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 renounceDON GIOVANNI.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."
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.86This 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 drama87necessarilyDON GIOVANNI.brought Tirso's "Don Juan" to Italy. According to Ricco-boni, it first appeared upon an Italian stage soon after 1620.88The 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);89the 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.91The 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.92In 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."
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.95The new Italian company of the Duke of Orleans replaced the improvised "Convitato di Pietra" upon the stage in 1717, and it was revived in 1743.96This gave rise to a dispute with the French actors, who were not willing to renounce their claim to so taking a piece.97Dorimon first produced a translation of Giliberti's piece with the title of "Le Festin de Pierre,98ou le Fils Criminel," at Lyons in 1658, whenDON GIOVANNI.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 histragi-comédiewith the same title and almost verbal identity in 1659 at the theatre of the Hötel de Bourgogne.99Don 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 theMOLIÈRE'S "FESTIN DE PIERRE."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 alsoDON GIOVANNI.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 asserts101that 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 histragi-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.102Again, in 1746, "Le Grand Festin de Pierre" was given in Paris as a pantomime,103and has always been popular on village and marionette stages.
DON JUAN IN ENGLAND AND GERMANY.
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."104In 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."105In 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."106Schroder appeared in Hamburg, in 1766, as Sganarell in "Don Juan," and "surpassed all expectation."107This 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,108and in 1769 the pantomime ballet of "Don Juan" was given by them.109At Vienna, up to 1772, an improvised "Steinerne Gastmahl" was regularly given during the octave of All Souls;110a 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 penitentialDON GIOVANNI.speech.111The 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.113It 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."114The 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 1761.115The 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."
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, apas de deuxwith 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," adramma 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.118The 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 inDON GIOVANNI.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,120and 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";121it was played in Milan, 1789; in Paris, 1791, where, however, in spite of the brilliant concluding scene, it was only moderately successful,122and in London (notwithstanding Da Ponte's contradiction) in 1794.123The libretto is lost, but fragments of a score which Sonnleithner discovered in Vienna124show that Da PonteGAZZANIGA's "CONVITATO DI PIETRA."must have made liberal use of this libretto,125if, 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],126to 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.127Duca 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 himDON GIOVANNI.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.128A 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.131We have no means of ascertaining how deep or how extensive were his previous studies,132but 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 endowedDA PONTE'S LIBRETTO.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,"133he 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 opera134sets us at once in the midst of the action: the passionate intensity of the firstDON GIOVANNI.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,135when 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.136To Don Giovanni, thus left alone, enter Donna Anna and Ottavio, who greet him as a friend of the family, and claim hisDA PONTE'S LIBRETTO.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,137and 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;138Donna 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.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, singsotto 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 whenDA PONTE'S LIBRETTO.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—