Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Illustrations
- Figures
- Tables
- Musical examples
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 Pasquale Bondini
- 2 Die Entführung aus dem Serail
- 3 The Italian troupe in Prague
- 4 The Prague Figaro
- 5 The genesis of Don Giovanni
- 6 The première of Don Giovanni
- 7 The casting of Don Giovanni
- 8 The Leipzig Don Giovanni
- 9 The 1788 Prague Don Giovanni
- 10 Mozart’s music in Leipzig
- 11 Josepha Duschek’s academy (22 April 1788)
- 12 Mozart’s academy (12 May 1789)
- 13 Guardasoni in Warsaw
- 14 The première of La clemenza di Tito
- 15 The Leipzig reception of the Da Ponte operas (1792–1794)
- 16 Guardasoni diversifies
- Conclusion
- Appendices
- Bibliography
- Index
5 - The genesis of Don Giovanni
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 January 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Illustrations
- Figures
- Tables
- Musical examples
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 Pasquale Bondini
- 2 Die Entführung aus dem Serail
- 3 The Italian troupe in Prague
- 4 The Prague Figaro
- 5 The genesis of Don Giovanni
- 6 The première of Don Giovanni
- 7 The casting of Don Giovanni
- 8 The Leipzig Don Giovanni
- 9 The 1788 Prague Don Giovanni
- 10 Mozart’s music in Leipzig
- 11 Josepha Duschek’s academy (22 April 1788)
- 12 Mozart’s academy (12 May 1789)
- 13 Guardasoni in Warsaw
- 14 The première of La clemenza di Tito
- 15 The Leipzig reception of the Da Ponte operas (1792–1794)
- 16 Guardasoni diversifies
- Conclusion
- Appendices
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
Valuable information on the earlier careers of singers who took part in the première of Don Giovanni including details of the repertoire and roles they performed during the 1780s is to be found in the Stadtgeschichtliches Museum. This evidence deserves to be presented in detail as it provides an important context for the composition of Mozart’s new opera. Programmes are extant for benefit concerts in which Ponziani and the Saporiti sisters participated in the 1782 and 1783 seasons. Ponziani’s first recorded appearance in a Leipzig concert came on 12 August 1782, when he took part in a benefit with Maria Fidanza (Illustration 1). Even though specific pieces are not identified, Ponziani’s association with roles requiring acting ability is already clear in this programme’s characterisation of the Paisiello aria.
The importance of Ponziani to the company was evident early on, and this concert was a reward for his success. In the 1782 Litteratur- und Theater-Zeitung review, he received a warm commendation:
Herr Ponziani, a bass singer, who has few equals, as he combines strength with softness of voice, and has in addition the merit that one can understand every word even in the fastest singing. Excellent as he is as a singer, he is equally praiseworthy as an actor. He always catches the spirit of his character and represents it with truth. As a lover, however, he is rather stiff, yet every time he asserts his role. In old [all?] comic roles, on the other hand, his playing is inexhaustible, yet always in accord with nature.
The reviewer singles out his contribution, together with that of Fidanza, as the primary reason for the company’s current success, and even mentions the joint Leipzig benefit concert.
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- Information
- Performing Operas for MozartImpresarios, Singers and Troupes, pp. 65 - 84Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2011