Patrick Bade
Don Giovanni, Part 2
Summary
Patrick Bade discusses “Don Giovanni” (1787), an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It is a dramma giocoso blending comedy, melodrama, and supernatural elements and is often regarded as one of the greatest operas of all time. Part 2 of 2.
Patrick Bade
Patrick Bade is a historian, writer, and broadcaster. He studied at UCL and the Courtauld Institute of Art. He was a senior lecturer at Christie’s Education for many years and has worked for the Art Fund, Royal Opera House, National Gallery, and V&A. He has published on 19th- and early 20th-century paintings and historical vocal recordings. His latest book is Music Wars: 1937–1945.
Yes, there are countless modern stagings of “Don Giovanni”. You know, it’s strange Puccini, you know at Covent Garden, I think there have only been two or three stagings of “La boheme” in 120 years. But “Don Giovanni”, they seem to feel the need to do a new production every couple of years.