From Enlightenment to Romanticism - Article Example

In continuous prose compare and contrast the solo scene allotted to Leporello in Act no of Don Giovanni with that for Don Ottavio in Act 2 no 21.Explain what we learn about the two characters and their situations in the two scenes from the ways in which Mozart and Da Ponte have portrayed them. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s lifespan (1756 – 1791) fell within the Period of Enlightenment – which is often deemed to have come to its end with the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789. The philosophy of Enlightenment includes a critical evaluation of traditional values in society: its customs, institutions and morals. Mozart’s oeuvre often focuses on these subjects – he revolutionised traditional operas by making a member of the serving class the hero of one of his masterpieces in “Le Nozze di Figaro”, where the popular figure of Figaro (a barber) triumphs over his social superiors because of his higher moral values, and because of his wit. The play by Beaumarchais on which the opera libretto was based was banned in Vienna in the times just before the French Revolution, as the content was deemed too inflammatory. The opera “Don Giovanni” remains to this day one of the most often performed operas worldwide. This paper will explain the particular fascination this opera still holds today by demonstrating the complexity of two of the main characters of the libretto, Leporello, Don Giovanni’s valet, and Don Ottavio, the fiancé of Donna Anna, one of the women Don Giovanni tried to seduce. As in the comic opera “Le Nozze di Figaro” Mozart and Da Ponte sketch a two-tier society and the characters in Don Giovanni are either members of the aristocracy or the serving class comprised of servants and peasants. Again, moral values are not identical with class and rank, but low morals can be found in the aristocracy (Don Giovanni) and high morals can be found in the peasant class (Zerlina, Masetto). Leporello appears to be a case of his own - in the first Act we find Leporello in the garden owned by the Commendatore whilst his master, Don Giovanni, is attempting to seduce Donna Anna, the Commendatore’s daughter and fiancée of Don Ottavio. Leporello, although a loyal servant, is dissatisfied with his employment and with his master. He complains that he is kept busy day and night, as expressed in his aria “Notte e giorno faticar” which could be translated as “day and night nothing but work”. The close proximity to his master and the knowledge he has therefore gathered about his master’s life lets Leporello imagine that he could take on the role of a master and lets him wonder how his life would be if he were in that situation. Leporello gets carried away with this imagination, he can quite see himself in the role of an aristocrat and has almost made up his mind to throw off the yoke of a servant, always working, eating badly and not sleeping enough. But when he hears a noise from running footsteps his newly found pride and resolution quickly dissolve and he rushes to hide in some shrubs to be safe. His cowardice has let him down – he may not be cut out to be a master after all. It is probably easy to disregard Leporello as just a comic figure, a type of court jester. And yet, he is an accomplice to his master’s misdeeds, he supports Don Giovanni, covers for him and he swaps clothes with him to help him disguise himself and escape out of difficult situations. Despite all this he himself is not touched by the evil that Don Giovanni inflicts upon his victims and his character does not appear to be tarnished. Leporello constantly tries to get his master to reform his ways but his position in society makes him also an accomplice: he carries out his master’s orders and catalogues his master’s numerous conquests. He has been forced to arrange himself around life’s circumstances and is making light of what is happening around him, despite his better knowledge and judgment. To have a truly moral stance, he would need to be his master’s equal, but he lacks both the position of birth and also true personal courage to be a true equal. Don Giovanni, on the other hand, is a deeply flawed character, but he has the advantage of noble birth and that of true personal courage. Don Ottavio is Donna Anna’s fiancé and therefore, as a member of the aristocracy, he is placed on the other side of the class divide. In his aria “Il mio tesoro” Don Ottavio acts as the avenger of the wrongs inflicted on Donna Anna. Masterful and in control, his words translate into: To my beloved, o hasten, To comfort, to comfort her sad heart. Sweet are the tears that chasten, Yet grieve not those who part. Tell her, to see her righted, Neer will I cease pursuing, My sword and faith Ive plighted. Nought my resolve shall thwart. He is the one to lead everyone in the search for Don Giovanni to avenge the Commendatore’s murder and the assault on his beloved fiancée. The character of Don Ottavio represents a contrast to both Don Giovanni and Leporello. He is of high birth which puts him on the same level with Don Giovanni, but he also has strict moral principles upon which he must act: a strong sense of honour to avenge his fiancée and an equally strong sense of justice, which urges him to avenge the murder of the Commendatore. He shares in many ways the moral beliefs of Leporello, who disproves of his master’s licentiousness but is powerless to change his master’s ways, but he has the standing in society that is necessary for him to be able to act on his moral beliefs. Leporello has to resort to dreams of power, but cannot really make any difference by himself, Don Ottavio can make the difference and he can easily summon the help of others to carry out his plans – he is in charge of the plan to avenge and he is an influential character commanding respect. And yet, despite all these displays of strength, moral righteousness and chivalry, Don Ottavio’s character does not seem to be totally unambiguous. Is he truly motivated by the wrongs inflicted on his fiancée by Don Giovanni or is there also an element of weakness and self-doubt: has Don Giovanni been successful where he has failed? Has he been betrayed by his fiancée? Is his desire for revenge motivated, at least in part, by his own sense of having been betrayed? This ambiguity weakens the moral stance of Don Ottavio’s character, but, in my opinion, not sufficiently to cast him entirely in a morally dubious light; if anything, it makes him seem more human. He has, however, several conflicting motivations for his desire for revenge and, by attempting to hasten his marriage with Donna Anna despite her request to wait for a year, seems to try to overcome his doubts and strengthen their bond at the same time. Mozart’s piece is too sophisticated to allow us to divide easily between the good and the bad guys. It is a piece that looks at the different motivations and also the consequences of morally good and bad actions and decisions. Although in this case, the “bad” guy perishes in the end, his personal courage and unflinching stance in the face of danger seem to somewhat redeem his character. If he deserves punishment, he is not flinching from it, if he is condemned to hell, he will not try to hide. Surely those are attributes of a hero rather than a villain? At the same time, the “good” characters are labouring under weaknesses that take away from their outright moral superiority and virtuousness: Leporello lacks the courage that might be able to lift him out of his servant status. Don Ottavio is trying perhaps a little too hard to convince himself and Donna Anna of the purity of his motivations for revenge. It is important not to lose sight of the historical context at the time this opera was written. Whereas human emotions do not seem to change very much over the centuries, the definition of class and what is correct behaviour within the confines of that definition, have changed beyond recognition. It is interesting to see that the names of the characters already give a clear indication of social status: Giovanni, Ottavio, Anna, Elvira all are traditional names, with biblical or historical sources, whereas Leporello, Zerlina and Masetto lack that kind of historical pedigree and are therefore easily recognisable as names of lower status characters. Amazingly, there are modern equivalents to both sets of names and a servant’s behaviour could be easily translated into the behaviour of an employee who discovers some wrongdoing within the management of his company: how far is he prepared and able to go to put right what appears to be wrong? Viewed in that light, Leporello’s conflict appears as fresh today as it was in the 18th century. Don Ottavio’s righteous stance in seeking revenge and declaring his own pure motives can be applied to many situations in our modern lives, whenever we feel elements of uncertainty about what our true objectives are, the easiest option is to declare our motives to be selfless and pure, even to ourselves. 1,509 words Reference Libretto Don Giovanni (English translation) available at: http://www.opera-guide.ch/libretto.php?id=251&uilang=de&lang=en, accessed on 4th November 2009 Read More