Monday, March 5, 2007

Don Giovanni

My opinion on why people would consider Don Giovanni to be "the perfect opera"

  • There is all of the following: love, death, murder, damnation, corruption, good, evil, faithful servants, talking statues, stalker lovers, secret spouses? (oooo), revenge, adultery, treachery, repentance (or lack there of), seduction, jealousy
  • IT'S ITALIAN! I mean, really, guys! People are gonna like it!
  • Melodies are simple and memorable (ex. "la ci darem la mano", "vedrai carino")
  • Basso/mezzo duets (can't resist 'em!)
  • The catalogue aria. you can't get much better than the catalogue aria!
  • There's a deranged in love with Don Giovanni.
  • A Devil drags Giovanni down to Hell. It does NOT get more exciting than THAT.
  • The entire Commendatore scene! It's bone-chilling!
  • Sir Thomas Allen as Don Giovanni. Just because it's too awesome to behold! It's too much to handle, frankly. When he's dragged down to Hell it's like "Hey! Wait! What in the world just happened??? He was singing a second ago!!"
  • Leporello and Don Giovanni switching places and Leporello "seducing" Donna Elvira while Don Giovanni's doing...whatever he's doing...
  • Leporello's "hidden wife"??? That's never explained!!! Oh, well. It leaves something for the imagination!
  • Mozart...Just because the opera is Mozart. It just makes it amazing.
  • The use of random numbers: seicento e quaranta, duecento e trentuna, cento, novantuna, (ma in Spagna) mille e tre. mille e tre? mille e tre!
  • Vedrai carino, because it's such a cute aria!
  • Masetto. Because you just have to feel bad for the poor little thing! So jealous, so naive! haha
  • When Don Giovanni won't freaking repent at the end. You wanna slap him across the face and yell "Repent, you idiot! REPENT!" Seriously, how stupid can you be??
  • Don Giovanni's reasons for not being faithful to one woman. (He is being "generous" to all the woman by giving them all "his love." If he saved it for only one woman, not every woman would get his "love." Get it? Yeah, doesn't make sense....)
  • The little Mozart self-promotion while the Don is having dinner ("Non piu adrai" playing in the background and Lep/Don singing to the tune.)

Apparently, it doesn't get any better than this?

(Wanna add a reason? Just comment...) =]

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