Film

Met Opera in HD

Don Giovanni

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

May 20, 2023

This event occurred as part of the 22/23 Art On Screen season. This is an archived view.

A modern retelling of the tragicomedy of deceit and damnation.

22/23 Art On Screen

Tony Award-winning director of Broadway's A View from the Bridge and West Side Story, Ivo van Hove makes a major Met debut with a new take on Mozart's tragicomedy, re-setting the familiar tale of deceit and damnation in an abstract architectural landscape and shining a light into the dark corners of the story and its characters.

Maestro Nathalie Stutzmann makes her Met debut conducting a star-studded cast led by baritone Peter Mattei as a magnetic Don Giovanni, alongside the Leporello of bass-baritone Adam Plachetka. Sopranos Federica Lombardi, Ana María Martínez and Ying Fang make a superlative trio as Giovanni's conquests—Donna Anna, Donna Elvira, and Zerlina—and tenor Ben Bliss is Don Ottavio.

Learn more about the performance >

The Program

The Hop Presents

Met Opera in HD
Don Giovanni
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Saturday, May 20, 1 pm
Loew Auditorium • Dartmouth College • 2023

Duration: 3 hours, 40 minutes including intermission

Free tickets for Dartmouth students to attend The Met: Live in HD are supported by a gift from
Cynthia and Jeffrey Manocherian P’15, ’18

Cast

Donna Anna ............................... Federica Lombardi
Donna Elvira ............................... Ana María Martínez
Zerlina ............................... Ying Fang
Don Ottavio ............................... Ben Bliss
Don Giovanni ............................... Peter Mattei
Leporello ............................... Adam Plachetka
Masetto ............................... Alfred Walker
Commendatore ............................... Alexander Tsymbalyuk
Conductor ............................... Nathalie Stutzmann
Production ............................... Ivo van Hove
Set and Lighting Designer ............................... Jan Versweyveld
Costume Designer ............................... An D’Huys
Projection Designer ............................... Christopher Ash
Choreographer ............................... Sara Erde
Live in HD Director ............................... Gary Halvorson
Live in HD Host ............................... Erin Morley

Synopsis

ACT I
Spain, mid-18th century. Leporello, servant to the nobleman Don Giovanni, keeps watch outside the Commendatore’s home at night. Suddenly, the Commendatore’s daughter, Donna Anna, comes running out, struggling with the masked Giovanni. Her father challenges Giovanni to a duel and is killed. As Giovanni and Leporello escape, Anna asks her fiancé, Don Ottavio, to avenge her father’s death.

In the morning, Giovanni and Leporello encounter one of the Don’s former conquests, Donna Elvira, who is devastated by his betrayal. Leporello explains to her that she is neither the first nor the last, and he shows her his catalog of every woman Giovanni has seduced.

Peasants celebrate the marriage of Masetto and Zerlina. Giovanni flirts with the bride, telling her she is destined for a better life. But Elvira urges Zerlina to flee her suitor. She also warns Anna, who is still unaware of the identity of her father’s murderer and has asked Giovanni for help in finding the man. Giovanni insists that Elvira is mad, but as he leaves, Anna suddenly recognizes his voice as that of the murderer and once more asks Ottavio to avenge her.

Outside Giovanni’s home, Zerlina asks Masetto to forgive her. Giovanni leads them both inside. Anna, Elvira and Ottavio appear masked and are invited in by Leporello. In the ballroom, Giovanni dances with Zerlina, then tries to force himself on her in an adjoining room. Her cries for help prompt Giovanni to blame Leporello. Anna, Elvira and Ottavio unmask themselves and accuse Giovanni. He is momentarily caught off guard but manages to slip away.

Intermission (30 Minutes)

ACT II
Having exchanged clothes with Giovanni, Leporello takes Elvira on a nighttime walk, leaving his master free to serenade her maid. When Masetto arrives with a band of peasants to hunt down Giovanni, the disguised Don sends them off in various directions, then beats up Masetto. Zerlina finds her bruised fiancé and comforts him. Later that night, Leporello—still believed by Elvira to be Giovanni—is surprised by Anna, Ottavio, Zerlina and Masetto, who all denounce the supposed Don. Fearing for his life, Leporello reveals his identity and escapes.

In a cemetery, Giovanni and Leporello meet the statue of the Commendatore, who warns Giovanni that by morning he will laugh no longer. Giovanni forces the terrified Leporello to invite the statue to dinner—and the statue accepts. At Giovanni’s home, Elvira makes a last attempt to persuade him to change his life, but he laughs at her. The statue of the Commendatore appears and asks Giovanni to repent. He refuses and is consumed by flames.

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