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in Prague on October 29, 1787.
Of the many operas based on the legend of Don Juan, Mozart's is the most famous and widely regarded as the finest. The opera was billed as dramma giocoso or "funny drama," belonging to a genre neither completely comic nor completely tragic. In the original production the actors alternated between spoken recitative and sung aria, but most modern productions use the secco-recitative s composed by Mozart in place of the spoken text.
The garden of the Commander. Leporello is keeping watch before the house into which Don Giovanni has crept in order to seduce Donna Anna, Don Ottavio's fiancée. (Leporello aria: "Notte e giorno faticar -- I work night and day") Donna Anna appears chasing Don Giovanni. She wishes to know who he is and cries for help. The Commendatore, Anna's father, appears and challenges Giovanni to a duel. Giovanni stabs the Commendatore and escapes unrecognised. Anna stands aghast, and Ottavio swears vengeance. (Duet: "Fuggi, crudele fuggi -- Flea, cruel one, flee.")
Change of scene: A public square before the palace of Don Giovanni. Giovanni and Leporello arrive and hear a woman speaking of having been recently spurned (Elvira aria: "Ah, chi mi dice mai -- ah, who could tell me.") Giovanni starts to seduce her but then realizes it is a recent conquest, Donna Elvira. Upon this realization, he shoves Leporello to the front and hurries away. Leporello endeavours to console Elvira by unrolling a list of Don Giovanni's amours. (Leporello aria: "Madamina! Il catalago e questo -- Little madame, this is the catalogue.") In a frequently cut recitative, Elvira vows vengeance.
When she has departed, a marriage procession with Masetto and Zerlina comes upon the scene. Don Giovanni and Leporello arrive soon thereafter. Giovanni immediately sees Zerlina, who pleases him, and he attempts to remove the jealous Masetto. (Masetto aria: "Ho capito! Signor, si. -- I understand! Yes, dear sir.") Don Giovanni and Zerlina are soon alone. He immediately begins his seductive arts. (Duet: "Lá ci darem la mano -- There we will entwine our hands.")
Elvira arrives to thwart the seduction. When Ottavio and Anna arrive, plotting vengeance on the still unknown murderer of her father, Elvira announces Giovanni's recent betrayal of her. Giovanni answers her reproaches by declaring to Ottavio and Anna that both Zerlina and Elvira are insane. (Elvira aria: "Non ti fidar, o misera -- Don't believe him, sad one.") With Giovanni's departing oath to help find the Commendatore's murderer, Anna suddenly recognizes Giovanni as her seducer and, thus, said murderer. Ottavio, not convinced, determines to observe his friend. (Ottavio aria: "Dalla sua pace -- Of his peace").
Leporello informs Don Giovanni that all the guests of the peasant wedding are in the house, that he distracted Maetto from his jealousy, but that the return of Zerlina post-seduction had spoiled everything. The careless Don Giovanni, however, is extremely cheerful. (Giovanni's champagne aria: "Fin ch'han dal vino -- Finally, with the wine.") He hurries to his palace.
Zerlina follows the jealous Masetto and tries to pacify him. (Zerlina's aria: "Batti, batti o bel Maetto -- Beat me, oh lovely Masetto") Don Giovanni leads both to the bridal chamber, which has been gaily decorated, and Leporello also invites three masked guests, the disguised Elvira, Octavio, and Anna.
Change of scene: Ball room. Don Giovanni, in the midst of merry dancing, leads Zerlina away, while Leporello engages Masetto's attention. When Zerlina's cry for help is heard, Don Giovanni tries to fool the onlookers by rushing upon Leporello with drawn sword and accusing him of the seduction of Zerlina. When he is not believed, the guests attack him, but he fights his way through the crowd and escapes.
Before Elvira's house. Leporello threatens to leave Giovanni, but Giovanni calms him with a peace offering of money (Duet: "Eh via buffone -- come on, buffoon.") Giovanni, wanting to seduce Elvira's maid, pursuades Leporello to exchange cloak and hat with him. Elvira comes to her window (trio: "Ah taci, ingiusto core -- Ah, be quiet unjust heart") and Giovanni and Leporello convince her to come to the street. Elvira thinks Leporello (who is wearing Giovanni's clothes) is Giovanni, and Leporello goes off with her to occupy her while Giovanni attempts to seduce her maid (Giovanni aria: "Deh vieni alla finestra -- come to the window").
Before Giovanni can complete his seduction of the maid, Masetto and his friends arrive, searching for Giovanni. Giovanni (dressed as Leporello) convinces the posse that he, too, wants Giovanni dead and joins the hunt. After getting the posse to separate (Giovanni aria: "Metá di voi qua vadano -- Half of you go this way,") Giovanni beats up a unarmed Masetto. Zerlina arrives and consoles Masetto. (Zerlina aria: "Vedrai carino -- come dear one.")
Change of scene: In a dark courtyard, Leporello abandons Elvira. As he tries to escape, Anna and Ottavio arrive and, thinking him Giovanni (he's still dressed as Giovanni), threaten to kill him. Masetto and Zerlina, on their way home, happen upone the scene and join in the threatening. Elvira tries to protect the man whom she thinks is Giovanni, claiming that he is her husband and begging for pity (Sextet: "Sola, sola in buio loco -- Alone in this dark place.") The other four ignore her, and Leporello removes his cloak to reveal his true, un-Giovanni identity. Everyone is so taken aback, Leporello is able to escape in the confusion (Leporello aria: "Ah pietá signori miei -- ah, pity me, good people.") With all these circumstances, Ottavio is convinced of Giovanni's guilt and swear vengeance. (Ottavio aria: "Il mio tesoro -- my treasure.")
Change of scene: A graveyard with the statue of the Commendatore. Leporello tells Don Giovanni of his near death experience, and Giovanni taunts him. The voice of the statue commands Giovanni to be silent; upon the command of Don Giovanni, Leporello reads the inscription upon the statue's base: "Vengeance here awaits my murderer." Leporello trembles, but the unabashed Don Giovanni mockingly invites the statue to dine with him at the evening meal. (Duet: "Oh, statua gentilissima -- Oh most gentle statue"). The statue nods its head and answers, "Yes."
Change of scene: Donna Anna's room. Ottavio pressures her to marry him, but Anna thinks it inapporpriate so soon after her father's death. (Anna aria: "Non mi dir -- Don't tell me.")
Change of scene: Don Giovanni's chambers. Giovanni revels in the luxury of a great meal and musical entertainment (during which the orchestra plays the music of Mozart's contemporaries which Leporello makes fun of, including a reference to Mozart's own Le nozze di Figaro), while Leporello serves (Finale "Giá la mensa preparata -- already the meal is preprared.") Elvira appears, hoping to move Don Giovanni to repentance. Giovanni taunts Elvira and ignores her pleas, so she angrily departs. As Elvira leaves, the statue of the Commandatore suddenly appears. It exhorts the careless villain to repent, but Giovanni refuses. The staute sinks into the earth and drags Giovanni with him. Hellfire surrounds Don Giovanni as he is carried below.
A concluding chorus of the entire cast of the opera delivers the moral of the opera - essentially, that evildoers will receive their comeuppance. This chorus was sometimes omitted in the past by few conductors (e.g. von Karajan) claiming that this concluding chorus was never really considered to be part of the opera. This approach did not survive, and today's conductors almost always perform the complete opera as composed by Mozart.