| Marketing Copy | Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) wrote the two-act opera DON GIOVANNI, K. 527, in 1787 following a commission from Prague impresario Pasquale Bondini. With the success of THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO, Mozart turned to the librettist for that opera, Lorenzo Da Ponte, for this new project. The opera tells the story of Don Giovanni, an arrogant and promiscuous nobleman who abuses everyone he meets, killing the father of a woman he assaulted, attempting to seduce other women and abandoning the one he has already seduced. At the end, the man he had killed returns as a ghost and demands Don Giovanni's repentance. Don Giovanni refuses, and is dragged to Hell, with the cast telling the audience that "Evildoers always come to an evil end." The opera premiered in Prague at the Estates Theatre on October 29th, 1787, with Mozart conducting, and was very successful. The opera remains not only one of the best by Mozart, but it is considered one of the crown jewels of the opera repertoire. While not part of the original opera, Mozart composed Donna Elvira's additional Act 2 recitative and aria, IN QUALI ECCESSI; MI TRADÌ QUELL'ALMA INGRATA (IN WHAT EXCESSES; THAT UNGRATEFL WRETCH BETRAYED ME) for soprano Caterina Cavalieri at the Vienna premiere, which took place on May 7, 1788. It is still commonly included in contemporary productions. Instrumentation: 1.0.1.1: 2.0.0.0: Str (4-4-3-3-3 in set): Solo Soprano. Reprint edition. |
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