Don Giovanni and the Illusion of Sacred Order

Don Giovanni is Mozart and Lorenza da Ponte’s two act opera about Don Juan, first performed in Prague in 1787. The central character is Don Giovanni who is a serial seducer of women. He is not depicted purely romantically as an irresistibly magnetic male force, as he is shown to manipulate women into non-consensual sexual acts. One such victim is Donna Anna, whose sleeping quarters Don Giovanni enters pretending to be her fiancée Don Ottavio. When Donna Anna’s father, the Commendatore discovers his daughter’s honor is smeared, he challenges Don Giovanni, who kills the older man without much hesitation.

This murder sets into motion the eventual fatal ending of Don Giovanni, but not before seducing Zerlina, bride of Masetto, while also trying to escape an older victim of him, Donna Elvira. Donna Elvira eventually rescues Zerlina by making clear what intentions Don Giovanni has, even if Donna Elvira really wants to reunite with Don Giovanni; strangely she knows the sinister motivations of Don Giovanni but is still attracted to him.

Zerlina oscillates between attraction to and repulsion from Don Giovanni as he promises her a future Masetto never could provide. Donna Anna and Don Ottavio also struggle to find meaning together as she is consumed by feelings of revenge and he seems lost more in the idea of romantic love and honor then actual being close to the object of his love.

Leporello is a most interesting character, he is the servant of Don Giovanni and he wishes to be master himself. He holds records of all the conquests of Don Giovanni, and warns women of the intentions of his master. Eventually Don Giovanni also seduces Leporello in helping him with his schemes. Leporello intimately knows all the facts, but can not leap into action against them. When his master meets his fate, he moves on to find a new master, taking no initiative of setting his own course.

This seems to be the central theme of the opera, the inability to change, the endless repetition this brings about, even while knowing the eventual identical outcome. To truly change, one needs to integrate one’s own shadows, and not focus on the closest sun as the source of light or reason for obscurity. This is a very difficult act for any human, as one needs to acknowledge our fundamental human nature, declaring our social norms as sacral, making them the central sun of our social universe but forgetting there really is nothing sacral about them; and also forgetting the universe has no center, but only permanent motion masked as fragments of balance.

The catalogue aria

My dear lady, this is a list
of the beauties my master has loved,
a list which I have compiled.
Observe, read along with me.
In Italy, six hundred and forty;
in Germany, two hundred and thirty-one;
a hundred in France; in Turkey ninety-one.
In Spain already one thousand and three.
Among these are peasant girls,
maidservants, city girls,
countesses, baronesses,
marchionesses, princesses,
women of every rank,
every shape, every age.
In Italy six hundred and forty, etc.
With blondes it is his habit
to praise their kindness;
in brunettes, their faithfulness;
in the very blonde, their sweetness.
In winter he likes fat ones,
in summer he likes thin ones.
He calls the tall ones majestic.
The little ones are always charming.
He seduces the old ones
for the pleasure of adding to the list.
His greatest favourite
is the young beginner.
It doesn't matter if she's rich,
ugly or beautiful;
if she is rich, ugly or beautiful.
If she wears a petticoat,
you know what he does.
If she wears a petticoat, etc