| Description |
The opera begins, with a very little preamble, in the middle of one of the Don's customary activities - a seduction. But this activity has tragic results, when in a sword-fight, he reluctantly kills the girl's father, the Commendatore. Impenitent, however, the Don goes searching for more adventures, accompanied by his cynical and cowardly manservants, Leporello. Together, they become involved with an innocent peasant girl and fiance, and play a cruel trick on a former conquest of the Don. And although vengence is pursuing them in the form of the Commendatore's daughter, the Don moves elegantly and safely through all these episodes until they find themselves in a cemetary, facing the tomb of the Commendatore. From this moment, the mood of the opera darkens. The Don, out of bravado, invites the statue of the Commendatore to supper; and the statue nods its head. A few hours later, the Don and Leporallo, their somewhat shaken spirits now recovered, are at supper. There is a thunderous knocking at the door. The Commendatore has come. Don Giovanni greets him calmly, and takes the statues hand; he is bidden to repent, refuses, and is consumed by the flames of hell. The other characters enter and settle their affairs; meanwhile, they celebrate, in their separate ways, the punishment of wickedness. |
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