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TRANSCRIPT
L E C T U R E S L I D E S
Chapter 7
Monday, October 29, 1787, Prague: W. A. Mozart’s Don Giovanni
Music Then and Now, 1st EdiJon
Mozart Aria
Music Then and Now’s Lecture PowerPoints embed the author video(s) for each chapter for easy use in class.
Music Then and Now, 1st EdiJon
• Reasons for Don Giovanni’s prominence in the operaJc repertory – Music: Mozart’s ability to fascinate and move the audience with dramaJc music
– Drama: Mozart collaborated with the poet and dramaJst Lorenzo Da Ponte, one of the most
giPed libreQsts in history
– Performance: Mozart composed the opera with specific performers in mind and took full advantage of their abiliJes
Introduc)on
Lecture PowerPoints provide a basic outline of key points covered in the chapter, including the Introduction, The Setting, The Premiere, The Music, Listening to the Music, and the music Then and Now. Scroll down to see samples of slides for each section.
Music Then and Now, 1st EdiJon
The Se/ng
• Prague in 1787 – Capital of Bohemia and important city in the Austro-‐Hungarian Empire, with a rich musical and arJsJc life
– Count NosJtz’s Theater (now known as the Estates Theater) built in 1783; site of the premieres of Don Giovanni in 1787 and La clemenza di Tito in 1791
Music Then and Now, 1st EdiJon
The Se/ng
• The Bondini Opera Company – Opera company started by Pasquale Bondini, Italian singer and impresario (manager); winter season in Prague, summer season in Leipzig
– Specialized in Italian opera, popular throughout most of Europe and characterized by bel canto, or “beauJful song”
Music Then and Now, 1st EdiJon
Mozart and Da Ponte
• Wolfgang Amadè Mozart (1756–1791) – Born in Salzburg; trained by his father, Leopold Mozart, a violinist
– Toured Europe with father and sister, Nannerl, becoming internaJonally famous as a child prodigy
– Employed as a court musician in Salzburg unJl 1781
Music Then and Now, 1st EdiJon
The Premiere of Don Giovanni
• PreparaJons in Prague – Mozart conJnued working on the opera while in Prague in October 1787
– Mozart and Da Ponte spent Jme with Giacomo Casanova, who may have contributed revisions to the libredo aPer Da Ponte’s departure
– The premiere had been scheduled to coincide with a visit by the Archduchess Maria Theresa but was postponed due to insufficient rehearsal Jme
Music Then and Now, 1st EdiJon
The Music
• Opera Seria and Opera Buffa – Opera seria (serious or tragic opera) was based on mythical or historical subjects, with elevated acJon and characters who are gods or members of the nobility
– Opera buffa (comic opera) included servants as well as nobles; class disJncJons were important (and potenJally controversial) in plays and operas of the period
Music Then and Now, 1st EdiJon
The Music
• Orchestra: Size and Makeup – The orchestral musicians were residents of Prague; the woodwind players were parJcularly skillful
– Orchestra was comparaJvely small – Don Giovanni includes onstage bands in the finales of Acts 1 and 2
– Trombones accompany the appearance of the Commendatore’s statue; associated with the supernatural, they are also used in the Requiem
Music Then and Now, 1st EdiJon
Listening to the Music
• Aria, “Node e giorno faJcar,” Act 1, Scene 1 – Opens the opera – Three “voices” or stances: complaining, imitaJng Don Giovanni, and expressing fright at the approach of Don Giovanni and Donna Anna
Music Then and Now, 1st EdiJon
Listening to the Music
• Ensemble, Act 1, Scene 1 – Dialogue between Donna Anna and Don Giovanni, with asides from Leporello, forming a trio
– Music of the characters is largely disJnct
– The music changes to minor mode with the appearance of the Commendatore
– Badle music: instrumental duel – Change of tempo to andante as the Commendatore dies
Music Then and Now, 1st EdiJon
Don Giovanni Then and Now
• RecepJon of Premiere – Contemporary newspaper review briefly describes the performance; it possibly hints that Don Giovanni was less popular than The Marriage of Figaro and appealed more to “connoisseurs and musicians”
– The manager of the company, Guardasoni, praised Mozart and Da Ponte
– The Bondini Company performed Don Giovanni again in Prague, Warsaw, and other ciJes
Music Then and Now, 1st EdiJon
The art slides include the images from the chapter for display in class, and include explanatory captions in the notes field.
Music Then and Now, 1st EdiJon
Music Then and Now, 1st EdiJon
Music Then and Now, 1st EdiJon
Music Then and Now, 1st EdiJon
Mozart: Don Giovanni, Act I, Scene 12, “Non J fidar”
The musical examples in each chapter are embedded in lecture PowerPoints.
Lecture Slides
Music Then and Now Thomas Forrest Kelly
First EdiJon
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