HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Mozarts Don Giovanni, the opera of which the great French composer Charles Gounod would later say: “It is an unequalled and immortal masterpiece, the apogee of the lyrical drama. The score of Don Giovanni has exercised the influence of a revelation upon my whole life; it has been and remains for me a kind of incarnation of dramatic and musical infailibility. I regard it as a work without blemish, of uninterrupted perfection!” 227 years ago, in this very moment, Mozart’s Praguers were descending from their carriages in front of the theatre, the gentlemen dressed in splendid embroidered velvet costumes and white lace shirts, the ladies clothed in elegant brocade robes, from under which rustled sumptuous dresses of satin and taffeta, trimmed with silk and pearls. The gilded stucco of the lodges sparkled in the light of hundreds of candles and the spectators’ voices filled the theatre with a murmur that would melt in the lively applauses with which the composer was greeted the moment he appeared in the hall. Provinzial Nachrichten of Vienna reported after this wonderful evening: “Herr Mozart conducted in person and was welcomed joyously and jubilantly by the numerous gathering”. And Prager Oberpostamtszeitung published a review on November 3, 1787: “Monday the 29th the Italian Opera Society presented the passionately awaited opera of the composer Mozart Don Giovanni, or the Stone Feast. Connoisseurs and musicians say that its equal has never been presented Prague. Herr Mozart himself conducted, and when he entered the orchestra, he was accorded a triple ovation; this occurred when he left the orchestra pit as well. As for the opera, it is extremely difficult to execute, and everyone admires, regardless, the good performance after such a short rehearsal period. Everything, theater and orchestra, offered its all to reward and thank Mozart with a good performance. Moreover, much expense was entailed by the several choruses and the decoration, all of which was splendidly arranged by Herr Guardasoni. The extraordinary number of spectators is evidence for the general approbation.” mozartschildren.wordpress/2011/10/29/29-october-1787-prague-don-giovanni
Posted on: Wed, 29 Oct 2014 19:29:19 +0000
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