Michael M. Kaiser President Darrell M. Ayers Vice President, Education
Michael L. Mael Executive Director Francesca Zambello Artistic Advisor David and Alice Rubenstein are the Presenting Underwriters of WNO.
THINGS TO THINK ABOUT... ■
Operagoers tend to agree that Don Giovanni is an opera with a split personality; it has elements of the more serious operatic tradition of Mozart’s day, but also has lots of humor. Which characters seem serious to you? Which ones are funny? Why? Do some characters have both qualities?
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Consider the three women in the opera. Which female character do you think handles herself best? What do you think Mozart and Da Ponte’s feelings were about these three ladies? Or about women in general? Do the music and lyrics for each character say something special about her? How?
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Opinion is often divided about Don Giovanni. Do you think Mozart and Da Ponte meant him to be a villain? If so, who is the hero?
WHAT TO LISTEN AND WATCH FOR... ■
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How the music of the very beginning of the opera and the music of the final spooky scene sound very similar. These musical moments are linked by the same set of notes or key. Do you think the key holds a special significance? What is it? How disguises and masks are used in the opera. Why do you think these are necessary to tell the story? Do you think the disguises work? Why or why not? How Mozart inserts popular tunes from other operas into the last scene. One of the songs (playing when Leporello says, “I know this tune well”) is a musical in-joke: It comes from Mozart’s own opera, Le nozze di Figaro.
The Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program is made possible through the generous support of The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation. Support for Washington National Opera education programs is provided by Prince Charitable Trusts, The Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, The Morningstar Foundation, The Jacob and Charlotte Lehrman Foundation, and National Capital Arts and Cultural Affairs Program and the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts. Additional support for Performances for Young Audiences is provided in part by The Clark Charitable Foundation; Mr. James V. Kimsey; The Macy*s Foundation; The Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation, Inc.; The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation; the Park Foundation, Inc.; the Paul M. Angell Family Foundation; an endowment from the Ryna and Melvin Cohen Family Foundation; the U.S. Department of Education; the Verizon Foundation; Washington Gas; and by generous contributors to the Abe Fortas Memorial Fund, and by a major gift to the fund from the late Carolyn E. Agger, widow of Abe Fortas.
WASHINGTON NATIONAL OPERA D R E S S R E H EAR SAL WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART’S
Don Giovanni Libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte Directed by John Pascoe Conducted by Philippe Auguin
Prepare to meet the legendary Don Juan in this musical retelling of the ultimate womanizer’s famous story, considered perhaps one of the greatest operas ever written. Enter the corrupt and wicked world of Don Giovanni (Italian for Don Juan), a ladies’ man with no scruples who’s determined to break as many hearts as possible. Don’t worry though, the opera’s not all drama and despair. There’s plenty of comic relief along the way. So enjoy yourself…but watch out for talking statues.
www.kennedy-center.org/artsedge Cuesheets are produced by ARTSEDGE, an education program of the Kennedy Center. ARTSEDGE is a part of Thinkfinity.org, a consortium of free educational Web sites for K-12 teaching and learning. Learn more about Education at The Kennedy Center at www.kennedy-center.org/education The contents of this Cuesheet do not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement from the Federal Government. © 2012 The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
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PERFORMANCE GUIDE
David M. Rubenstein Chairman
Cuesheet
Don Giovanni fights his way out of a sticky situation.
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