Don Giovanni

 I went to the Metropolitan Opera’s performance of Mozart’s Don Giovanni last evening.

I enjoyed it greatly particularly for Mozart’s music and the singing in the acoustics of a great opera hall. Instead of sur or sub titles each seat has them displayed in front of them. It enhances the understanding of the opera when you can read in English what the singers are singing. For this production the scenery was somewhat spartan and the dress was modern for most of the performance.

This opera has been performed regularly in opera houses around the world since 1787.

The program notes tell the story well and relate to the present.

“What is society to do with those unmistakable men who blaze through life in a whirlwind of wilful, destructive, and violent acts? Devoid of any shred of decency or capacity for repentance, they can nevertheless be charismatic, can attract followers with their virtuosic transgressions, and this makes them all the more dangerous. In their insistence on “libertarian” meaning both “freedom” and “license,” these wealthy libertines are lords of misrule, materialistic to the core; everything, they assert, should be available to their gluttonous consumption, including women of any class, rank, or age. They know nothing of love, although they falsely promise it to satisfy their lusts, and they have an uncanny ability to evade punishment and to wield power to their own benefit. The pages of history are strewn with such men, from the ancient times to the present.”

The ghost of Commendatore’s that appears at the end reminds me of the movie Amadeus.