Don Giovanni
by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart · Il dissoluto punito, ossia il Don Giovanni
Assigned by 2 of the 9 reading lists, catalogue entry only
- Written
- 1787
- Form
- Drama
- Language
- Italian
- Length
- Short · 100 ppunder 120 pages
- Difficulty
- Moderate2 of 5 for a first-year reader
We recommendDon Giovanni: Libretto, translated by Lionel SalterDover (Opera Guide and Libretto Series), 1985Da Ponte's Italian with a facing English translation; pair it with a recording, since the work is the music and the words together.
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An opera in two acts, music by Mozart and libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte, first performed in Prague. The nobleman Don Giovanni, with his servant Leporello, seduces and abandons women across Spain; in the opening scene he kills the Commendatore, father of Donna Anna, whom he has assaulted. Pursued by Anna, her fiancé Ottavio, the abandoned Elvira and the peasant Zerlina, he mocks a statue of the dead man and invites it to dinner. The statue comes, and drags him unrepentant into hell.
No reading guide yet
The catalogue entry above is complete: the dates, the form, the themes and every program that assigns Don Giovanni are verified against each program's published list.
What is missing is the part that takes real work: the summary, the key passages, and a recommended translation. The edition named below is the one most programs assign, so the buy links are useful already.