Don Giovanni

Don Giovanni is a immensely popular opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)[1] and an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte (1749–1838)[2].

The original text

Its full original title is Il Dissoluto Punito,ossia il Don Giovanni ("The profligate Punished, or Don Giovanni"), but it is best known simply as Don Giovanni. Based on the legends of Don Juan, Mozart himself referred to it as an opera buffa[3]. The work was first performed by the Prague Italian opera at the Teatro di Praga (today the Estates Theatre) on October 29, 1787.

Translations and adaptations

There are two versions of the story, both by J.H. Byron:

Little Don Giovanni, or Leporello and the Stone Statue is a burlesque, largely based on Mozart's opera, with an overture and incidental music by J.C. Van Maanan. First performed in London on 26 December, 1865. Published in London, 1867.

An Original, Musical, Pantomical, Comical. Christmas Extravaganza, Entitled Don Juan! is a a rare text likewise written by H.J. Byron. Performed in London in 1873.