DON GIOVANNI / WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART (CONCERT VERSION) – LIVE STREAMING

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote Don Giovanni in 1787, commissioned by the Prague Italian opera at the National Theater, just a year after its audience enthusiastically welcomed Le nozze di Figaro. Faced with such success, then-22-year-old composer was soon asked to quickly create a new piece. Lorenzo da Ponte, the librettist with whom Mozart had cooperated many times before, suggested writing about the libertine Don Juan. And so, Da Ponte took Burlador de Sevilla (The Seducer of Sevilla), a drama by Tirso de Molina, as the basis for this excellent libretto, also drawing inspiration from Molière’s famous play. The subject turned out to be incredibly inspiring for the young Mozart. Very shortly, he managed to create a piece which dazzled with its originality of musical arrangements, the perfection of form and maturity of sound.

Although Mozart listed the piece as simply opera buffa in his private catalogue, this work is often classified as a narrower genre – dramma giocoso (a jocular drama), since the Viennese genius crossed over the boundaries of established form and masterfully tailored the music to the dramatic events. By interweaving tragic and humorous elements, he was able to create a musical reality which perfectly rendered the complexity of the story and the psychological complexity of individual characters.

Don Giovanni holds an important position in the repertoire of the world’s most renown opera theatres. Ever since its premiere in Prague in 1787 up to the end of the 18^th century, as well as throughout the whole 19^th century, there was no single year in which Don Giovanni wouldn’t be staged. What is more, its unparalleled popularity hasn’t faded away during the 20^th and the 21^st century. The archives of numerous productions over the centuries recall names of the most famous conductors and singers, including Ezio Pinza, Thomas Allen, Fiorenza Cossotto, Kiri Te Kanawa, Claudio Desderi, Ferruccio Furlanetto, Herbert von Krajan, Karl Böhm and many others.

FRAGMENTS PERFORMED:

Act 1

Ouverture

1. Introduzione
2. Aria Ah, chi mi dice mai (Donna Elvira)
3. Recitativo Ah voi… stelle! (Donna Elvira, Leporello)
4. Aria Madamina… (Leporello)
5. Coro Giovinette, che fate all’amore (Zerlina, Masetto)
6. Recitativo Orsu, non perdiam tempo (Don Giovanni, Zerlina)
7. Duettino La ci darem la mano (Don Giovanni, Zerlina)
8. Recitativo accompagnato i aria Don Ottavio, son morta!… Or sai chi l’onore (Donna Anna, Don Ottavio)
9. Recitativo Bravo, bravo, arcibravo! (Don Giovanni, Leporello)
10. Aria Fin ch’han dal vino (Don Giovanni)
11. Recitativo Non me lo credi? Ingrato! (Zerlina, Masetto)
12. Aria Batti, batti… (Zerlina)

Act 2

1. Duetto Eh! via buffone (Don Giovanni, Leporello)
2. Tercetto Ah! taci ingiusto core (Donna Elvira, Don Giovanni, Leporello)
3. Recitativo Purchè la sorte mi secondi (Don Giovanni)
4. Canzonetta Deh, vieni alla finestra (Don Giovanni)
5. Aria Vedrai, carino (Zerlina)
6. Aria Il mio tesoro (Don Ottavio)
7. Duetto O statua gentilissima (Leporello, Don Giovanni, Il Commendatore)
8. Recitativo accompagnato e Rondo Crudele! (Donna Anna)
9. Finale (Don Giovanni, Leporello, Donna Elvira, Il Commendatore, Chorus)

PRODUCTION CONCEPT ANDRZEJ KLIMCZAK
COSTUMES AND PROPS MARLENA SKONECZKO
VIDEO PROJECTIONS MAREK ZAMOJSKI
LIGHTING DESIGN PIOTR RUDZKI

STAGE MANAGER DOROTA LACHOWICZ

CAST

IL COMENDATORE  WOJCIECH GIERLACH
DON GIOVANNI  ROBERT GIERLACH
LEPORELLO PAWEŁ MICHALCZUK
DONNA ANNA GABRIELA KAMIŃSKA
DONNA ELVIRA  ANNA WIERZBICKA
DON OTTAVIO LESZEK ŚWIDZIŃSKI
ZERLINA MARTA BOBERSKA
MASETTO KRZYSZTOF ŁAZICKI

HARPSICHORD DAGMARA DUDZIŃSKA

THE CHORUS OF THE POLISH ROYAL OPERA

THE ORCHESTRA OF THE POLISH ROYAL OPERA

CONDUCTOR GRZEGORZ NOWAK