Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Don Giovanni, K. 527: Overture (composer's ending)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) wrote the two-act opera DON GIOVANNI, K. 527, in 1787 following a commission from Prague impresario Pasquale Bondini. With the success of THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO, Mozart turned to the librettist for that opera, Lorenzo Da Ponte, for this new project. The opera tells the story of Don Giovanni, an arrogant and promiscuous nobleman who abuses everyone he meets, killing the father of a woman he assaulted, attempting to seduce the other women that he meets, and abandoning the women he has already seduced. At the end, the man he had killed returns as a ghost and demands Don Giovanni's repentance. Don Giovanni refuses, and is dragged to Hell, with the cast telling the audience that "Evildoers always come to an evil end." The opera premiered in Prague at the Estates Theatre on October 29th, 1787, with Mozart conducting, and was very successful. The opera remains not only one of the best by Mozart, but it is considered one of the best in the opera repertoire, with regular performances continuing throughout the world. Instrumentation: 2.2.2.2: 2.2.0.0: Timp: Str (9.8.7.6.5 in set).