extensive field than this.
The commencement of the opera[134] sets us at once in the midst of the
action: the passionate intensity of the first
{DON GIOVANNI.}
(162)
scene, the villainy which is practised before our eyes, prepare us
for the deep shadow which is to fall on the picture of reckless
pleasure-seeking, and for its horrifying conclusion; nor is the humorous
element altogether absent:--
Leporello is discovered keeping impatient watch for his master, who soon
appears, pursued by Donna Anna, and vainly striving to break loose
from her. Her cries for help bring the Commendatore, her father, who
challenges the insolent intruder to fight, and falls by Don Giovanni's
sword, to the consternation of the latter and of Leporello. Neither
scorn nor mockery are expressed in the words, "Ah! gia cade il
sciagurato," and the music is as far from such sentiments as the words.
Da Ponte has sagaciously shown traits of natural human sentiment in Don
Giovanni, and Mozart has not let these escape him. But he has no time to
waste in regrets; he takes to flight, and immediately after Donna Anna
returns with her affianced lover, Don Ottavio; she swoons at sight of
the corpse, and as soon as she returns to herself makes Don Ottavio
swear vengeance on the murderer.
Don Giovanni, deaf to Leporello's reproaches, is confiding to him that
he is in pursuit of a new adventure,[135] when a lady enters. This is
Donna Elvira, whom he has deceived and deserted in Burgos, and who has
followed him to claim his promise of marriage; he approaches her, and is
consternated on seeing who she is. She overwhelms him with reproaches,
and he refers her to Leporello for explanations and excuses, taking the
opportunity of slipping away himself; Leporello, for her consolation,
displays a list of his master's love intrigues, which he carries about
with him. Enraged at this fresh insult, she resolves to sacrifice her
love for her unfaithful lover to her thirst for vengeance.
Masetto and Zerlina, with their village friends, are celebrating their
wedding in the neighbourhood of Don Giovanni's casino, whither he
has repaired by preconcerted arrangement. Zerlina's fresh loveliness
attracts him; and, making acquaintance with the bridal party, he invites
them all into his casino, but soon drives out Masetto, whose jealousy he
has excited; and is on the point of winning Zerlina by his flattery and
declarations of love when Elvira steps between them, warns Zerlina,
and (spite of Don Giovanni's whispered protestation that she is a poor
maniac in love with him and mad with jealousy) carries off the peasant
maiden.[136] To Don Giovanni, thus left alone, enter Donna Anna and
Ottavio, who greet him as a friend of the family, and claim his
{DA PONTE'S LIBRETTO.}
(163)
assistance in discovering the murderer and bringing him to justice;
while he is conversing with Donna Anna, Elvira again interposes and
warns her that he is a hypocrite. He again secretly represents her as
a maniac who must be humoured,[137] and goes out with her. Donna
Anna's suspicions are aroused, and observing Don Giovanni closely, she
recognises her father's murderer in him, acquaints Don Ottavio with the
circumstances, and urges him to avenge her father's death. Unwilling
to give easy credence to such a grave accusation, he decides to examine
thoroughly into the affair, and to clear up the doubts as to Don
Giovanni. The latter, disembarrassed of Donna Elvira, commands a banquet
to be prepared in honour of the bridal party. Masetto, whom Zerlina has
with difficulty appeased by her coaxing endearments, conceals himself
when he sees Don Giovanni approaching; after some demure behaviour on
Zerlina's part, Masetto comes forward, and Don Giovanni, with quick
presence of mind, persuades them both to accompany him into the house
for the banquet. Donna Anna and Don Ottavio enter with Elvira, who has
explained everything to them, and at her instigation they all put
on masks, in order to observe Don Giovanni without being recognised;
Leporello, perceiving them, conveys the expected invitation to enter,
which they accept. It was at that time customary in Venice to go about
masked, and strangers thus disguised were invited to enter where
any festivities were going on, thus heightening the frolic of the
masquerade. As they enter the hall, there is a pause in the dance; the
guests take refreshment, Don Giovanni devotes himself to Zerlina, and
Masetto, his jealousy again aroused, seeks to warn her; then the masked
strangers become the centre of observation, are politely greeted, and
the dance begins again. Donna Anna and Don Ottavio tread a minuet, the
dance of the aristocracy;[138] Donna Anna with difficulty restrains her
conflicting emotions, which vent themselves in occasional interjections,
while Don Ottavio exhorts her to remain calm. Elvira follows every
movement of Don Giovanni; the latter invites Zerlina to dance, and
Leporello forces Masetto to dance with him in order to distract his
attention from Zerlina. At the right moment Don Giovanni carries off
Zerlina. Leporello hurries after to warn him; her cries for help are
heard, and all rush to her rescue. Don Giovanni meets them, dragging
in Leporello, whom he gives out to be the culprit, and threatens with
death; but he is surrounded on all sides, the masks are thrown off, and
he finds himself in the midst of his victims,
{DON GIOVANNI.}
(164)
intent on revenge. For one moment his presence of mind forsakes him
and he is at a loss how to extricate himself, but his courage speedily
returns, and he boldly and irresistibly makes his way through his
enemies.
This momentary dismay and confusion is psychologically correct, and
brings an important feature into the situation, which Mozart has
effectively seized in his musical characterisation of it. Don Giovanni
and Leporello, with the storm of voices surging round them, sing _sotto
voce_; and highly characteristic is the submission to Leporello's
opinion to which Don Giovanni here condescends. Only with the words
"Ma non manca in me corraggio" does he gather his senses together,
and strike at once a different key, in which Leporello cannot follow
him.[139]
The first act must be allowed to have a well-constructed and interesting
plot, but the second consists of situations without cohesion or
connection, although capable of being made musically very effective. It
wants a leading motive to hold the parts together, the incessant pursuit
of Don Giovanni not by any means answering the purpose; the comic tone
also degenerates into coarseness:--
Don Giovanni, having appeased the incensed Leporello with money and
fair words, confides to him that he is courting Elvira's pretty
wait-ing-maid, and changes clothes with him in order to gain easier
access to her. This is scarcely accomplished when Elvira appears at
the window. In order to get out of the affair with a good grace, Don
Giovanni renews his addresses to her with pretended passion, and she is
weak enough to give ear to him. Leporello, in his disguise, accepts and
answers her protestations of love, until Don Giovanni, making a noisy
entrance, drives them both away; then with a tender song he strives
to entice the waiting-maid to appear. Masetto then enters armed, with
several friends, to call Don Giovanni to account; the supposed Leporello
undertakes to put them on the right track, but cleverly contrives to
disperse and dismiss them, wheedles Masetto out of his weapons, beats
him soundly, and escapes. Masetto's cries bring Zerlina to the spot, and
she seeks to console him with loving caresses.
In the meantime Leporello and Elvira have taken refuge in an
antechamber; Leporello tries to slip away, while Elvira beseeches him
not to leave her alone in the dark. He is on the point of escaping when
{DA PONTE'S LIBRETTO.}
(165)
Don Ottavio enters with Donna Anna, endeavouring to calm her sorrow;
Elvira and Leporello each try to escape unobserved, but Zerlina and
Masetto intercept them. The supposed Don Giovanni is taken to account
on the spot; in vain does Elvira petition for him, to the general
astonishment; at last Leporello discovers himself, and after many
excuses and explanations makes good his escape. Don Ottavio, now no
longer doubting that Don Giovanni is the murderer of the Com-mendatore,
announces his intention of proceeding against him in a court of justice,
and begs his friends to console his betrothed until he shall have
accomplished his design.
Don Giovanni awaits Leporello's arrival at the foot of the monument
erected to the Commendatore, and laughingly relates his latest
adventure; an invisible voice twice utters words of warning. He becomes
aware of the presence of the statue, and makes Leporello read the
inscription on it: "I here await the chastisement of my ruthless
murderer." In arrogant contempt of Leporello's horror he forces the
latter to invite the statue to supper; the statue nodding its head. Don
Giovanni calls upon it to answer, and on its distinctly uttering the
word "Yes" he hastens away in consternation.
Don Ottavio strives anew to console Donna Anna, and at last begs for her
hand in marriage: she explains that, though her heart consents to
his prayer, her mourning for her father compels her to postpone its
fulfilment. This scene gives rise to a suspicion of having been inserted
in Prague after the completion of the opera, in order to give the singer
a final air. The situation is repeated at the close of the finale, and
is not here in accordance with Don Ottavio's previous appearances. Don
Giovanni, seated at his richly appointed table, eats and jokes with the
greedy Leporello. This scene, which was always made the occasion for
broad jesting between master and servant, has been turned by Mozart into
musical fun and by-play. Don Giovanni's private musicians play favourite
airs from the newest operas. At the first bar Leporello cries "Bravi!
'Cosa Rara!'" It is the last movement of the first finale from Martin's
"Cosa Rara": "O quanto un si bel giubilo," which was then in every one's
mouth; and the parody was a very happy one. Just as in Martin's opera
the discontented lovers are contrasted with the more favoured ones, on
whom their mistresses have been bestowed before their eyes, so here the
hungry Leporello contrasts with the gormandising Don Giovanni, and the
music might have been made for them. The second piece is greeted by
Leporello with "Evvivano! 'I Litiganti!'" It is Mingone's favourite air
from Sarti's opera, "Fra Due Litiganti il Terzo gode" (Act I., 8), the
same on which Mozart had written variations (Vol. II., p. 345), the then
familiar words of which--
"Come un agnello,
Che va al macello,
Andrai belando
Per la città"--
{DON GIOVANNI.}
(166)
were comically appropriate to the snuffling Leporello.[140] The apparent
malice which induced Mozart to parody favourite pieces from operas
which were avowedly rivals of his own (the impression being immensely
heightened by the humorous instrumentation caricaturing arrangements
for harmony music), is rendered in some degree excusable by his having
included himself in the joke. When the musicians strike up "Non più
andrai," Leporello exclaims: "Questa poi la conosco pur troppo!"
Thus Mozart expressed his gratitude to the people of Prague for their
enthusiastic reception of "Figaro."[141]
To this merry pair enters Elvira. She has overcome her love, and intends
entering a cloister, but wishes to make one more effort to bring Don
Giovanni to repentance; but her representation being met only with
easy contempt, she angrily leaves him. She is heard to utter a shriek
without. Leporello hastens after her, and returns in horror: the statue
of the Commendatore is at the door; it knocks, and Don Giovanni has to
go himself to open it, and to conduct his marble guest to a seat. The
statue rejects all hospitality, and asks Don Giovanni if he is prepared
to return the visit; on his answering in the affirmative, he grasps him
by the hand, and calls upon him to repent. Don Giovanni repeatedly and
defiantly refuses, and the statue leaves him; night comes on, flames
burst from the earth, invisible spirit voices are heard, demons surround
Don Giovanni, who sinks into the abyss. Don Ottavio and Donna Anna,
Elvira, Masetto and Zerlina enter to drag the offender to justice,
but find that human revenge has been anticipated; Leporello, who has
witnessed the dreadful scene with every sign of horror, relates his
master's fearful end. Relieved from anxiety, and restored to their
natural relations, they unite in the words of the "old song"--
"Questo è il fin di chi fa mal,
E de' perfidi la morte
Alla vita è sempre ugual!"
No doubt the serious moral appended to the gay and easygoing tone of
the opera was a reminiscence of the custom of considering the piece,
on account of its ready practical application, as a sort of religious
drama; the music takes the same tone towards the end. We can scarcely
conceive that it was with a view to the moral effect alone that Da Ponte
so contrived the plot that Don Giovanni should fail in each
{GERMAN ADAPTATIONS.}
(167)
of the love adventures in which he engages; there can be no question
that the cheerful tone which runs through the whole opera depends
chiefly on the repulses with which the hero is continually met on the
field of his heroic deeds. It is true that some of the passionate force
which distinguishes the Spanish drama is thereby sacrificed, but, on
the other hand, the murders and low crimes which were heaped up in
the German burlesques of "Don Giovanni" also disappeared, and the
concentration of the action dispensed with a number of ill-connected
and licentious scenes. Unfortunately the German adaptations have made
a concession to the popular taste in retaining the accustomed Carnival
frolic, which has nothing whatever in common with Da Ponte's "Don
Giovanni"--to say nothing of Mozart. Only of late has this deformity
been occasionally removed by the introduction of the original recitative
in its stead.[142] But, apart from this, the current German version not
only misses the easy, often striking and graceful style of the Italian
verses, and spoils the melodious flow of the words; it even distorts the
sense, and puts into the mouths of the singers sentiments foreign alike
to the situation and to the music.[143]
But whatever merit Da Ponte's libretto may claim, it claims chiefly as
having given occasion to Mozart's music; (527 K.). One is accustomed to
consider the libretto of an opera as the canvas on which the composer is
to work
{DON GIOVANNI.}
(168)
his embroidery; it might in this case almost be compared to the frame
on which the sculptor erects and models his statue, so completely is the
endowment of the opera with body and soul the actual and exclusive work
of Mozart.[144] The very overture[145] shows at once that something more
is to be expected than the usual fun of opera buffa. Mozart must have
strongly felt the necessity for a grave and solemn introduction, and has
therefore selected the usual French form of overture, consisting of a
slow introduction followed by an allegro. The andante is taken from the
opera itself. We have the principal subjects of the spectral apparition
(as it were, the musical expression of the old title "Il Con-vitato di
Pietra"), indicating at the very commencement the culminating point of
the opera, and fixing its ground-tone.[146] After a few introductory
chords, clear, solemn sounds are heard like an apparition from heaven,
spreading around a feeling of disquiet and strangeness, swelling
into fear and horror. It is interesting to note how the ascending and
descending scales, which, like the mysterious rustling of the
{THE OVERTURE.}
(169)
breeze, produce a kind of cold shudder in the hearer, were first brought
clearly before Mozart's mind during the performance of the ghost scene.
In the finale, where they first occur (p. 271), they were wanting in
the original score; Mozart inserted them subsequently, and, room being
scarce, wrote them in diminutive little notes, which often extend into
the following bar; but the second time they occur, and in the overture,
they are duly written down. The allegro is exclusively suggestive of the
main features of the story; and an eager, irrepressible force, "which
is intoxicated with the lust for enjoyment, and in enjoyment pines for
lust," penetrates the whole, sometimes in accents of keen pain--[See
Page Images] and hot desire, sometimes with exultation and wild
delight.[147] The grave cry of warning which interrupts the eager
movement--is answered, as if in frivolous mockery, by an easy playful
passage--[See Page Images]
and then the contrasting elements are worked out with a wealth of
harmonious and contrapuntal detail. Mozart is said to have borrowed both
the subject and its imitation from
{DON GIOVANNI.}
(170)
a canon by Stölzel.[148] But a glance at the bars which are adduced to
prove this--[See page Image]
will show what a keen hunt after plagiarism is required to find any
borrowed idea in this imitative disposition of parts, common to many
old church compositions. But here again Mozart has turned one of the
resources of musical construction into a development of a psychological
idea. How deeply suggestive it is that the warning cries should be
heard woven into the imitations, dying into tender, almost melancholy
entreaty, and finally, as the mocker seems determined to treat it all
as a jest, rising into an awful call to repentance, sounding again and
again with a force that penetrates into the very marrow of one's bones!
Again, how truly conceived is the harmonic transition at the close,
by means of which this warning motif cuts short with the seventh the
jubilation at its very highest pitch, then dies away into gentle notes
of remonstrance, and so gradually calms the hearer, and prepares him for
what is to follow![149]
The opera begins by introducing us to the only really comic character it
contains, and thus in a measure fulfils the anticipations excited by
the overture. The typical character of the comic servant, which in "Don
Juan" had passed through the successive stages of Gracioso, Arlecchino,
Sganarelle, Hanswurst, and Kasperle, here attained to perfection as far
as opera buffa is concerned. Leporello is a creation unique of its kind;
but since in every branch of art gifted minds, however original, draw
from a common source, so Leporello,
{LEPORELLO.}
(171)
striking as is his individuality, is developed out of the traditions
of opera buffa. The distinctive character of the opera depends upon
his intimate connection with all the situations and all the persons. It
would not suffice for the due blending of the contrasting elements that
Leporello should scatter jests in season and out of season on every
conceivable topic; it was only by rendering all his acts and expressions
consistent with his character that they could be made to react upon
the situations and persons which brought them forth. He has a distinct
personality, with his own way of thinking and feeling, and his own way
of expressing himself. The boldness with which his essentially comic
nature is brought into conflict with passions and events which sound the
very depths of the human heart transports us to the highest province of
humour. This is especially observable in his relations to his master,
with whom he is at once in sympathy and in striking contrast.
He has the same desire for enjoyment and display, the same laxity of
moral judgment, the same tendency to treat serious matters in a mocking
spirit; he does not want ability either, but fails altogether in just
those qualities which keep alive our interest in Don Giovanni--in
strength and courage: his cowardice betrays itself on every occasion.
While Don Giovanni is on the look-out for every adventure, however
daring, and extricates himself from every peril, however imminent,
Leporello is always pressed into the service, is utterly helpless in any
contingency, and escapes finally only by virtue of his cowardice. This
contradiction between his nature and his surroundings is all the more
entertaining since he himself is perfectly aware of it. We learn his
character from the very first. He is in high dudgeon at being forced
to mount guard outside while his master is enjoying himself within, and
marches impatiently up and down; but as he marches, proud thoughts
of future grandeur take possession of his soul. "Voglio far il
gentiluomo"--he might almost be taken for a cavalier. Suddenly he hears
a noise. He is no longer the grand gentleman, but gives vent to abject
fear in his terrified babble, as Don Giovanni wrestles with Donna Anna.
When the danger grows serious, and the Commendatore falls, he is seized
with horror, but
{DON GIOVANNI.}
(172)
although the moral shock is great it is with actual physical fear that
his teeth chatter. The whole sequence of characteristic expression
in the scene receives its full significance only by contrast with
Leporello's cowardice. Donna Anna's passion, which Don Giovanni is
constrained to oppose with a force equal to her own; the dignified
bearing of the Commendatore, forcing Don Giovanni at length reluctantly
to draw the sword;[150] the duel[151] with its horrifying result--all
these afford a rapid succession of exciting and harrowing points,
scarcely leaving room for the comic element, which nevertheless is
there, and kept actively before us without doing injury to the harmony
of the whole. What a force of artistic expression is displayed in the
eighteen bars of andante which close the introduction! The death which
ends the pain of the Commendatore, the mingled pity and triumph of
Don Giovanni, the horror and fear of Leporello, are blended into such
harmony as to leave the mind--relieved from suspense--full of true
emotion. The unusual combination of three bass voices seems as though
expressly chosen for the serious tone of the situation; the stringed
instruments accompany the voices in the simplest manner, with a few
sustained notes for the horns and bassoons, and only in the concluding
symphony do the oboes and flutes enter with a plaintive chromatic
passage. Here burns truly the inextinguishable flame of genius![152]
To return to Leporello. The various ways in which his timorous nature
expresses itself in different situations give occasion for the most
interesting characterisation. He has least to do in the first finale,
but he stands close by his master, who shields him in their common
danger; in the
{THE SESTET--LEPORELLO.}
(173)
sestet, however, he shows himself in his full proportions. Willing as he
is to take his master's place with Elvira, his fears do not suffer him
to do it; and when he finds himself alone in the dark with her, in spite
of her entreaties not to be left alone, his one anxiety is to escape.
The contrast is excellently expressed between the bashfulness of Elvira
and the terror of her cowardly interlocutor. Just as he is making off,
Don Ottavio and Donna Anna enter, and he conceals himself. A rapid
transition to another key, emphasised by the unexpected entry of drums
and trumpets, transports us to a higher region, and an affectingly
beautiful expression is given to the sorrow of a noble mind and the
consolation of a loving heart. Elvira again takes part in the situation;
she is full of anxiety for the supposed Don Giovanni, and the expression
of her fear becomes more material, lowering her to the level of
Leporello, who seeks anew to escape, and repeats his former motif, but
more despondently, and in the minor key. Then Zerlina and Masetto enter
and run against him, Don Ottavio and Donna Anna also become aware of his
presence; and, to their intense surprise, Elvira interposes a petition
for Don Giovanni. Her former motif expressive of anxiety is taken up and
maintained by the orchestra, becoming the nucleus of the situation, the
surprise of the other serving only to give light and shade. When her
petition is finally rejected, Leporello throws off his disguise. His
timidity has become mortal fear, he knows that his insignificance alone
can shield him, and he cannot reiterate too strongly that he is in very
truth Leporello, and not Don Giovanni. The general surprise at this
discovery is of course expressed in far stronger fashion than that at
Elvira's sudden change of mind. What is to be done? At first they are
all at a loss. With regard to Leporello, though he has more or less
injured some of them, their position is in common; he is not the Don
Giovanni on whom they have vowed vengeance; their indignant amazement
at the deceit practised on them unites them into a compact body, more
occupied with their own feelings than anxious to punish Leporello. The
latter thinks only of the
{DON GIOVANNI.}
(174)
danger which threatens him, and, try as he may to collect himself, fear
gets possession of him; he mumbles to himself, cries aloud, and makes a
final appeal for mercy before he runs away. The perplexity which seizes
them all at the discovery of Leporello is the point of union of the
situation; the truth and energy with which the nature of each person
is expressed giving it the stamp of life and power.[153] Leporello's
position is totally different when Don Giovanni arrogantly orders him to
invite the statue of the Commendatore to sup with them (Act II., 9).
The mysterious sounds which he has just heard, and the marble figure,
terrify him; but his master threatens with drawn sword; one fear
overmasters the other, and he now persuades himself to address the
statue--now turns in terror to his master. The musical expression of
fear by means of intervals of sevenths--[See Page Image]
but how characteristic is the difference between this cringing appeal
for pity, and the former energetic cry extorted, as it might be, on the
rack! The terror increases at each successive attempt to address the
statue, while the energy of each address decreases, and dies away at
last into a plaintive parlando. The orchestra at the same time adds the
expression of insolent mockery, which is not less characteristic of the
situation, in a playful but sharply accented
{DUET--LEPORELLO}
(175)
passage, wherein the flutes are made especially effective.
As soon as Leporello's fears are verified and the statue actually moves,
he succumbs to his terror, and Don Giovanr^ steps forward. Fear is a
stranger to him; he sees the statue nod its head, and demands a more
distinct answer; he puts his question plainly and decidedly; the statue
answers by "Si." Leporello behaves as though struck by a thunderbolt,
and has no idea but flight; even Don Giovanni is affected, and feels
the supernaturalness, but he retains his self-possession; and, in the
expression of trembling haste with which it hurries on the conclusion,
the orchestra mingles something of the humorous impression which is
given by the unexpected _dénouement_ of the situation. The harmonic
construction is here masterly in the extreme. From the beginning ^ to
this point only the principal key and the one next related to it have
been used; but now the interrupted cadence upon C major transports us
to another atmosphere, and the altered movement of the orchestra is
expressive of energetic activity.
A few chords, however, lead Don Giovanni's questions at once back to the
dominant of the principal key, and the forcible "Si" of the Commendatore
answers with the tonic, the clear calm of which is destroyed at once by
Leporello's C: the real conclusion is only arrived at circuitously. Very
different in effect on both occasions is the occurrence of the same C in
the bass. The first time, when C major follows decidedly on B major, it
makes a fresh, elevating impression; the second time, when C follows the
sustained E as the third below, and forms the basis for the chord of the
third, fourth and sixth, it gives a shock to the ear. The vivid reality
with which the two contrasting individualities are made to express
themselves in so unusual a situation has necessitated the free form of
the duet. Detached musical phrases, complete in themselves, follow the
play of the emotions without the elaboration or repetition of any of
the subjects; only Leporello's cry of terror recurs several times, and
serves to a certain extent as a connecting link. Mozart has judiciously
refrained from bringing the horror of a spectral apparition objectively
before his hearers. Their imagination has been sufficiently worked upon
by the
{DON GIOVANNI.}
(176)
awful and imposing words of the Commendatore,[154] and their attention
ought not to be diverted from Don Giovanni and Leporello. The freedom
which permits of a playful treatment of Leporello's double fear and of
Don Giovanni's consternation reposes mainly on the half-light in which
the ghostly element is viewed. The spectator is impelled to accept the
mixture of the horrible as a flavouring to the humorous; he is not in
the least absorbed by horror. As soon as the ghost appears bodily, he
comes to the foreground and gives tone and colour to all the rest; it
is of advantage to the effect that none of the resources of musical
delineation are employed to heighten this point. The true economy of an
artist not only concentrates his resources on one point, but finds its
truest expression in his appearing to disdain their use at another. The
main point here was the audible voice of the statue, and Mozart gave
it no support but the vibration of the horn note; this necessitated the
greatest simplicity in the whole musical rendering of the situation.
The appearance of the Commendatore in the last finale is led up to
in truly masterly fashion. First we have the display of the luxurious
living which has erased from Don Giovanni's mind all remembrance of what
has passed. Leporello's greediness, with the jests upon it which were
customary in this part of the piece, are made subservient to the more
delicate humour of the table music. The entrance of Elvira heightens
the situation, and the contrast of her deeply moved feelings and Don
Giovanni's frivolous excitement introduces a new turn, and prepares for
the catastrophe. Leporello feels, indeed, that Elvira is in the right,
but dares not oppose his master, and so introduces no dissonant
tone into the strongly marked character of this scene. But when the
catastrophe draws near it is Leporello who, as he opened the action at
the beginning of the opera, now announces the dread apparition at its
close. All the
{THE COMMENDATORE.}
(177)
terror he has hitherto been a prey to is as nothing compared with
his mortal anguish at the sight of the marble guest, and even to the
commands of his master he answers only with cries of terror; we feel
that, ludicrous as the gestures of the cowardly fellow may be, something
must have happened that would have alarmed any one, however courageous.
Then there enters the Commendatore, accompanied by! soul-harrowing
sounds.[155] No human passion, no anger, no pity speaks from his awful
tones: the inflexible decree of an eternal law is embodied in all its
sublimity in music. The warning words pursue their measured course,
now tarrying upon one note with varied chords, now moving in forcible
intervals, the heavy weight accumulating till it threatens to annihilate
the culprit. The orchestra is calmer and quieter even than before, but
adds many finely shaded touches to the image of the apparition. At one
time it strengthens the weighty tread of the sustained sounds by the
sharp rhythm of dotted notes--then again it falls in dissonant chords
upon strongly accented notes, or gives expression to the curdling horror
which seizes the hearer, by means of rapid ascending and descending
scales. In face of this dread apparition Don Giovanni summons all
his strength together. At first, indeed he is consternated, and the
orchestra gives expression to his horror; but he soon collects himself,
becomes more and more decided as the Commendatore continues to urge him,
the call to repentance serving merely as a challenge to his defiance:
his fall is inevitable. Again, as at the first, the two stand opposite
each other in deadly struggle, but now it is Don Giovanni who is forced
to yield, powerless against the forces of the unseen world. Mozart has
endued the awe-struck sublimity
{DON GIOVANNI.}
(178)
of this scene with noble beauty and force of climax, and has even
ventured to invest it with something of a comic tone. Leporello's abject
fear during such a conflict was a matter of course, but it would be
foreign to his nature even under these circumstances, to be altogether
silent. When, with chattering teeth and shaking limbs, he sings his
triplets when, upon the Commendatore's question "Verrai?" he calls in
deadly fear to his master--[See Page Image]
every one must feel how wofully in earnest the poor wretch is, and how
he is ludicrous not of his own free will, but because he cannot help it.
Every-day life shows how easily the sublime or the awful passes into
the ridiculous, and how the incongruous emotion thus produced only
strengthens the impression of horror; the blending of these contrasting
elements into a true and living representation in art can only be
accomplished by a great genius. There is scarcely anything in dramatic
music which can compare in this respect with this scene of "Don
Giovanni."
Leporello is not conscious of the ridicule he incurs by his cowardice,
and in truth it forms but one feature in his character. His air (Act
II., 7) following the sestet, in which he seeks to justify himself on
all sides, looking out at the same time for an opportunity of escape,
makes his cunning more apparent than his fear. He has collected his
senses, and, convinced that once recognised he has nothing more to fear,
he only seeks to fortify himself with excuses until he can escape.
The air is therefore lighter and easier in tone, in strong contrasts,
varying according to the quarters to which he addresses himself, but in
no way elaborated, and coming to an end with a musical point charmingly
expressive of the words. The moderated tone of the piece is of very
good effect after the ponderous length of the sestet. Leporello is a
dissipated, insolent fellow, but, little as his principles can stand
before a threat or a bribe, he has not so completely emancipated himself
from all moral restraint
{LEPORELLO--AIRS.}
(179)
as has his master. He has little scruple, however, in accepting his part
in the villainies planned by Don Giovanni, who makes use of him chiefly
to get rid of Elvira. In the celebrated air (Act I., 4) in which,
professedly by way of consolation, he unrolls the list of his master's
amours, he does not conceal the pleasure which the remembrance of the
love adventures and the thought of the trick he is playing on Elvira
afford him. In the first part the enumeration of the long list is made
parlando, only here and there the accent is somewhat raised for effect,
as at the famous "Ma in Ispagna son già mille e trè"; but the orchestra,
in lively motion all the time, betrays the reminiscence of jovial and
licentious adventures which is passing through the mind of the speaker.
He grows warmer over his description of his master's tastes and habits,
and gives full expression to every detail, until his final malicious
apostrophe, "Voi sapete quel che fa," is given with undisguised mockery.
Those who have heard how Lablache sang--[See Page Image]
Quel che fa under his breath, and a little through his nose, with an
indescribable side glance at Elvira, can have an idea of the comic
ill-nature which Mozart meant to throw into this conclusion.
The characterisation, appropriate in every detail and inimitable in its
rendering of Leporello's secret complacency,[156] can only be rightly
appreciated with the Italian words; the German translation is most
faulty where the musical treatment demanded the strictest accuracy;
the mode of expression, too, is purely Italian, sometimes only
comprehensible in conjunction with Italian pantomime. When indeed he
extols "nella bionda la gentilezza, nella
{DON GIOVANNI.}
(180)
bruna la costanza, nella bianca la dolcezza," the expression is
universally applicable, and the _grande maestoso_ rises plainly before
the minds of all; but when we come to--[See Page Image]
the proper effect cannot be rendered in German. In the streets of any
town in Italy it may be observed how, when anything is to be described
as small, the person describing it repeats the word eight or ten times
with great rapidity, lowering the hand by degrees nearer and nearer to
the ground; and the action could not possibly be better indicated than
in this place by Mozart. There is a similar effect in the terzet (Act
II., 2) where Leporello cannot contain his laughter--[See Page Image]
Se se-gui-ta-te ri-do, ri-do, ri-do, ri-do, ri-do, ri-do, ri-do,
ri-do, ri-do, ri-do, and the silent internal chuckle of the Italian
is musically expressed to perfection. More especially has the rapid
utterance, one of the principal devices of opera buffa, a totally
different signification in Italian and German. It is not natural to the
German, and appears either exaggerated or vulgar; it should therefore
be seldom and carefully employed as a means of characterisation. For
an Italian, on the contrary, rapid speech, for which his language is
so well adapted, is the natural expression of excitement, and the
only question for him is whether he shall give vent to his feelings or
exercise control over them. In Italian opera it is used without
scruple, and without in itself aiming at making a comic impression; the
circumstances, persons engaged, and manner employed give the character
of the piece. In the part of Leporello the rapid parlando has a
very different expression in different situations, and can always be
justified on psychological grounds. But it is by no means exclusively
the characteristic of comic persons. In the first finale (Act I., 13)
Masetto's rapid outpouring of jealous rage, Zerlina's fear and distress,
are not intended to move the
{THE RAPID PARLANDO.}
(181)