Don Giovanni

Don Giovanni was commissioned by the Prague Opera immediately after the success of The Marriage of Figaro: Mozart and Da Ponte wanted to build on their success and chose a subject that had triumphed just a few weeks earlier in Venice, a Don Giovanni composed by Giuseppe Gazzaniga. Revisiting the theme of the Seville Cheat – a prevalent subject in theatre since the mid-17th century, especially through Molière’s powerful incarnation, and in a ballet by Gluck in Vienna in 1761 – Da Ponte focused the work on the libertine character of Don Juan, no doubt drawing inspiration from his friend Casanova (who in fact helped make changes to Act 2, Scene 9, and attended the Prague première).

Cast

Alexandre Duhamel Don Giovanni Robert Gleadow Leporello Ana Maria Labin Donna Anna Arianna Vendittelli Donna Elvira Alix Le Saux Zerlina Julien Henric Don Ottavio Alex Rosen Il Commendatore Alex Rosen Masetto Marc Minkowski Conductor

Metadata from the source database.