Chapter XXXVIII: "don Giovanni." (1)

MOZART had been so well satisfied with Da Ponte's libretto for "Figaro" that he had no hesitation in intrusting the new libretto to him, and immediately on his return to Vienna they consulted together as to the choice of subject. Da Ponte, fully convinced of the many-sidedness of Mozart's genius, proposed "Don Giovanni," and Mozart at once agreed to it. Da Ponte relates,[1] with an amusing amount of swagger, that he was engaged at one and the same time on "Tarar" for Salieri, on the "Arbore di Diana" for Martin, and on "Don Giovanni" for Mozart. Joseph II. made some remonstrance on this, to which Da Ponte answered that he would do his best; he could write for Mozart at night and imagine himself reading Dante's "Inferno"; for Martin in the morning, and be reminded of Petrarch; and in the evening for Salieri, who should be his Tasso. Thereupon he set to work, a bottle of wine and his Spanish snuffbox before him, and his hostess's pretty daughter by his side to enact the part of inspiring muse. The first day, the two first scenes of "Don Giovanni," two scenes of the "Arbore di Diana," and more than half of the first act of "Tarar" were written, and in sixty-three days the whole of the first two operas and two-thirds of the last were ready. Unfortunately we have no certain information either of the share taken by Mozart in the construction of the text, nor of the manner in which his composition was carried on. The warmth of his reception at Prague made the contrast of his position in Vienna all the more galling to him. On the departure of Storace, Kelly, and Attwood for England, in February, 1787, he had seriously entertained the idea of following them as soon as they had found a situation worthy of his acceptance

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in London. The bass singer Fischer, who was visiting Vienna,[2] wrote in Mozart's album on April 1, 1787, the following verses, more well-meaning than poetical:--

Die holde Göttin Harmonie Der Tone und der Seelen,
Ich dächte wohl, sie sollten nie
Die Musensöhnen fehlen,
Doch oft ist Herz und
Mund verstimmt;
Dort singen Lippen Honig,
Wo doch des Neides Feuer glimmt--
Glaub mir, es gebe wenig Freunde die den
Stempel tragen Echter Treu, Rechtschaffenheit.

The lines throw a light on Mozart's relations to his fellow-artists, and the hint contained in Barisani's album verses, written on April 14, 1787, that the Italian composers envied him his art (Vol. II., p. 306), leaves no doubt as to whose envy, in the opinion of himself and his friends, he had to dread. A musical connoisseur, visiting Vienna on his return from Italy in the spring of 1787,[3] found everybody engrossed with Martin's "Cosa Rara," which, Storace's departure having rendered its performance in Italian impossible, was being played in a German adaptation at the Marinelli theatre with success. Dittersdorfs success in German opera had also the effect of throwing Mozart completely into the shade.

Dittersdorf (1739-1799)[4] came to Vienna during Lent, 1786,[5] to produce his oratorio of "Job" at the concerts of the Musical Society, and he afterwards gave two concerts in the Augarten, at which his symphonies on Ovid's "Metamorphoses" were performed. The genuine success of these compositions led to his being requested to write a German opera. Stephanie junior, theatrical director at the time, provided him with the incredibly dull libretto of the "Doctor und Apotheker," which was played for the first

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time on July 11, 1786, and twenty times subsequently during the year. That which had not been attained by the success of the "Entführung," happened in this case. Dittersdorf was at once requested to write a second opera, "Betrug durch Aberglauben," which was performed on October 3, 1786, with not less applause than the first; it was followed by a third "Die Liebe im Narrenhause," also very well received on April 12, 1787. On the other hand, an Italian opera by Dittersdorf, "Democrito Corretto," first performed on January 2, 1787, was a complete failure. Dittersdorf's brilliant triumph over such composers as Umlauf, Hanke, or Ruprecht, is not to be wondered at; his operas rapidly spread from Vienna to all the other German theatres, and he acquired a popularity far in excess of most other composers.[6] True merit was undoubtedly at the bottom of this; he was skilful in appropriating the good points both of opera buffa and of French comic opera, and his finales and ensemble movements are specially happy in effect; he was not only thoroughly experienced in the management of voices, but, being a fertile instrumental composer, he had learnt from the example and precedent of Haydn to employ his orchestra independently, and with good effect. His easy flow of invention furnished him with an abundance of pleasing melodies, a considerable amount of comic talent showed itself in somewhat highly flavoured jokes, and his music had an easy-going, good-tempered character, which, though often sinking into Philistinism, was, nevertheless, genuinely German. Far behind Grétry as he was in intellect and refinement, he decidedly excelled him in musical ability. Life and originality were incontestably his, but depth of feeling or nobility of form will be sought for in vain in his works. Each new opera was a mere repetition of that which had first been so successful, affording constant proof of his limited powers, which were rightly estimated by some of his contemporaries.[7] Joseph II.

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shared the partiality of the public for Dittersdorf's lighter style of music, and rewarded him munificently when he left Vienna in the spring of 1787. But the Emperor took no real interest in German opera--the company received their dismissal in the autumn of 1787, and the performances ceased in February, 1788.[8]

Mozart's autograph Thematic Catalogue contains few important works between his return to Vienna and his second journey to Prague:--

1787. March 11. Rondo for pianoforte, A minor (511 K.).

March 18. Scena for Fischer, "Non sö d'onde viene" (512 K.).

March 23. Air for Gottfried von Jacquin, "M entre ti lascio" (513 K.).

April 6. Rondo for the horn, for Leutgeb (514 K.).

April 19. Quintet for two violins, two violas, and violoncello, C major (Vol. III., p. 19) (515 K.).

May 16. Quintet, G minor (Vol. III., p. 20) (516 K.).

May 18, 20, 23, 26. A song on each (517-520 K.).

May 20. A piano sonata for four hands, in C major (521 K.).

June 11. A musical jest (Vol. II., p. 367, 522 K.).

June 24. Two songs (523, 524 K.).

August 10. Serenade (525 K.).

August 24. Pianoforte sonata with violin, in A major (526 K.).

These were probably all composed for social or teaching purposes; even the two quintets, which are worthy of the first rank, were no doubt written to order for a particular musical circle. Nor were these compositions to the taste of the Viennese public of the day. The traveller already mentioned notes as follows:[9]--

Kozeluch's works hold their ground, and are always acceptable, while Mozart's are not by any means so popular. It is true; and the fact receives fresh confirmation from his quartets dedicated to Haydn, that he has a decided leaning to what is difficult and unusual. But on the other hand, how great and noble are his ideas--how daring a spirit does he display in them!

The amount of industry with which Mozart worked at "Don Giovanni" is unknown to us. We may conclude that, if he followed his usual habit, he plunged eagerly into his new libretto at first, and afterwards procrastinated over

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the actual transcription of his ideas. The received tradition represents him as bringing the unfinished opera to Prague in September, 1787,[10] and completing it, incited by intercourse with the intended performers and the stimulating society of his enthusiastic friends and admirers.[11] The impresario, who was bound to provide accommodation for the composer until after the performance, had lodged Mozart in a house, "bei drei Löwen" (on the market-place).[12] He preferred, however, the vineyard of his friend Duschek at Kossir (Kosohirz); and the summer-house and stone table are still shown at which he used to sit writing his score, with lively talk and bowl-playing going on round him.[13] All such stories as those of the delicate diplomacy with which Mozart apportioned the several parts to the satisfaction of the performers, of his having been obliged to appease L. Bassi, indignant at Don Giovanni having no proper grand air to sing; of his having composed "La ci darem la mano" five times before he could satisfy the singers,[14] repose on the same foundation as those of his

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love-making with the female performers.[15] As to this, we know his relations with the Duscheks; Teresa Saporiti is said to have expressed her surprise that so great an artist should be so insignificant in appearance; whereat Mozart, touched on his weakest point, diverted his attentions from her and bestowed them on Micelli or Bondini--there were no other female artists in Prague at that time. We are unfortunate in having no information as to the influence exerted on the details of the composition by the idiosyncracies of the singers and other circumstances. Two anecdotes obtained credence at the time, both relating to the rehearsals for which Da Ponte had also come from Vienna;[16] he was lodged at the back of the inn "Zum Platteis," and the poet and composer could converse with each other from their respective windows.

In the finale of the first act Teresa Bondini as Zerlina failed to utter the cry for help in a sufficiently spontaneous manner. After many vain attempts, Mozart went himself on to the stage, had the whole thing repeated, and at the right moment gave the singer so unexpected and severe a push that she shrieked out in alarm. "That's right," he exclaimed, laughing, "that is the way to shriek!" The words of the Commendatore in the churchyard scene were originally, it is said, accompanied only by the trombones. The trombone-players failing to execute the passage, Mozart went to the desk, and began to explain how it might be done, whereupon one of them said: "It cannot be played in that way, nor can even you teach us how to do it." Mozart answered, laughing: "God forbid that I should teach you to play the trumpet; give me the parts, and I will alter them." He did so accordingly, and added the wood wind instruments.[17]

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A good omen for the reception of the new opera was afforded by a brilliant performance of "Figaro" on October 14,[18] under Mozart's direction, in honour of the bride of Prince Anton of Saxony, the Archduchess Maria Theresa of Toscana, who was passing through Prague on her wedding tour.[19] Nevertheless, Mozart himself felt far from secure of the success of "Don Giovanni"; and after the first rehearsal, while taking a walk with the orchestral conductor Kucharz, he asked him in confidence what he thought of the opera, and whether it was likely to achieve so decided a success as that of "Figaro." Kucharz answered that he could entertain no doubt of the success of such fine and original music, and that anything coming from Mozart would meet with ready recognition from the Prague public. Mozart declared himself satisfied with such an opinion from a musician, and said he was ready to spare neither pains nor labour to produce a work worthy of Prague.[20]

Thus approached the day of performance, October 29 (not November 4), 1787; and on the previous evening the overture was still unwritten, to the great consternation of Mozart's assembled friends. We have already told (Vol. II., p. 414) how he parted late from the merry company, and sat down to write with a glass of punch before him, and his wife telling him stories by his side; how sleep overcame him, and he was obliged to lie down for several hours before completing his task; and how the copyist was sent for at seven o'clock in the morning, and the overture was ready at

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the appointed time.[21] There was barely time to write out the parts before the beginning of the opera, which indeed was somewhat delayed on this account. The well-drilled and inspired orchestra played the overture at sight so well that, during the introduction to the first act, Mozart observed to the instrumentalists near him: "Some of the notes fell under the desks, it is true, but the overture went capitally upon the whole." The success of the first representation was brilliant. The theatre was full to overflowing, and Mozart's appearance as conductor at the piano was the signal for enthusiastic clapping and huzzas. The suspense with which the overture was awaited found vent in a very storm of applause, which accompanied the opera from beginning to end. The cast of this performance was as follows:--[See Page Images]

The performance, though not including any virtuosi of the first rank or fame, was considered an excellent one; the inspiring influence of the maestro and the elevated mood of the public united to induce the performers to put forth all their powers, and stimulated them to extraordinary efforts. Guardasoni, who was associated with Bondini in the management of the theatre,[22] was so delighted with the success of

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the opera that he announced it to Da Ponte (who had been obliged to hurry back to Vienna to put "Axur" upon the stage) in the words: "Evviva Da Ponte, ewiva Mozart! Tutti gli impresari, tutti i virtuosi devono benedirli! finchè essi vivranno, son si saprà mai, cosa sia miseria teatrale."[23] Mozart also communicated to' Da Ponte the happy result of their joint labours, and wrote to Gottfried von Jacquin (November 4, 1787):--

Dearest Friend,--I hope you have received my letters. On October 29, my opera, "Don Giovanni," was put in scena, with the most unqualified success. Yesterday it was performed for the fourth time, for my benefit.

I intend to leave here on the 12th or 13th, and as soon as I arrive in Vienna you shall have the airs to sing. N.B.--Between ourselves--I only wish my good friends (particularly Bridi and yourself) could be here for a single evening to share in my triumph. Perhaps it will be performed in Vienna. I hope so. They are trying all they can here to persuade me to remain two months longer, and write another opera; but flattering as the proposal is, I cannot accept it.[24]

Mozart met with constant and unequivocal proofs of esteem on all sides during his visit to Prague; an esteem, too, not of mere fashion or prejudice, but founded on a genuine love of art; he gave himself up unreservedly to the pleasure afforded him by intercourse with his friends and admirers; and many of these retained long after, as Niemet-schek says (p. 93), the memory of the hours passed in his society. He was as artless and confiding as a child, and overflowing with fun and merriment; it was difficult for

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strangers to realise that they were in the society of the great and admired artist.

Mozart had promised his friend, Madame Duschek, that he would compose a new concert air for her; as usual, however, he could not be brought to the point of transcribing it. One day she locked him into a summer-house on the Weinberg, and declared she would not let him out until he had finished the air. He set to work at once, but having completed his task, retorted that if she could not sing the song correctly and well at first sight, he would not give it to her.[25] In truth, the words: "Quest' affanno, questo passo è terribile," in the andante of this song ("Bella mia fiamma," 528 K., part 2) are rendered after a highly characteristic manner; and the intervals for the voice, not easy in themselves, become, by their harmonic disposition, a severe test of pure and correct intonation. Altogether, this is one of the most beautiful of Mozart's concert airs; it makes no great claims on the singer's powers of execution, but it requires a soprano voice of considerable compass and power, and a grand and expressive delivery. It is interesting to observe how this song, animated and energetic as it is in expression, yet differs essentially from the properly dramatic music of "Don Giovanni." Unconnected with any plot, and not designed for the stage, the situation adopts a modified character, the concert singer being in a totally different position from the actor; and the form in which the composer clothes his conception is suitably modified also. On November 15, 1787, immediately after Mozart's return to Vienna, Gluck died; and the success of "Don Giovanni" in Prague may have contributed to induce Joseph II. to retain Mozart in Vienna by appointing him Chamber-Musi-cian (Kammermusikus) on December 7, 1787. For the present, however, there was no prospect of a performance of "Don Giovanni" in Vienna.

Salieri had produced his opera of "Tarar" in Paris, in June, 1787, Beaumarchais having spared no pains to create

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an effect by a lively and exciting plot, by lavish decorations and costumes, and by political and philosophical allusions. The public was at first somewhat disappointed, and the music was considered inferior to that of the "Danaides," produced in 1774; but the extraordinary piece made in the end a great effect, and attracted large audiences.[26] The Emperor was exceedingly pleased with the music, and commissioned Da Ponte to prepare Italian words for it upon the occasion of the marriage of the Archduke Francis with the Princess Elizabeth. This Italian opera of "Axur" retained only the groundwork of the original, both the words and the music being completely remodelled. Da Ponte gave fresh proof of his dexterity, and Salieri, finding his task far more congenial than before, did not grudge the trouble of recomposition.[27] On January 8, 1788, the Festival opera "Axur" was performed as a "Freispektakel," the betrothal of the distinguished pair by the Archduke Maximilian having taken place on January 6.[28]At first the audience were somewhat taken aback by the traces of the French "Tarar" in the Italian "Axur," but very soon they felt the lively, brilliantly appointed plot, and the freer development of musical forms to be additional charms bestowed on the essentially Italian music. Several representations, following in quick succession, increased the favour in which this opera came to be held in Vienna,[29] especially by the Emperor Joseph,[30] and very soon on every stage in Germany.[31]

The present, therefore, was no time for "Don Giovanni." Mozart catered for the amusement of the Viennese by the dances (534-536 K.), which he wrote in January, 1788, for the balls in the Redoutensaale, and he indulged his patriotic feelings by a song on the Turkish war, which Baumann sang at the theatre in the Leopoldstadt (539 K.). He

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appears also to have given a concert during Lent, for which he wrote his pianoforte concerto in D major (537 K.). But Joseph II. commanded the production of "Don Giovanni," and there was no more to be said; it was given on May 7, 1788,[32] and was a failure. Everybody, says Da Ponte,[33] except Mozart, thought it a mistake; additions were made, airs were altered, but no applause followed. Nevertheless Da Ponte took Mozart's advice, and had the opera repeated several times in quick succession, so that people grew accustomed to what was unusual, and the applause increased with every representation.[34] The cast of the opera in Vienna was as follows:--[See Page Image]

There was no reason, as will be acknowledged, to ascribe the tardy success of "Don Giovanni" to the inferiority of its performance.[35] Da Ponte appears also to have

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exaggerated with respect to the frequent alterations. Mozart's Thematic Catalogue contains three pieces for insertion written _before_ the first performance (April 24, 28, 30) and incorporated in the book of words.[36] Mdlle. Cavalieri, of whom it was said at the time[37] that, deserving to be placed in the first rank of Italian singers, and almost deified as she was in Italy, not a word in her praise was ever uttered in Vienna, insisted on having a grand scena in the part of Elvira, in order to maintain her reputation as a singer. This gave rise (April 30) to the magnificent air "Mi tradi quell' alma ingrata" (527, 25 K.).[38] Mozart could not indeed persuade himself to sacrifice so much to the "voluble organ of Mdlle. Cavalieri" as he had formerly done in the "Entführung" (Vol. II., p. 235), but even as it is, the dramatic interest has to yield to the vocal--the character of Elvira to the individuality of the singer. The tenor singer, Signor Francesco Morelia,[39] on the contrary, seems to have found Ottavio's grand air too much for him, and the air in G major "Della sua pace" (527, 27 K.), composed for him is more modest in every respect.

A stronger effort after popularity was made by the duet between Zerlina and Leporello, "Per queste tue manine" (527, 28 K.). The situation is broadly comic, and has no proper connection with the plot; Leporello is roundly abused, and finally tied hand and foot by Zerlina. It was probably intended as a sacrifice to the taste of the audience, who expected an opera buffa to make them laugh heartily. We know that Benucci was an excellent comedian in every branch of his art, and this duet leads to the conclusion that Signora Mombelli's forte was buffa. Zerlina expresses her anger and revenge volubly enough, but her own special grace

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and roguery have quite deserted her here. In a true opera buffa the duet would have been quite in keeping; but it is out of place in "Don Giovanni," because it brings Leporello and Zerlina to the foreground in a degree which does not accord with the plot, and places them both in a harsh light, false to their character as elsewhere displayed. Mozart was right, then, in his opinion that additions and alterations were not the means to make his opera gain favour; it was altogether too unusual a phenomenon to take immediate effect upon a Viennese audience. We have already seen how Haydn was constrained to put to silence the adverse criticisms of musicians and connoisseurs assembled at Count Rosenberg's, by declaring his conviction that Mozart was the greatest composer in the world. "Don Giovanni" first made its way upon the stages of Germany in German adaptations. It was given at Mannheim with extraordinary success in October, 1789,[40] and Schroder produced it in Hamburg at about the same time; Schink, while severely criticising the libretto of the opera, expresses himself enthusiastically in praise of the music--

How can this music, so full of force, majesty, and grandeur, be expected to please the lovers of ordinary opera, who bring their ears to the theatre with them, but leave their hearts at home? The grand and noble qualities of the music in "Don Juan" will appeal only to the small minority of the elect. It is not such as to tickle the ear of the crowd, and leave the heart unsatisfied. Mozart is no ordinary composer. His music has been profoundly felt and thought out in its relation to the characters, situations, and sentiments of his personages. It is a study in language, treated musically. He never decks out his songs with unnecessary and meaningless passages. That is the way in which expression is banished from music: expression consisting not in particular words, but in the skilful and natural combination of sounds as a medium of real emotion. Of this method of expression Mozart is a consummate master. Each sound which he produces has its origin in emotion, and overflows with it. His expression is glowing with life and picturesqueness, yet without the taint of voluptuousness. He has the richest, and at the same time the most temperate imagination. He is a true virtuoso, never allowing his creative impulse to run away with his judgment; his inspiration is guided by reason, his impersonations are the result of calm deliberation.[41]

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The Berlin criticism was not quite so favourable, the opera having been there performed for the first time in the presence of the King on December 20, 1790:[42]--

If ever an opera was looked forward to with curiosity, if ever a composition of Mozart's was lauded to the skies before its performance, it was surely this "Don Juan." Every one will allow that Mozart is a great and admirable composer, but that nothing good or great has been written before this opera, or will be written after it, is a point on which we may be allowed to doubt. Theatrical music admits of no rules, of no appeal but to the heart, and its worth is in proportion to its effect thereon. No amount of art in heaping up instrumental effects will make a great musician or render his name immortal, unless he can give utterance to the passions and emotions of the heart. Grétry, Monsigny, and Philidor are instances to the point. Mozart has aimed at writing something extraordinary, something inimitably grand in his "Don Juan"; the extraordinary is there, certainly, but not the inimitably grand. Vanity, eccentricity, fancy, have created "Don Juan," not the heart; and we should have preferred being called upon to admire the highest capabilities of music in one of his oratorios or solemn church compositions than in his "Don Juan."[43]

The extraordinary success of the opera[44] is attested by a notice of it[45] which proceeds to prove that this musical drama satisfies the eye, enchants the ear, does violence to the intellect, offends against morals, and suffers vice to trample upon virtue and good feeling. The author of the criticism accounts for the popularity of the opera by the quality of the music, which is beyond all expression grand:--

If ever a nation might be proud of one of its children, Germany may be proud of Mozart, the composer of this opera. Never was the greatness of the human mind more perceptible, never did music reach so high a level! Melodies which an angel might have conceived are accompanied by divinest harmonies, and those whose souls are in any degree susceptible to what is truly beautiful will agree with me in saying the ear is bewitched.

At the same time he cannot refrain from the pious wish:--[See Page Image]

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Oh, that he had not so wasted the energies of his mighty mind!--that his judgment had been brought to the aid of his imagination, and had shown him a less miry path to fame! How can it please him that his name should appear set in diamonds upon a golden tablet, and the tablet suspended on a pillory?

Spazier, who acknowledged Mozart's "true, unborrowed, unartificial wealth of ideas,"[46] and said of "Don Giovanni" that some of its single airs were worth more than whole operas by Paesiello,[47] remarks on another occasion:[48]--

The pleasure of seeing a genius strike out a new path with ease, which one feels would possess insurmountable obstacles to others, becomes pain and grief, which can only be turned to enjoyment again by minute study of the work, when such an artist puts forth his whole strength as Mozart has in "Don Juan," where he overwhelms his hearers with the vastness of his art, giving to the whole an almost boundless effect.

His promise of a more minute description remained unfulfilled. The various notices of the work which followed its performance in other places were all of the same kind, both praise and blame recognising the fact that a novel and important phenomenon was being treated of.[49] After the performance in Weimar, Goethe wrote to Schiller (December 30, 1797) ^

Your hopes for the opera are richly fulfilled in "Don Juan"; but the work is completely isolated, and Mozart's death frustrates any prospect of his example being followed.[50]

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The popularity of the opera with the general public spread rapidly, and very soon there was no stage in Germany where "Don Juan" had not acquired permanent possession. According to Sonnleithner's calculation, "Don Giovanni" had been performed 531 times at Vienna at the end of the year 1863; at Prague, Stiepanek asserts that 116 representations took place during the first ten years, and 360 before 1855;[51] at the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of "Don Giovanni" at Berlin, in 1837, more than 200 performances were calculated to have taken place;[52] similar celebrations took place at Prague[53] and Magdeburg.[54] The opera was first introduced at Paris in 1805, in a fearfully distorted and mangled version, by C. Kalkbrenner; a characteristic instance was the masque terzet, where the words "Courage, vigilance, adresse, défiance, que l'active prudence préside à nos desseins" were sung by three gendarmes. Kalkbrenner also interpolated some of his own music, and, spite of it all, the fabrication pleased for a time.[55] In the year 1811 "Don Giovanni" was first given in its original form by the singers of the Italian opera, and ever since the most distinguished artists have retained Mozart's masterpiece upon this stage in an uninterrupted succession of performances.[56] A French translation of "Don Juan," by Castil-Blaze,[57] was given at Lyons in 1822, at the Odéon in Paris in 1827, and at the Académie de Musique in 1834, admirably cast and brilliantly appointed, besides being more true to the original;[58] a still newer adaptation has been performed at the Théätre Lyrique.[59] In London the great success of "Figaro" had paved the way for "Don Giovanni," which has ever since its

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first performance, in April, 1817, occupied a prominent place at the Italian opera of that city. The applause which followed the first Italian representation was so great that the lessee of Covent Garden theatre produced an English version in May of the same year, which was excellently performed, and with considerable success.[60]

While "Don Giovanni" was thus becoming familiar to opera-goers in the north, and even in Petersburg, Stockholm, and Copenhagen, it had not met with any very warm or general sympathy in Italy, where repeated attempts to introduce it to the public had resulted only in a certain amount of respectful recognition from connoisseurs. "Don Giovanni" was first given in Rome in 1811, no pains having been spared in the rehearsals, and few alterations made in the opera. The audience was very attentive, and applauded loudly; the music was termed "bellissima, superba, sublime, un musicone"--but not altogether "del gusto del paese"; the many _stranezze_ might be "belissime," but they were not what people were accustomed to.[61] A more successful attempt was made in Naples in the following year, although not on so grand a scale; the audience were attentive, and seemed to accustom themselves to the _musica classica_, but even here the success was not lasting.[62] The first representation at Milan in 1814 provoked quite as much hissing as applause, but subsequent performances were more successful.[63] At Turin the opera appears to have pleased in 1815, in spite of its wretched performance.[64] A mangled version of "Don Giovanni" was given at Florence in 1818, and failed, but it was afterwards very well received in its true form;[65] in 1857, as a friend wrote to me, "the antiquated hyperborean music" was so emphatically hissed that it could not be risked again. In Genoa, too, in 1824, "Don Giovanni" pleased the learned, but not the public;[66] and at Venice, in 1833, it gained some

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little popularity by slow degrees.[67] Quite lately a celebrated Italian singer exclaimed angrily at a rehearsal of "Don Giovanni": "Non capisco niente a questa maledetta musica!"[68] Against all this must be placed Rossini's charming answer when he was pressed to say which of his own operas he liked best: one person present suggested one, another the other, till at last Rossini exclaimed: "Vous voulez connaître celui de mes ouvrages que j'aime le mieux; eh bien, c'est 'Don Giovanni.'"[69] The fame of "Don Giovanni" did not long remain confined to the old world. When Garcia and his daughters were giving Italian operas at New York in 1825, at Da Ponte's suggestion they produced

"Don Giovanni."[70] At the conclusion of the first finale everything went wrong; Garcia, who was playing Don Giovanni, exerted himself in vain to keep the singers and orchestra in time and tune, until at last, sword in hand, he came forward and, commanding silence, exclaimed that it was a shame so to murder a masterpiece. They began again, collected themselves and took pains, and the finale came happily to an end.[71] The applause of the public renewed Da Ponte's youth; he recounts the satisfaction with which he heard the assurance of a friend, whose custom it was to go regularly to sleep at the opera, that such an opera as that would keep him awake all night.[72] "Don Giovanni" brought him still further good fortune; he placed his unexpectedly large profits obtained therefrom in the lottery, and for the first time drew a prize.[73] "Don Giovanni," once having made its way, was soon unanimously pronounced first among all, Mozart's operas; he was said to have declared that he wrote

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it not at all for Vienna, a little for Prague, but mostly for himself and his friends.[74] It is true that the libretto was formerly considered as a bungling fabrication only tolerated for the sake of the music; nevertheless, and especially after Hoffmann's clever vindication of its poetical meaning,[75] "Don Giovanni" gradually became the accepted canon of dramatic music, and the subject of wide-reaching discussion.[76] In "Figaro" Da Ponte had opened a new field to opera buffa, by representing the actual life of _bourgeois_ society; in "Don Giovanni" he raised opera buffa in another direction to an altogether higher sphere.[77] The legend on which the opera is founded had reached the people through the tradition of centuries, and, familiar upon every stage in Europe, it held the same place in the popular mind as the myths of Greek tragedy. The facts, in spite of their wonderful and fantastic character, offered a good groundwork to the dramatist, and the main conception and essential elements of the situations and characters being given, the fullest freedom of construction and development was permitted in the treatment of the legend.[78] Whether the legend current in Seville

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of Don Juan Tenorio,[79] who invited to supper the statue of a warrior slain by him in a duel, and who, warned in vain to repent, was doomed to everlasting perdition, is of ancient origin or not, would be difficult to determine from the contradictory accounts given of it.[80] It is said to have been performed in monasteries from an early date, adapted by an unknown writer with the title of "El Ateista Fulminado:"[81] the first authentic dramatic version of the story being that by Gabriel Tellez, contemporary of Lope de Vega, monk and prior of a monastery in Madrid. His active ecclesiastical life did not prevent his acquiring, under the name of Tirso de Molina, an honourable place in Spanish literature as a dramatic poet.[82] His "Burlador de Sevilla y Convidado de Piedra" belongs, according to Schack, both in design and workmanship to his most fugitive pieces, but contains portions which could only have been written by a poet of the first rank.[83] The plot is briefly as follows:--

First Day [The scene is laid in Naples].--The Duchess Isabella is having a parting interview with her lover, Duke Ottavio, when she discovers that Don Juan has stolen into her apartment in Ottavio's stead. Her cries for assistance bring the King, who gives Don Juan into the custody of his uncle, Don Pedro Tenorio, the Spanish

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Ambassador; the latter, discovering his relationship with his prisoner, allows him to escape, and denounces Don Ottavio to the King as Isabella's seducer. Don Pedro is thereupon commanded to arrest Don Ottavio, to whom, however, he declares that a man having been found with Isabella, she reported him to be Ottavio; the lover believes himself to be deceived and betrayed, and Don Pedro connives at his escape. [Coast scene in Tarragona.] Catalinon, Don Juan's servant, bears his shipwrecked master lifeless to shore, where they are discovered by Tisbea, a fisher-girl; Don Juan awakes to consciousness upon her bosom, and they fall violently in love with each other.[84] Their love-making is interrupted by a scene in which the Commandant, Don Gonzalo de Ulloa gives Don Albeso, King of Castile, an account of his diplomatic mission to Portugal. Then the story returns to Tisbea, who is deceived and deserted by Don Juan, and left to her passion of despair.

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 renounce

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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."

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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.[86] This 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 drama[87] necessarily

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brought Tirso's "Don Juan" to Italy. According to Ricco-boni, it first appeared upon an Italian stage soon after 1620.[88] The 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);[89] the 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.[91] The 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.[92] In 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]

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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.[95] The 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.[96] This gave rise to a dispute with the French actors, who were not willing to renounce their claim to so taking a piece.[97] Dorimon first produced a translation of Giliberti's piece with the title of "Le Festin de Pierre,[98] ou le Fils Criminel," at Lyons in 1658, when

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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 his _tragi-comédie_ with the same title and almost verbal identity in 1659 at the theatre of the Hötel de Bourgogne.[99] Don 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 the

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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 also

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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.