Run Time: Approx. 6 minutes

One of Mozart’s most famous operas is a darkly humorous retelling of the legend of Don Giovanni (Don Juan in Spanish), the infamous romantic trickster of Seville. The work features some of Mozart’s most dramatic writing and continues this program’s exploration of opposing musical subjects—light and dark, love and tragedy, and in the case of Mozart’s opera, comedy and menace. Mozart begins with four stormy chords, perhaps offering a glimpse into Don Giovanni’s ultimate fate, before embarking on a romping main theme. His characterization of Don Giovanni as a carefree lothario, flitting about on fast string passages and bright chords is colored often by glimmers of more menacing music, reminding us there is a price to pay for a life lived in pursuit of personal pleasure.