Don Giovanni

Don Giovanni

Hi everybody, Mary here.

So, here is the second review of this special week, the #TheatreWeek, with a review of the excellent Don Giovanni from the amazing Mozart. Without any further ado, let's get started, shall we ?

Don Giovanni : when the love of lust becomes a sin

The very first point I'd like to raise is the character of Don Giovanni : from the start, we know that he's a seducer, he tries his very best to flirt with all the ladies around him, taken or single, and then breaks their hearts as soon as he finds them "not interesting". In this opera, it is shown with all the adventures he is having with the ladies in the show, Donna Anna,  Donna Elvira, and so on. But when the Commandatore wants to have dinner with him, his pride takes over and he refuses doing so. He's finally taken in the flames of hell as a sentence for disobeying the rules of the dead. Messing with the rules of life and death are something very condemned in Mozart's time, and it was done to give a lesson about relationships and adultery and cheating and lust at that time.

The second point is that the ladies know about Don Giovanni's power of seduction, especially when Elvira, a former lover of Don Giovanni's, tells Zerbina, a young lady who already has a fiancé. He tries his best to seduce her, but in the end, she goes away with Masetto, the fiancé. Because of him, Anna wants to delay the wedding with Don Ottavio because of the death of the Commandatore, but it's only to have a little time of healing because oh her father's death. Don Gilvanni changed the lives of every character in the show, upset the men and break the hearts of the ladies who were caught in his trap. And the ladies who were in love and then dumped by him are numerous and try to talk to others so that it never happens again... These women are strong in this way that they survived the storm that is Don Giovanni and could redo emir lives after their relationship with him.

The third and very last point is about the general theme of the show, that is love. Indeed, there is a strong message conveyed by this opera, which is that the desire of lust is something sinful and should be condemned. But overall, I think that what was the most condemned is Don Giovanni's will to break the hearts of thousands and thousands of ladies just to feel young forever, and thus immortal. in a way. The fact that he shows is will to stay alive and young forever can be showing that we, as humans, should accept our flaws and limited existence.

Overall impression : My very first opera, something that I would VIVIDLY recommend as it shows the power of love and redemption, as well as it gives us a life lesson about our human condition. Mozart, helped by Lorenzo Da Ponte for the leaflet, is something very beautiful and artistic and should be viewed by a mature audience.

Okay, that's it for today. I hope that you liked this post and I will see you very soon with another one, I hope !

And as usual, our last word : KIDNEYS !