Don Juan (Spanish) or Don Giovanni (Italian) is a legendary, fictional libertine whose story has been told many times by many authors. The two best known works about this character today are Don Giovanni, an opera written by Lorenzo da Ponte with music composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, first performed in 1787 and Don Juan Tenorio, by José Zorrilla, written in 1844.
Chinese audiences had a great chance to appreciate the classic work, for the Opera Concert Don Giovanni was staged on December 6 to 7 in Beijing in memory of Mozart.
Of the many operas based on the legend of Don Juan, Mozart’s opera Don Giovanni is thought to be beyond comparison. Da Ponte’s libretto was billed like many of its time as dramma giocoso: “giocoso” meaning comic, and “drama” signifying an operatic text (an abbreviation of “dramma per musica”). Mozart entered the work into his catalogue as an “opera buffa”. Although often classified as comic, it is a unique blend of comic and drama. Subtitled “dramma giocoso”, the opera blends comedy, melodrama and supernatural elements.
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