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Don Giovanni, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's opera of all operas, | 0:00:02 | 0:00:06 | |
is to me one of the greatest artistic achievements of all time. | 0:00:06 | 0:00:10 | |
Over two centuries, Don Giovanni has been continually restaged | 0:00:11 | 0:00:15 | |
and reinvented in the world's finest opera houses. | 0:00:15 | 0:00:17 | |
The finale is terrifying and unforgettable. | 0:00:20 | 0:00:22 | |
If you see one opera before you die, make sure it is this one. | 0:00:24 | 0:00:27 | |
But what would it have looked and sounded like in 1787, | 0:00:29 | 0:00:33 | |
during its first ever public performance? | 0:00:33 | 0:00:36 | |
To find out, I've come here to Prague, | 0:00:36 | 0:00:39 | |
where the premiere took place. | 0:00:39 | 0:00:41 | |
We are going to restage Don Giovanni's finale | 0:00:41 | 0:00:44 | |
to understand the challenges Mozart faced, | 0:00:44 | 0:00:47 | |
so we can all see and hear it as the first audience did. | 0:00:47 | 0:00:50 | |
I will find out how the instruments sounded... | 0:00:55 | 0:00:57 | |
..what the performers wore... | 0:01:00 | 0:01:03 | |
and the special effects Mozart used. | 0:01:03 | 0:01:05 | |
He was not only an amazing and extraordinary musician, | 0:01:06 | 0:01:10 | |
but also a very courageous artist. | 0:01:10 | 0:01:12 | |
He took the conventions of his day, transformed them, | 0:01:12 | 0:01:15 | |
played with them and created his own way. | 0:01:15 | 0:01:19 | |
My name is Rolando Villazon and I am an opera singer. | 0:01:21 | 0:01:24 | |
I'm going to throw myself into the 18th century world | 0:01:26 | 0:01:29 | |
in which Mozart moved... | 0:01:29 | 0:01:31 | |
..explore the social and political ideas that surrounded | 0:01:32 | 0:01:35 | |
and inspired him | 0:01:35 | 0:01:37 | |
and bring us close to Don Giovanni, as Mozart himself imagined it. | 0:01:37 | 0:01:43 | |
The house was packed with 12,000 people. | 0:01:43 | 0:01:46 | |
The emperor in Vienna was unsure about whether, you know, | 0:01:46 | 0:01:49 | |
the court would like this piece. | 0:01:49 | 0:01:52 | |
This is the dark side of the enlightenment. | 0:01:52 | 0:01:55 | |
How far can libertines go before they become dangerous? | 0:01:55 | 0:01:58 | |
So...get ready, fasten your seat belts, here we go. | 0:01:58 | 0:02:02 | |
HE SINGS IN AN OPERATIC STYLE | 0:02:12 | 0:02:16 | |
I became an opera singer after someone heard me | 0:02:17 | 0:02:20 | |
singing in the shower. | 0:02:20 | 0:02:23 | |
Mozart's operas are among my favourites. | 0:02:23 | 0:02:25 | |
They express what it is to be human, what brings us together, | 0:02:25 | 0:02:28 | |
and what pulls us apart. | 0:02:28 | 0:02:30 | |
I have become fascinated with the maestro, and immersed myself | 0:02:32 | 0:02:35 | |
in his life through his music and through his letters. | 0:02:35 | 0:02:39 | |
SINGING CONTINUES | 0:02:40 | 0:02:45 | |
I have performed in Mozart's opera Don Giovanni many times, | 0:02:49 | 0:02:52 | |
though not as the star of the show, Don Giovanni himself. | 0:02:52 | 0:02:55 | |
That part was written for a baritone, a deeper voice than mine. | 0:02:55 | 0:02:59 | |
Don Giovanni is a womanizer whose sins catch up with him when he | 0:03:00 | 0:03:04 | |
commits murder and unleashes vengeance from beyond the grave. | 0:03:04 | 0:03:09 | |
My first stop in Prague really has to be the Estates Theatre | 0:03:13 | 0:03:16 | |
where the first performance took place on October 29th 1787. | 0:03:16 | 0:03:21 | |
I can just imagine these cobbled streets rattling with carriages | 0:03:23 | 0:03:26 | |
carrying Prague's nobility. | 0:03:26 | 0:03:28 | |
Coachmen helping ladies cross the muddy roads without ruining | 0:03:28 | 0:03:32 | |
their finest dresses. | 0:03:32 | 0:03:34 | |
The tickets sold out, the box office shut early, | 0:03:34 | 0:03:37 | |
the excitement in the air. | 0:03:37 | 0:03:39 | |
And me? I have dreamed of walking onto this stage. | 0:03:43 | 0:03:46 | |
Wow. | 0:03:50 | 0:03:52 | |
HE LAUGHS | 0:03:58 | 0:04:00 | |
Wow. | 0:04:00 | 0:04:01 | |
It's quite special. | 0:04:09 | 0:04:11 | |
History was made here. | 0:04:13 | 0:04:14 | |
Look at this beautiful theatre. | 0:04:14 | 0:04:17 | |
It's... | 0:04:21 | 0:04:23 | |
It's hard to find the words to describe the feeling | 0:04:26 | 0:04:29 | |
of being in a place that... | 0:04:29 | 0:04:31 | |
..that means so much to music... | 0:04:33 | 0:04:36 | |
..but as well to humankind. | 0:04:37 | 0:04:39 | |
Because this opera is about the human soul. | 0:04:41 | 0:04:44 | |
It's just beautiful. | 0:04:49 | 0:04:51 | |
I...I almost can hear the laughter, the people, the chat... | 0:04:55 | 0:04:59 | |
..the nervousness. That must have been quite a night. | 0:05:03 | 0:05:06 | |
The performers getting ready to sing this masterpiece... | 0:05:06 | 0:05:11 | |
and the orchestra tuning. | 0:05:11 | 0:05:13 | |
Quite special. And look. | 0:05:15 | 0:05:18 | |
This plaque marks the spot | 0:05:20 | 0:05:23 | |
where Mozart conducted that night. | 0:05:23 | 0:05:26 | |
Just imagine: Mozart gives an indication and the first notes | 0:05:30 | 0:05:36 | |
of this monument of music come out... | 0:05:36 | 0:05:40 | |
right from this place. | 0:05:40 | 0:05:44 | |
HE SINGS | 0:05:58 | 0:06:01 | |
Mozart received three standing ovations that night. | 0:06:18 | 0:06:22 | |
He loved applause. | 0:06:22 | 0:06:23 | |
When Mozart and his wife, Constanze, arrived for the premiere, | 0:06:26 | 0:06:29 | |
he was only 31 but a living legend, | 0:06:29 | 0:06:32 | |
at the height of his creative powers. | 0:06:32 | 0:06:35 | |
And he wanted his genius recognised and celebrated. | 0:06:35 | 0:06:38 | |
So, why was the premiere in this theatre in Prague? | 0:06:39 | 0:06:42 | |
The maestro was used to the prestigious venues in Vienna, | 0:06:42 | 0:06:45 | |
where he lived and composed. | 0:06:45 | 0:06:47 | |
Mozart thrived in the Age Of The Enlightenment, | 0:06:49 | 0:06:52 | |
when the traditional social order gave way to reason and new freedoms. | 0:06:52 | 0:06:56 | |
The American constitution was being framed, | 0:07:01 | 0:07:04 | |
and Mozart's previous opera, The Marriage Of Figaro, | 0:07:04 | 0:07:06 | |
had been a subversive comedy about the nobility. | 0:07:06 | 0:07:09 | |
Simon, why did Mozart come to Prague? | 0:07:11 | 0:07:13 | |
Well, I think Prague was the second most important city | 0:07:13 | 0:07:16 | |
in the Austrian empire | 0:07:16 | 0:07:18 | |
and certainly the most important in the Czech lands and... | 0:07:18 | 0:07:21 | |
after Vienna of course, | 0:07:21 | 0:07:23 | |
and so there were always musical opportunities here. | 0:07:23 | 0:07:26 | |
He directed a performance of Marriage Of Figaro | 0:07:26 | 0:07:28 | |
at the Estates Theatre as well. | 0:07:28 | 0:07:30 | |
So when he came to Prague and when he said, you know, everybody is | 0:07:30 | 0:07:33 | |
whistling, singing Figaro, | 0:07:33 | 0:07:35 | |
that's all they're singing, that's all you hear anywhere, | 0:07:35 | 0:07:38 | |
you can tell when he's writing that, that he just absolutely loves that. | 0:07:38 | 0:07:42 | |
The Emperor himself, Joseph II, had requested a private performance | 0:07:42 | 0:07:46 | |
of Figaro in Vienna. | 0:07:46 | 0:07:48 | |
But Mozart was always torn between success at court | 0:07:48 | 0:07:51 | |
and forging his own creative path. | 0:07:51 | 0:07:54 | |
Mozart was very happy to be here in Prague | 0:07:54 | 0:07:57 | |
but he also wanted to return to Vienna. | 0:07:57 | 0:07:59 | |
What was the difference between these two cities? | 0:07:59 | 0:08:02 | |
He yearned for a court appointment in Vienna and the stability that | 0:08:02 | 0:08:05 | |
that would bring with it in terms of an annual salary. | 0:08:05 | 0:08:08 | |
I think in Prague, actually, | 0:08:08 | 0:08:10 | |
because it's not an imperial seat - there was no emperor resident here - | 0:08:10 | 0:08:14 | |
the theatres worked somewhat differently. | 0:08:14 | 0:08:17 | |
Whereas in Vienna, the Emperor would always be looking over your shoulder | 0:08:17 | 0:08:21 | |
and working out what needed to be cut, censorship etc... | 0:08:21 | 0:08:24 | |
..here in Prague, actually, it was much more of a market. | 0:08:25 | 0:08:28 | |
Commissions from private companies helped Mozart with his dreams | 0:08:30 | 0:08:33 | |
of becoming a free artist, making his living without wealthy patrons. | 0:08:33 | 0:08:38 | |
With the creative freedoms available in Prague, Mozart took | 0:08:39 | 0:08:43 | |
the centuries-old legend of the seducer Don Juan and created | 0:08:43 | 0:08:47 | |
a provocative work of art that would also be a crowd pleaser. | 0:08:47 | 0:08:52 | |
The fee was a factor too. | 0:08:52 | 0:08:53 | |
Constanze was pregnant with their second child, | 0:08:53 | 0:08:56 | |
and Mozart was terrible with money. | 0:08:56 | 0:08:58 | |
But how was Don Giovanni commissioned? | 0:08:59 | 0:09:02 | |
There was an Italian company at the time in Prague. | 0:09:03 | 0:09:06 | |
The impresario of this company was called Pasquale Bondini | 0:09:06 | 0:09:11 | |
and his partner was Domenico Guardasoni. | 0:09:11 | 0:09:14 | |
Guardasoni? | 0:09:14 | 0:09:16 | |
These two men had put together Le Nozze De Figaro from Mozart, | 0:09:16 | 0:09:20 | |
which had been extremely successful. | 0:09:20 | 0:09:22 | |
So, the idea of commissioning another opera from the same composer | 0:09:22 | 0:09:27 | |
was very good, I think. | 0:09:27 | 0:09:29 | |
And here comes the beer. | 0:09:29 | 0:09:32 | |
HE LAUGHS | 0:09:32 | 0:09:34 | |
SHE SIGHS | 0:09:34 | 0:09:35 | |
Look at this. Delicious. | 0:09:35 | 0:09:37 | |
-To Mozart. -To Mozart. | 0:09:38 | 0:09:40 | |
-Si. -Cheers. | 0:09:40 | 0:09:42 | |
Mmmm. You know, I always say that... | 0:09:44 | 0:09:47 | |
had I met Mozart, I would have loved to go drink beers with him. | 0:09:47 | 0:09:52 | |
Yes, yes! | 0:09:52 | 0:09:54 | |
What do we know of Signor Bassi, the very first Don Giovanni? | 0:09:54 | 0:09:58 | |
Luigi Bassi...look, this shows Luigi Bassi as Don Giovanni. | 0:09:58 | 0:10:03 | |
-And Luigi Bassi was 21 at the time. -Wow! 21? | 0:10:03 | 0:10:09 | |
If, today, a singer says, "I'm going to sing Don Giovanni, I'm 21." | 0:10:09 | 0:10:12 | |
People will go, "You're crazy. "You should never do that. That's impossible." | 0:10:12 | 0:10:16 | |
Yes, that's true, but at the time singers started singing very early. | 0:10:16 | 0:10:20 | |
And in fact, we know about Luigi Bassi that he ruined his voice. | 0:10:20 | 0:10:25 | |
Oh, that's why today they don't let you sing it at 21! | 0:10:25 | 0:10:28 | |
HE LAUGHS | 0:10:28 | 0:10:30 | |
Do we know how much Mozart was paid for this musical adventure? | 0:10:30 | 0:10:33 | |
We think he was paid 100 ducats, £35,000 today. | 0:10:33 | 0:10:38 | |
Well, I mean, for the best opera ever written... | 0:10:38 | 0:10:42 | |
Underestimated! | 0:10:42 | 0:10:43 | |
..the theatre got a good deal. | 0:10:43 | 0:10:46 | |
-Yes! -So, we are ready to try this, sausages like they were... | 0:10:46 | 0:10:52 | |
At the premiere of Don Giovanni, the people in the gallery were eating | 0:10:52 | 0:10:57 | |
-wurst during the performance... -During the performance? | 0:10:57 | 0:11:01 | |
Whereas the people sitting below, the posh people, | 0:11:01 | 0:11:04 | |
were asking for lemonade and almond milk which were traditional, | 0:11:04 | 0:11:08 | |
very fashionable treats in France and Italy. | 0:11:08 | 0:11:11 | |
So they were eating and they were drinking during the performance. | 0:11:11 | 0:11:14 | |
-Were they talking? -Of course! They were probably even walking around | 0:11:14 | 0:11:18 | |
during the performance. | 0:11:18 | 0:11:20 | |
-Singing along? -Singing along, why not? | 0:11:20 | 0:11:22 | |
It is fantastic to imagine the interaction between | 0:11:22 | 0:11:26 | |
the audience of the time, the performers and the play going on. | 0:11:26 | 0:11:30 | |
It's like...there was not a sacred thing about it. | 0:11:30 | 0:11:34 | |
No, absolutely, it was very alive. | 0:11:34 | 0:11:38 | |
-Well...here, another sip of beer, salute! -Yes, salute. | 0:11:38 | 0:11:42 | |
Don Giovanni is not a simple, 'boy-meets-girl, they fall in love, | 0:11:47 | 0:11:50 | |
'then they both die tragically' opera. | 0:11:50 | 0:11:53 | |
So, bear with me while I outline the plot. | 0:11:53 | 0:11:56 | |
Don Giovanni is a womanising scoundrel | 0:11:57 | 0:12:00 | |
with a list of conquests so long that his manservant, Leporello, | 0:12:00 | 0:12:03 | |
has a whole aria about it. | 0:12:03 | 0:12:05 | |
Giovanni kills the Commendatore, an old soldier and the father | 0:12:07 | 0:12:11 | |
of one of his female victims. | 0:12:11 | 0:12:12 | |
The serial seducer's fate is sealed when he drunkenly invites | 0:12:15 | 0:12:18 | |
the Commendatore's memorial statue to supper. | 0:12:18 | 0:12:22 | |
Bad idea! The statue shows up and Don Giovanni is sent to hell. | 0:12:22 | 0:12:27 | |
Mozart was an incredibly original composer. | 0:12:31 | 0:12:34 | |
I think part of his genius is that he had a direct line | 0:12:34 | 0:12:36 | |
between the human soul and then his work of art. | 0:12:36 | 0:12:40 | |
He was able to translate the soul of his characters into music. | 0:12:40 | 0:12:45 | |
He gave soul to Don Giovanni, to his opera Don Giovanni, | 0:12:45 | 0:12:48 | |
but the words of his characters come from librettist | 0:12:48 | 0:12:52 | |
Lorenzo Da Ponte, with whom he collaborated in another two | 0:12:52 | 0:12:57 | |
masterpieces, Cosi Fan Tutte and The Marriage Of Figaro. | 0:12:57 | 0:13:00 | |
By the way, Lorenzo Da Ponte was quite a colourful character. | 0:13:00 | 0:13:04 | |
Da Ponte wrote the libretto, the text, | 0:13:08 | 0:13:10 | |
for Don Giovanni in Vienna, with his hostesses' | 0:13:10 | 0:13:13 | |
16-year-old daughter as his muse. | 0:13:13 | 0:13:16 | |
"If only I could think of her as just a daughter," he wrote. | 0:13:16 | 0:13:21 | |
He was something of a libertine, as Don Giovanni is. | 0:13:21 | 0:13:24 | |
This philosophy was growing popular at the time, | 0:13:24 | 0:13:27 | |
physical pleasures mattered most. | 0:13:27 | 0:13:29 | |
Morality and public opinion be damned! | 0:13:29 | 0:13:31 | |
Da Ponte's womanising even had him exiled from Venice, | 0:13:34 | 0:13:38 | |
not 18th century Europe's most conservative city. | 0:13:38 | 0:13:41 | |
But Joseph II gave him an official position in Vienna, | 0:13:42 | 0:13:45 | |
where he met Mozart. | 0:13:45 | 0:13:48 | |
In 1787, the two men embarked on their biggest challenge yet, | 0:13:48 | 0:13:52 | |
Don Giovanni, which they polished here in Prague. | 0:13:52 | 0:13:55 | |
They probably worked together until the very last minute on the libretto | 0:13:57 | 0:14:02 | |
and the score in this room. | 0:14:02 | 0:14:04 | |
It's fantastic, how these two were inspired by each other, no? | 0:14:04 | 0:14:07 | |
I mean, Mozart, it was so important for him to find a good librettist. | 0:14:07 | 0:14:12 | |
He, in all his letters, he's asking, he's searching for a good librettist | 0:14:12 | 0:14:17 | |
and meeting Da Ponte was like a gift from heaven for him. | 0:14:17 | 0:14:22 | |
Look. The Theatre of Prague... | 0:14:22 | 0:14:24 | |
READS ITALIAN | 0:14:24 | 0:14:27 | |
1,800. | 0:14:27 | 0:14:28 | |
..1787 | 0:14:28 | 0:14:31 | |
Wow. | 0:14:31 | 0:14:33 | |
This is a reproduction of the libretto of Don Giovanni. | 0:14:33 | 0:14:37 | |
It is a beautiful document, isn't it? | 0:14:38 | 0:14:41 | |
So, the audience got this when they were in the theatre. | 0:14:41 | 0:14:44 | |
Yes, something very similar to this and... | 0:14:44 | 0:14:47 | |
-And they would following too, the... -They were able to follow. | 0:14:47 | 0:14:50 | |
There was light in the theatre so they could read. | 0:14:50 | 0:14:52 | |
This is my line. | 0:14:52 | 0:14:54 | |
HE SINGS | 0:14:54 | 0:14:58 | |
Yeah, wonderful. So, the audience, the audience got one? | 0:15:02 | 0:15:07 | |
The people up on the gallery bought the one for 20 crowns which was just | 0:15:07 | 0:15:13 | |
a simpler version of the libretto, | 0:15:13 | 0:15:15 | |
whereas they also had a very beautiful one with golden paper. | 0:15:15 | 0:15:19 | |
So, I guess this one is not golden paper. | 0:15:19 | 0:15:21 | |
No, not golden paper, this one. | 0:15:21 | 0:15:23 | |
There was something about Da Ponte's way of writing and, of course, | 0:15:23 | 0:15:28 | |
the story, the humour in it, the great timing about this humour, | 0:15:28 | 0:15:35 | |
that resonates with Mozart's own humour, isn't it? | 0:15:35 | 0:15:39 | |
It's like an existential humour. | 0:15:39 | 0:15:41 | |
Like, when there is tragedy, there is the possibility of comedy. | 0:15:41 | 0:15:47 | |
And when there is comedy, there is the possibility of tragedy. | 0:15:47 | 0:15:51 | |
And that is what I perceive that exists in this libretto | 0:15:51 | 0:15:56 | |
-as well as the music of Mozart. -Yeah. | 0:15:56 | 0:15:59 | |
It is said that Mozart wanted Don Giovanni to be a tragedy, | 0:16:00 | 0:16:04 | |
and Da Ponte persuaded him to add some comedy. | 0:16:04 | 0:16:06 | |
At least, that's the way Da Ponte tells it. | 0:16:06 | 0:16:09 | |
Whoever's idea it was, Don Giovanni mixes tragedy, known as opera seria, | 0:16:09 | 0:16:14 | |
with laugh-out-loud comedy opera bouffe, in a unique way. | 0:16:14 | 0:16:18 | |
These colleagues of mine | 0:16:19 | 0:16:21 | |
will perform our reconstruction of the finale. | 0:16:21 | 0:16:23 | |
But here, they are bringing to life Mozart's genius | 0:16:23 | 0:16:26 | |
elsewhere in the opera. | 0:16:26 | 0:16:28 | |
As in this wonderful scene, | 0:16:29 | 0:16:31 | |
where Don Giovanni makes his manservant Leporello | 0:16:31 | 0:16:34 | |
impersonate him to fool the Don's jilted fiance, Donna Elvira. | 0:16:34 | 0:16:38 | |
THEY SING | 0:16:38 | 0:16:43 | |
You've got the tragic situation that Elvira is falling yet again | 0:16:57 | 0:17:01 | |
for Don Giovanni, perhaps against her better instincts, | 0:17:01 | 0:17:04 | |
but she's certainly falling for him. | 0:17:04 | 0:17:06 | |
On the other hand, you've got the great comedy of impersonation. | 0:17:06 | 0:17:09 | |
Leporello waving his arms literally as a result of Don Giovanni | 0:17:19 | 0:17:22 | |
telling him exactly what he wants him to do, puppet style. | 0:17:22 | 0:17:25 | |
You get that sense of never quite being sure as to whether you're | 0:17:32 | 0:17:36 | |
going to be led towards the comedic or the tragic, | 0:17:36 | 0:17:39 | |
primarily because they're both sort of balanced, as it were, | 0:17:39 | 0:17:42 | |
on a knife edge. | 0:17:42 | 0:17:43 | |
Ensembles where performers sing together are always a joy | 0:17:47 | 0:17:50 | |
to take part in. | 0:17:50 | 0:17:52 | |
But Mozart's are just magical. | 0:17:52 | 0:17:55 | |
With Verdi, I have the impression that in later repertoire, | 0:17:56 | 0:18:00 | |
the performers are meant to be like surfers on top of a wave. | 0:18:00 | 0:18:04 | |
But here, in Mozart, you are supposed to be, | 0:18:05 | 0:18:07 | |
you are asked to be part of the wave. | 0:18:07 | 0:18:10 | |
It's probably right that he's one of the very first composers | 0:18:10 | 0:18:13 | |
truly to master the art of having different characters | 0:18:13 | 0:18:17 | |
expressing very different emotions concurrently. | 0:18:17 | 0:18:20 | |
While Mozart's audience enjoyed the new freedoms the Enlightenment | 0:18:21 | 0:18:25 | |
brought, they also felt new fears. | 0:18:25 | 0:18:28 | |
Where was society going? Would it break down? | 0:18:29 | 0:18:32 | |
After all, Don Giovanni is a nobleman, yet he pursues any woman, | 0:18:35 | 0:18:39 | |
even a peasant girl, Zerlina, on her wedding day. | 0:18:39 | 0:18:42 | |
Today she's also played for us by Alzbeta. | 0:18:42 | 0:18:45 | |
Alzbeta, you have performed in a couple of productions as Zerlina. | 0:18:47 | 0:18:52 | |
Which one do you prefer? | 0:18:52 | 0:18:54 | |
SHE LAUGHS | 0:18:54 | 0:18:55 | |
Well, it depends on Giovanni. | 0:18:55 | 0:18:57 | |
THEY LAUGH | 0:18:57 | 0:18:59 | |
So, tell us a little bit about this character. | 0:18:59 | 0:19:01 | |
She is getting married. But then she saw Don Giovanni. | 0:19:01 | 0:19:06 | |
Well, it's a nobleman. He asks her if she will marry him. | 0:19:06 | 0:19:12 | |
So, she's very surprised and she... "Is that true? I can't believe it." | 0:19:12 | 0:19:17 | |
And then she's, you know, getting closer and, and you know how... | 0:19:17 | 0:19:23 | |
how it goes. | 0:19:23 | 0:19:24 | |
No, I don't know! | 0:19:24 | 0:19:26 | |
THEY LAUGH | 0:19:26 | 0:19:27 | |
With his Don Giovanni, Mozart created a very modern character | 0:19:40 | 0:19:43 | |
who raised issues we are still wrestling with today. | 0:19:43 | 0:19:46 | |
Why do some women fall for scoundrels? | 0:19:46 | 0:19:49 | |
Do Don Giovanni's escapades make him a free spirit to admire | 0:19:49 | 0:19:53 | |
or a shameless sex addict? | 0:19:53 | 0:19:55 | |
Despite his misdeeds, it's very hard not to fall for him. | 0:19:55 | 0:19:59 | |
It's the seduction of all musical seductions. | 0:20:06 | 0:20:10 | |
The two voices start singing the verses separately, | 0:20:10 | 0:20:12 | |
then they alternate in the middle section and then the big theme. | 0:20:12 | 0:20:15 | |
And they're overlapping. | 0:20:30 | 0:20:32 | |
The phrases get closer and closer together. | 0:20:41 | 0:20:43 | |
And then they sing together. | 0:20:59 | 0:21:01 | |
You've got the sense of them being way apart, then closer, alternating, | 0:21:01 | 0:21:05 | |
then intertwined and then finally singing together. | 0:21:05 | 0:21:09 | |
It's a wonderful musical seduction mirroring the seduction in the plot. | 0:21:09 | 0:21:14 | |
He's a nobleman, but yet he's able to interact so freely and so easily, | 0:21:14 | 0:21:19 | |
just as easily with a maid or servant as with the highest nobility. | 0:21:19 | 0:21:26 | |
The fact he's able to do this, is part of his character. | 0:21:26 | 0:21:29 | |
He is, in a sense, a social and musical chameleon. | 0:21:29 | 0:21:33 | |
While Don Giovanni is seducing Zerlina, | 0:21:33 | 0:21:36 | |
Mozart is seducing the audience, was seducing the audience | 0:21:36 | 0:21:40 | |
on that first night with the music he composed for this scene. | 0:21:40 | 0:21:44 | |
La Ci Darem is rightly, you know, thought to be one of the truly great | 0:21:44 | 0:21:48 | |
numbers in all of opera, not just in Don Giovanni. | 0:21:48 | 0:21:50 | |
It's that magnetic quality that makes him | 0:21:50 | 0:21:53 | |
pretty much unique as an operatic character. | 0:21:53 | 0:21:55 | |
Mozart changed opera forever. | 0:22:07 | 0:22:10 | |
He made the music, not the libretto, the driving force of the drama. | 0:22:10 | 0:22:14 | |
He was able to translate it immediately, | 0:22:17 | 0:22:20 | |
what he was feeling, the emotions. | 0:22:20 | 0:22:22 | |
I think you can see it. Look at this page. It's just... | 0:22:22 | 0:22:26 | |
Everything is there. It's already... | 0:22:29 | 0:22:31 | |
He's listening to the orchestra, to the violins, to the... | 0:22:31 | 0:22:36 | |
But also, he's listening to the soul of his character, Don Giovanni, | 0:22:36 | 0:22:39 | |
and he's translating those emotions, that journey of that man, | 0:22:39 | 0:22:44 | |
that wild, incredible force of nature, into music immediately. | 0:22:44 | 0:22:49 | |
Everything is there. | 0:22:50 | 0:22:53 | |
And he, himself, this incredible force of nature | 0:22:53 | 0:22:57 | |
and genius, is giving us how that feels through music. | 0:22:57 | 0:23:04 | |
And that is why it's so incredible! | 0:23:04 | 0:23:06 | |
Because then we experience that force of nature | 0:23:06 | 0:23:09 | |
that Don Giovanni represents and that Mozart is. | 0:23:09 | 0:23:13 | |
It must have been amazing for the audience to attend that very | 0:23:17 | 0:23:20 | |
first performance of Don Giovanni, | 0:23:20 | 0:23:23 | |
but would their musical experience have been the same as ours? | 0:23:23 | 0:23:27 | |
The instruments that played these very same notes were different | 0:23:27 | 0:23:31 | |
than the ones we use today. But how? And why? | 0:23:31 | 0:23:34 | |
To make our staging of the finale as accurate as possible, | 0:23:42 | 0:23:45 | |
the music will be played by Vaclav Luks' orchestra, Collegium 1704. | 0:23:45 | 0:23:49 | |
This orchestra is a similar size to Mozart's. | 0:23:51 | 0:23:54 | |
The size of the pit and costs kept classical ones at around 30 players. | 0:23:54 | 0:23:58 | |
And these are period instruments, so this is how | 0:24:00 | 0:24:03 | |
the overture to Don Giovanni would have sounded at the premiere. | 0:24:03 | 0:24:06 | |
MUSIC PLAYS | 0:24:06 | 0:24:09 | |
Hello again. Bravo, orchestra. | 0:24:12 | 0:24:15 | |
Wonderful. This wonderful orchestra is a period orchestra. | 0:24:15 | 0:24:18 | |
What can you tell us about those instruments and your orchestra? | 0:24:18 | 0:24:23 | |
Yes. Our instruments are almost the same as at the time of Mozart. | 0:24:23 | 0:24:29 | |
I think the best way to introduce the instruments, is to speak | 0:24:29 | 0:24:33 | |
directly with the instrumentalists. | 0:24:33 | 0:24:35 | |
What you see, we don't have any valves on this instrument. | 0:24:35 | 0:24:38 | |
You lower the note by closing your hand in the bell. | 0:24:38 | 0:24:42 | |
HE PLAYS | 0:24:45 | 0:24:46 | |
At the moment, where we had it completely closed, | 0:24:48 | 0:24:52 | |
then, acoustic wise, the instrument is shorter. | 0:24:52 | 0:24:55 | |
The quality of the sound, | 0:24:55 | 0:24:56 | |
the timbre changes according to whether your hand's stopping or | 0:24:56 | 0:25:00 | |
whether you're playing an open note. | 0:25:00 | 0:25:01 | |
That's so the composers can compose knowing that, | 0:25:01 | 0:25:04 | |
whereas the modern horn, of course, it's all equalized. | 0:25:04 | 0:25:07 | |
Yes, it is. And with every change of the crook | 0:25:07 | 0:25:10 | |
we have a very strong change of character. | 0:25:10 | 0:25:13 | |
We have... | 0:25:13 | 0:25:15 | |
HE PLAYS | 0:25:15 | 0:25:19 | |
That's an E flat major. | 0:25:19 | 0:25:21 | |
If we have the same thing in B, we change the crook | 0:25:21 | 0:25:25 | |
and it's very short and it's more like a trumpet. | 0:25:25 | 0:25:28 | |
HE PLAYS | 0:25:29 | 0:25:32 | |
I have the modern violin here. This E string is a metal string. | 0:25:38 | 0:25:42 | |
SHE PLAYS | 0:25:42 | 0:25:45 | |
This is a period violin. | 0:25:57 | 0:26:00 | |
The main difference are the gut strings so you can actually get | 0:26:00 | 0:26:04 | |
really, really soft and nice sound of the violin, | 0:26:04 | 0:26:08 | |
especially on the E string but then you can also get | 0:26:08 | 0:26:12 | |
to the really nasty sound on the D and G string. | 0:26:12 | 0:26:15 | |
-Which is good for Mozart. -Which is good for Mozart. | 0:26:15 | 0:26:18 | |
SHE PLAYS | 0:26:18 | 0:26:21 | |
Like this. | 0:26:21 | 0:26:22 | |
I'm speaking as a singer but it feels like a sound where you can | 0:26:22 | 0:26:26 | |
actually go and lean with your voice and join with your voice. | 0:26:26 | 0:26:30 | |
As with a modern instrument, it feels like a tight chord, no? | 0:26:30 | 0:26:35 | |
Where you have to be very precise and work in that line. | 0:26:35 | 0:26:41 | |
This gives you more space. | 0:26:41 | 0:26:43 | |
Probably because there is more air in the sound of the strings, | 0:26:43 | 0:26:49 | |
so you can play more with the colours. | 0:26:49 | 0:26:52 | |
So it allows you to go... | 0:26:52 | 0:26:54 | |
HE SINGS | 0:26:54 | 0:26:57 | |
Instead of... | 0:26:58 | 0:27:00 | |
HE SINGS | 0:27:00 | 0:27:03 | |
This colour, it feels more comfortable doing it | 0:27:06 | 0:27:10 | |
with a period orchestra. | 0:27:10 | 0:27:12 | |
Mozart had written most of the score for Don Giovanni in Vienna. | 0:27:22 | 0:27:25 | |
But some key sections were still only in his head | 0:27:29 | 0:27:31 | |
when the Maestro arrived in Prague. | 0:27:31 | 0:27:33 | |
It seems like Mozart was always in a rush to get his music finished. | 0:27:43 | 0:27:47 | |
When you look at some of his manuscripts, | 0:27:47 | 0:27:49 | |
particularly of the instrumental music, | 0:27:49 | 0:27:51 | |
as you leaf through them and get further towards the end, | 0:27:51 | 0:27:53 | |
you can see that he's clearly in a rush in terms | 0:27:53 | 0:27:56 | |
of the notations in the manuscript. It gets slightly less tidy. | 0:27:56 | 0:27:59 | |
There's actually a legend about the overture music | 0:27:59 | 0:28:02 | |
being given at the last moment, right? | 0:28:02 | 0:28:04 | |
Musicians in the late 18th century have to be prepared for that. | 0:28:04 | 0:28:07 | |
Very often they would have very minimal amounts of rehearsal time | 0:28:07 | 0:28:10 | |
in Prague and elsewhere. | 0:28:10 | 0:28:11 | |
The orchestra received the hand-copied overture music | 0:28:13 | 0:28:16 | |
just before curtain up. | 0:28:16 | 0:28:18 | |
Mozart admitted, several notes fell under the desks that night. | 0:28:18 | 0:28:22 | |
But I'm sure that the audience were on the edge of their seats. | 0:28:24 | 0:28:27 | |
18th century overtures were usually happy and upbeat. | 0:28:27 | 0:28:31 | |
The Maestro started darkness and tension. | 0:28:31 | 0:28:34 | |
Another musical masterwork is the scene where my character, | 0:28:36 | 0:28:39 | |
Don Ottavio and others attempt to rescue Zerlina | 0:28:39 | 0:28:42 | |
from Don Giovanni's castle. | 0:28:42 | 0:28:43 | |
At the end of first act in Don Giovanni, | 0:28:45 | 0:28:48 | |
something extraordinary happens. | 0:28:48 | 0:28:50 | |
It's a ball scene, it's something like all the things | 0:28:50 | 0:28:53 | |
that Mozart puts together, there are three orchestras. | 0:28:53 | 0:28:57 | |
Each orchestra plays a different dance, | 0:28:57 | 0:28:59 | |
they play at the same time, different rhythms. | 0:28:59 | 0:29:01 | |
What do you think of these dancers, Helena? | 0:29:01 | 0:29:04 | |
This scene is really very interesting. | 0:29:04 | 0:29:06 | |
Let's make a little workshop. | 0:29:06 | 0:29:08 | |
Maestro, count the beginning before we begin. | 0:29:08 | 0:29:11 | |
One, two, three, four, five, six. | 0:29:11 | 0:29:15 | |
The first dance is a formal minuet, | 0:29:15 | 0:29:17 | |
the favourite dance of Viennese high society. | 0:29:17 | 0:29:20 | |
One, two, three, four, five, six. One, two, three, four, five, six. | 0:29:20 | 0:29:25 | |
Thank you very much. You were great. | 0:29:27 | 0:29:29 | |
In Mozart's time, you'd have to spend at least half a year, | 0:29:31 | 0:29:37 | |
-three days in a week, learning it. -OK, that explains everything. | 0:29:37 | 0:29:42 | |
What is the second dance that we hear in this masked ball? | 0:29:43 | 0:29:49 | |
Well, it's a country dance. | 0:29:49 | 0:29:51 | |
The country dance is the bourgeois dance, so it belongs neither to | 0:29:57 | 0:30:01 | |
Don Giovanni's class and nobility, | 0:30:01 | 0:30:03 | |
nor Zerlina's class of the peasantry. | 0:30:03 | 0:30:05 | |
They're meeting, in effect, on middle ground. | 0:30:05 | 0:30:08 | |
So we've had a dance for the nobility | 0:30:08 | 0:30:10 | |
and one for the middle class. | 0:30:10 | 0:30:12 | |
The third is a German waltz, enjoyed by the common folk. | 0:30:12 | 0:30:16 | |
And we turn around and I still hold your hands, | 0:30:17 | 0:30:20 | |
then we make this window. | 0:30:20 | 0:30:22 | |
Then I can turn you around. Then you turn me round, you know? | 0:30:22 | 0:30:26 | |
And we play with that all the time. | 0:30:26 | 0:30:30 | |
And now, after having rehearsed for about 25 seconds, something that | 0:30:30 | 0:30:33 | |
needs six weeks of rehearsals, we're ready to present to you | 0:30:33 | 0:30:36 | |
the last ball scene of the end of the first act of Don Giovanni. | 0:30:36 | 0:30:39 | |
We have the three orchestras, we have the performers, | 0:30:39 | 0:30:42 | |
we have the dancers. We even have a musicologist. Here we go! | 0:30:42 | 0:30:46 | |
MUSIC PLAYS | 0:30:46 | 0:30:50 | |
As a piece of counterpoint, weaving different melodies together, | 0:30:56 | 0:31:00 | |
this is absolutely magnificent. | 0:31:00 | 0:31:02 | |
Mozart enjoyed going to balls in Vienna, | 0:31:02 | 0:31:05 | |
so he must have loved creating this wonderful, organised chaos. | 0:31:05 | 0:31:09 | |
The late 18th century was a turbulent but also exciting age. | 0:31:31 | 0:31:35 | |
Revolution was in the air! Now, Mozart was not a political radical, | 0:31:35 | 0:31:40 | |
but he did have had a mischievous and subversive streak, | 0:31:40 | 0:31:43 | |
and, for me, this is very clear in Don Giovanni. | 0:31:43 | 0:31:46 | |
One of my favourite moments in this opera happens | 0:31:46 | 0:31:49 | |
right before the dances we just performed and it's | 0:31:49 | 0:31:51 | |
when Don Giovanni comes and makes everybody sing Viva La Liberta. | 0:31:51 | 0:31:55 | |
Let's sing it. | 0:31:55 | 0:31:57 | |
# Viva, viva la liberta! | 0:31:57 | 0:32:02 | |
# Viva la liberta! | 0:32:02 | 0:32:05 | |
# Viva la liberta! | 0:32:05 | 0:32:07 | |
# La liberta! # | 0:32:07 | 0:32:10 | |
It's a fantastic, fantastic moment | 0:32:11 | 0:32:14 | |
and it's more than just good composition, right? | 0:32:14 | 0:32:18 | |
It's fantastic, but yet it's also unsettling, fundamentally, | 0:32:18 | 0:32:21 | |
and I think was designed absolutely to be that way. | 0:32:21 | 0:32:24 | |
What does it mean, Viva La Liberta? | 0:32:24 | 0:32:26 | |
Is it liberty? Is it licentiousness? Or is it political liberty? | 0:32:26 | 0:32:30 | |
With the French Revolution just around the corner on the horizon, | 0:32:30 | 0:32:33 | |
you know, there would have been sort of uncertainties. | 0:32:33 | 0:32:36 | |
This is kind of potentially the dark side of the Enlightenment. | 0:32:36 | 0:32:39 | |
And Don Giovanni is a threat, he's a threat to society. | 0:32:39 | 0:32:41 | |
He brings people together from different classes, chaotically. | 0:32:41 | 0:32:44 | |
He gets everybody to sing. | 0:32:44 | 0:32:46 | |
After all, everybody is part of this Viva La Liberta. | 0:32:46 | 0:32:48 | |
He manages to convince everybody to do it. I mean, it's wonderful! | 0:32:48 | 0:32:52 | |
It's been short, but very intense hard work | 0:32:52 | 0:32:54 | |
and hopefully, we are ready. | 0:32:54 | 0:32:56 | |
And just like Don Giovanni brings everybody together to scream, | 0:32:56 | 0:33:00 | |
"Viva La Liberta" I think that Mozart has brought us together | 0:33:00 | 0:33:03 | |
to scream a big "Viva!" to him. | 0:33:03 | 0:33:06 | |
ALL: Viva, Mozart! | 0:33:06 | 0:33:08 | |
Viva La Liberta was cut from the later staging | 0:33:11 | 0:33:14 | |
of Don Giovanni in Vienna. | 0:33:14 | 0:33:16 | |
Perhaps Emperor Joseph II's liberalism had its limits. | 0:33:16 | 0:33:20 | |
Mozart had arrived in Prague in early October | 0:33:21 | 0:33:24 | |
with only a few weeks to prepare for the premiere. | 0:33:24 | 0:33:27 | |
But things did not go smoothly. | 0:33:27 | 0:33:29 | |
The first performance, on the 14th October, was postponed. | 0:33:32 | 0:33:36 | |
"If you think my opera is over by now," | 0:33:36 | 0:33:38 | |
he wrote to a friend, "you are a little mistaken." | 0:33:38 | 0:33:42 | |
The set was not ready. | 0:33:42 | 0:33:44 | |
"The stage personnel are not as smart here as in Vienna," Mozart complained. | 0:33:44 | 0:33:48 | |
At least he now had another ten days to finish the score. | 0:33:48 | 0:33:52 | |
Whoa, look at this city! It's just spectacular. | 0:33:55 | 0:33:58 | |
And it's not hard to imagine the Prague that Mozart knew | 0:33:58 | 0:34:01 | |
back in 1787, the Prague where Mozart was walking | 0:34:01 | 0:34:06 | |
with the last bits of Don Giovanni still being born in his head. | 0:34:06 | 0:34:10 | |
He must have been quite inspired by the beauty and mystery | 0:34:10 | 0:34:14 | |
of this extraordinary city, especially inspired to compose | 0:34:14 | 0:34:18 | |
that last scene where Don Giovanni is being dragged into hell. | 0:34:18 | 0:34:23 | |
During the second act, Don Giovanni went to the graveyard | 0:34:23 | 0:34:27 | |
where the man he killed, Il Commendatore, has a statue. | 0:34:27 | 0:34:30 | |
And he invites this statue to come for dinner. | 0:34:30 | 0:34:34 | |
As we are about to see, that was a bad mistake. | 0:34:34 | 0:34:36 | |
Mozart's finale is a work of genius | 0:34:40 | 0:34:42 | |
and we want to recreate it with all the drama and excitement | 0:34:42 | 0:34:45 | |
of the first night. | 0:34:45 | 0:34:47 | |
We've explored the background to Don Giovanni | 0:34:47 | 0:34:50 | |
and how it would have sounded. | 0:34:50 | 0:34:52 | |
But what would it have looked like? | 0:34:52 | 0:34:53 | |
This is Barrandov Studios. It's one of the biggest film studios | 0:34:55 | 0:34:58 | |
in Europe, just outside of Prague, and it's right here | 0:34:58 | 0:35:01 | |
where we are going to reproduce | 0:35:01 | 0:35:04 | |
Don Giovanni's defiant descent into hell. | 0:35:04 | 0:35:07 | |
It's my first visit here. I cannot wait, so let's go! | 0:35:07 | 0:35:10 | |
Ta-ta-ta-ta! | 0:35:19 | 0:35:21 | |
Here we go back in time, 1787. | 0:35:21 | 0:35:25 | |
The stage. | 0:35:25 | 0:35:27 | |
Whoa! Fantastic. | 0:35:35 | 0:35:38 | |
Wow! | 0:35:38 | 0:35:39 | |
And it's right here it will all happen once again. | 0:35:43 | 0:35:48 | |
MUSIC PLAYS | 0:35:49 | 0:35:51 | |
From offstage, this set creates an extraordinary illusion | 0:36:17 | 0:36:20 | |
of Don Giovanni's dining room. | 0:36:20 | 0:36:22 | |
This set has been painted by hand from 18th century designs, | 0:36:23 | 0:36:27 | |
as Mozart's was. | 0:36:27 | 0:36:29 | |
-Hello. -Hello. -How are you? -How are you? | 0:36:32 | 0:36:36 | |
Very nice to meet you, Jiri. And Jiri. | 0:36:36 | 0:36:39 | |
Well, first of all, thank you very much and congratulations. | 0:36:39 | 0:36:44 | |
It's such a beautiful work. | 0:36:44 | 0:36:46 | |
How much do we know about the set designer | 0:36:46 | 0:36:48 | |
and his relationship with Mozart? | 0:36:48 | 0:36:51 | |
Well, we know that the decorations were painted by Josef Platzer. | 0:36:51 | 0:36:56 | |
-Mmm-hmm. -He was quite famous later. This work for Prague | 0:36:56 | 0:36:59 | |
was his first major work. | 0:36:59 | 0:37:01 | |
He became famous because of this. | 0:37:01 | 0:37:05 | |
-And then he was invited to Vienna. -So, the artist! | 0:37:05 | 0:37:10 | |
You painted... How long does it take to paint? | 0:37:10 | 0:37:13 | |
HE SPEAKS CZECH | 0:37:13 | 0:37:15 | |
HE TRANSLATES: It was very quick, so they did it in ten days. | 0:37:19 | 0:37:23 | |
-Wow. -Mmm. -In ten days, the whole thing? -Yeah. | 0:37:23 | 0:37:27 | |
THEY LAUGH | 0:37:27 | 0:37:28 | |
What I find so amazing, so magical, | 0:37:29 | 0:37:32 | |
is that when you are standing there, | 0:37:32 | 0:37:35 | |
you see this and you feel there is a whole world, no? | 0:37:35 | 0:37:39 | |
Perspective is everything for this set. | 0:37:39 | 0:37:41 | |
How do you achieve the right balance? | 0:37:41 | 0:37:45 | |
HE SPEAKS CZECH | 0:37:45 | 0:37:46 | |
HE TRANSLATES: It's really hi tech. | 0:38:01 | 0:38:04 | |
You need a rope and a nail! | 0:38:04 | 0:38:05 | |
THEY LAUGH | 0:38:05 | 0:38:07 | |
And you have to find the right vanishing point. | 0:38:07 | 0:38:11 | |
So is this the set that they had for the premiere of Don Giovanni? | 0:38:11 | 0:38:15 | |
We can just guess from this information we have, | 0:38:15 | 0:38:19 | |
but I think it's very probable that it was like this. | 0:38:19 | 0:38:23 | |
-Very close to this. -Yeah, very close to this, yeah. | 0:38:23 | 0:38:25 | |
Now there's one last, vital cast member to meet. | 0:38:27 | 0:38:31 | |
And more to learn about performing in 1787. | 0:38:31 | 0:38:35 | |
Lots of things were different in those days | 0:38:35 | 0:38:38 | |
than the way we do theatre today. | 0:38:38 | 0:38:40 | |
And I am sure that gestures of performers were also very different | 0:38:40 | 0:38:45 | |
than the ones I use when I'm on stage. | 0:38:45 | 0:38:48 | |
You throw with this hand the gesture here. | 0:38:50 | 0:38:53 | |
With this hand you can throw the gesture here. | 0:38:53 | 0:38:58 | |
Then you get them back... | 0:38:58 | 0:38:59 | |
Professor Helena Kazarova is showing us what Mozart's audience | 0:38:59 | 0:39:03 | |
would have expected to see. | 0:39:03 | 0:39:05 | |
..you reject something. | 0:39:05 | 0:39:07 | |
And here is our Commendatore, whose statue comes to supper. | 0:39:07 | 0:39:11 | |
He will be singing our Commendatore. | 0:39:11 | 0:39:14 | |
And actually, we performed together Don Giovanni in Berlin. | 0:39:14 | 0:39:19 | |
-But in a quite modern production. -Sure. | 0:39:19 | 0:39:22 | |
Where, you know, that's the big difference. | 0:39:22 | 0:39:24 | |
Actually today, we performers are told many times during rehearsals | 0:39:24 | 0:39:29 | |
in the modern productions, "Don't move your hands! | 0:39:29 | 0:39:33 | |
"Don't be exaggerated! Don't play as if it was opera!" | 0:39:33 | 0:39:36 | |
Which is funny, we're like, "Uh, it's opera!" | 0:39:36 | 0:39:40 | |
-You could put his hand like this. -Mmm-hmm. -You lose your composure. | 0:39:40 | 0:39:44 | |
Also in your body. Because here you were very proud, | 0:39:44 | 0:39:47 | |
and he's squeezing you to kneel. | 0:39:47 | 0:39:49 | |
-Ahh! -And you push him to the ground. You push him. | 0:39:53 | 0:39:55 | |
You try to get up. | 0:39:58 | 0:39:59 | |
Not everyone in Mozart's audience understood Italian | 0:40:01 | 0:40:03 | |
and there were no translations to help them along. | 0:40:03 | 0:40:06 | |
So the language of gestures acted as a kind of subtitle | 0:40:06 | 0:40:10 | |
to explain the action. | 0:40:10 | 0:40:11 | |
It was very good. You feel it? | 0:40:13 | 0:40:15 | |
Haaaaaah! | 0:40:17 | 0:40:19 | |
By modern standards, some of these gestures are a little over the top. | 0:40:19 | 0:40:23 | |
But to Mozart's audience, they spoke volumes. | 0:40:24 | 0:40:27 | |
From the time, we have tens of books on gesture. | 0:40:28 | 0:40:32 | |
-Let's take love... -But opera is never about love! | 0:40:32 | 0:40:35 | |
-Oh, you don't mean that! Seriously?! -Opera is all about love! | 0:40:35 | 0:40:38 | |
And death. OK, so, expressing love? | 0:40:38 | 0:40:41 | |
Yes. So the first thing, you would stand in a position. | 0:40:41 | 0:40:45 | |
For instance, if the lady would be before you, on your right-hand side, | 0:40:45 | 0:40:50 | |
which is the right side, you would have your weight | 0:40:50 | 0:40:54 | |
on the foot which is near to her, you would look at her. | 0:40:54 | 0:40:58 | |
Then you would make the gesture towards her. | 0:40:59 | 0:41:03 | |
And maybe at the same time to your heart, with the elbow from. | 0:41:03 | 0:41:07 | |
-And say, "I love you." -I love you. -"I love you." | 0:41:07 | 0:41:12 | |
-Ah, -OK. Yeah? The succession of hands. -You love me. | 0:41:12 | 0:41:17 | |
Ah, no, that's the tenor speaking! | 0:41:17 | 0:41:19 | |
-"I love you." Yes. -That's how it would be. | 0:41:19 | 0:41:23 | |
HE SINGS IN ITALIAN | 0:41:24 | 0:41:27 | |
Excellent! | 0:41:27 | 0:41:28 | |
A vital part of Mozart's spectacle on stage were the costumes | 0:41:34 | 0:41:37 | |
his characters wore. | 0:41:37 | 0:41:39 | |
So, I'm looking forward to seeing what we will be using. | 0:41:39 | 0:41:43 | |
Every time I do a new production and I go to the theatre, | 0:41:43 | 0:41:47 | |
this is one of my favourite places. Look at that. Fantastic! | 0:41:47 | 0:41:51 | |
You can try a hat. Cyrano De Bergerac! | 0:41:51 | 0:41:54 | |
The gesture that goes with this one is this... Madame. | 0:41:54 | 0:41:58 | |
Yes. Very elegant! | 0:42:00 | 0:42:02 | |
HE LAUGHS | 0:42:02 | 0:42:04 | |
Don Giovanni could have been wearing something like this! | 0:42:07 | 0:42:12 | |
The fact that these materials are so shiny means that they would reflect | 0:42:12 | 0:42:18 | |
-the light of the candle. -That is Don Giovanni. -Yes. | 0:42:18 | 0:42:22 | |
Now, Leporello, I'm sure, has not so elegant a costume. | 0:42:22 | 0:42:26 | |
Leporello is his servant. Let's see them both together. | 0:42:26 | 0:42:29 | |
Of course it makes a difference. | 0:42:29 | 0:42:32 | |
# Don Giovanni! # | 0:42:34 | 0:42:37 | |
And... # Leporello! # | 0:42:37 | 0:42:39 | |
HE LAUGHS | 0:42:39 | 0:42:40 | |
Now, probably the most complicated character we had to deal with | 0:42:41 | 0:42:48 | |
was the Commendatore. | 0:42:48 | 0:42:49 | |
The libretto tells us that he's the White Man, the man made of stone. | 0:42:49 | 0:42:54 | |
-Mmm-hmm. -So we are going to go with this. -Ah. | 0:42:54 | 0:42:58 | |
Nice. Well, I hope he's not naked! | 0:43:00 | 0:43:04 | |
We're actually still looking for something for him! | 0:43:04 | 0:43:07 | |
-So we will have to use some sort of paste. -Mmm. -Now, these pastes | 0:43:09 | 0:43:13 | |
were usually made with ingredients | 0:43:13 | 0:43:17 | |
that might have included lead and mercury. | 0:43:17 | 0:43:20 | |
Oh, pretty dangerous. | 0:43:20 | 0:43:22 | |
-So they were extremely dangerous, extremely poisonous. -Mmm. | 0:43:22 | 0:43:26 | |
And we know of people who have, you know, ruined their skin for ever. | 0:43:26 | 0:43:31 | |
And we even know of people who died. | 0:43:31 | 0:43:34 | |
-This is what we're thinking about for... -For Donna Elvira? | 0:43:34 | 0:43:38 | |
..for our Donna Elvira. Women didn't have the luxury | 0:43:38 | 0:43:43 | |
-of not wearing a corset. -Mmm. -These instruments of torture... | 0:43:43 | 0:43:47 | |
HE LAUGHS | 0:43:47 | 0:43:49 | |
..were meant to shape the breast, | 0:43:49 | 0:43:52 | |
the back and the waist of female singers. | 0:43:52 | 0:43:56 | |
It was made of linen, usually, | 0:43:56 | 0:43:59 | |
-but inside there was either whalebone or metal. -Mmm. | 0:43:59 | 0:44:04 | |
So that we know that some women were actually bruised | 0:44:04 | 0:44:06 | |
-by the use of corsets. -Let me try one. | 0:44:06 | 0:44:11 | |
Just to see how tremendous this torture actually is. | 0:44:11 | 0:44:16 | |
For once, it's the man who will suffer it. So, is it like this? | 0:44:16 | 0:44:20 | |
-Well, no. This is the back. -Oh, God. -Yes. | 0:44:20 | 0:44:23 | |
All those Czech beers are not going to help, I think! | 0:44:23 | 0:44:26 | |
SHE LAUGHS | 0:44:26 | 0:44:27 | |
Oh, no! It's not working! It's not working! | 0:44:27 | 0:44:30 | |
HE GROANS | 0:44:32 | 0:44:34 | |
It's nearly time now. Our own premiere is taking place tomorrow. | 0:44:36 | 0:44:40 | |
In the finale of Mozart's masterpiece, the supernatural figure | 0:44:45 | 0:44:48 | |
of the Commendatore - the soldier Don Giovanni killed - | 0:44:48 | 0:44:52 | |
comes to his castle to make the libertine | 0:44:52 | 0:44:54 | |
pay the ultimate price for his crimes. | 0:44:54 | 0:44:57 | |
Mozart wanted this scene to terrify his audience. | 0:44:59 | 0:45:02 | |
So how did they create a suitably scary atmosphere? | 0:45:03 | 0:45:07 | |
18th century, obviously, no electricity. How did it look? | 0:45:09 | 0:45:12 | |
Most of this light was on the stage, inside the scenery. | 0:45:13 | 0:45:17 | |
The low intensity and this diffusion made a very different feeling | 0:45:17 | 0:45:23 | |
or impression, very different from what we know today. | 0:45:23 | 0:45:27 | |
-Mmm. Kind of dreamy like. -Yes. -Lots of shadows. -Yes. | 0:45:27 | 0:45:30 | |
Do we know that this is more or less the exact shape | 0:45:30 | 0:45:34 | |
of the kind of lights that were in that premiere? | 0:45:34 | 0:45:37 | |
We know some details from theatres which are preserved | 0:45:37 | 0:45:42 | |
from 18th century, and this kind of lamp was quite usual, | 0:45:42 | 0:45:46 | |
not only in the theatres, but also elsewhere from 17th century on. | 0:45:46 | 0:45:51 | |
The light needs to give us a sense of spooky ambience, no? | 0:45:52 | 0:45:57 | |
Yes, the emperor in Vienna was unsure about whether, you know, | 0:45:57 | 0:46:01 | |
the court would like this piece. | 0:46:01 | 0:46:03 | |
I think in the public theatre it allowed Mozart to experiment | 0:46:03 | 0:46:07 | |
by mixing effects, mixing smoke, | 0:46:07 | 0:46:11 | |
mixing flame, drums, music, et cetera, et cetera, | 0:46:11 | 0:46:14 | |
all the things that we get as Don Giovanni goes into hell. | 0:46:14 | 0:46:16 | |
It's one of the first multi-media scenes, | 0:46:16 | 0:46:19 | |
when we see a horror movie or something, | 0:46:19 | 0:46:22 | |
we know it's not for real, and yet we can be... | 0:46:22 | 0:46:25 | |
we can enjoy the terror that we get. | 0:46:25 | 0:46:27 | |
-And I think Mozart does that... -Mmm. -..in that scene at the end. | 0:46:27 | 0:46:31 | |
We have built a trap door for Don Giovanni to go down to hell, | 0:46:36 | 0:46:40 | |
just as it would have worked on that October evening. | 0:46:40 | 0:46:43 | |
And here we are, next to our trap. | 0:46:43 | 0:46:46 | |
This is of interest for Don Giovanni, | 0:46:46 | 0:46:48 | |
because this is on the left-hand side of the stage. | 0:46:48 | 0:46:52 | |
It is sinister. | 0:46:52 | 0:46:53 | |
"Sinister" - the left hand. "Dextrous" - the right hand. | 0:46:53 | 0:46:57 | |
-Oh, from Latin. -So this is the left-hand side. You want to try it? | 0:46:57 | 0:47:01 | |
-Yeah, is it ready? -It is. OK. -Let's have a ride to hell! | 0:47:01 | 0:47:06 | |
Ahhhh! | 0:47:08 | 0:47:10 | |
And this is where Don Giovanni will end his days! | 0:47:14 | 0:47:18 | |
HE LAUGHS EVILLY | 0:47:18 | 0:47:20 | |
It's...sinister. | 0:47:20 | 0:47:22 | |
OK, take me out of here! | 0:47:24 | 0:47:25 | |
During a performance, Don Giovanni's doom is no laughing matter. | 0:47:33 | 0:47:37 | |
How did they recreate the flames of hell? | 0:47:37 | 0:47:39 | |
What they used to do was to get an oil burner | 0:47:41 | 0:47:45 | |
and put brandy in it, because in the 18th century, | 0:47:45 | 0:47:48 | |
burning brandy was the hottest flame that they could achieve. | 0:47:48 | 0:47:51 | |
And literally, phhh, blow powder called lycopodium | 0:47:51 | 0:47:56 | |
across the top of the flame and it exploded in a fireball. | 0:47:56 | 0:47:59 | |
And of course that was a reason why so many theatres burnt down. | 0:47:59 | 0:48:03 | |
The atmosphere was so dry, the scenery was canvas, | 0:48:03 | 0:48:07 | |
you open a door to try and get out, to escape, and, of course, | 0:48:07 | 0:48:11 | |
you sucked air in and the theatre became a fireball. | 0:48:11 | 0:48:14 | |
So pretty dangerous stuff. | 0:48:14 | 0:48:16 | |
-OK. -We've got the flaming bowls of brandy, we've got compressed air | 0:48:16 | 0:48:20 | |
-and we've got lycopodium. And let's go! -Wow! | 0:48:20 | 0:48:24 | |
Great, isn't it?! | 0:48:26 | 0:48:28 | |
EXPLOSIVE CRASH | 0:48:28 | 0:48:29 | |
It's far too dangerous for us to do that. | 0:48:29 | 0:48:32 | |
But many of the pyrotechnicians were actually military men | 0:48:32 | 0:48:36 | |
and they used rockets, they used... imagine taking a rocket, | 0:48:36 | 0:48:40 | |
cutting off the stick and just allowing the flame | 0:48:40 | 0:48:44 | |
to go up in the air. Which, luckily for us, is very similar | 0:48:44 | 0:48:48 | |
to the kind of much safer effect that modern pyrotechnicians | 0:48:48 | 0:48:53 | |
can use in the theatre. | 0:48:53 | 0:48:55 | |
HE LAUGHS | 0:48:55 | 0:48:58 | |
It's great! Whoa! | 0:48:58 | 0:48:59 | |
Everything is ready for our finale. We have shortened it a little, | 0:49:06 | 0:49:09 | |
but otherwise it is as Mozart's audience | 0:49:09 | 0:49:11 | |
would have seen and heard it. | 0:49:11 | 0:49:13 | |
The props are in place, the gestures rehearsed, | 0:49:14 | 0:49:18 | |
the period instruments tuned, the stage is dressed, | 0:49:18 | 0:49:23 | |
the candles are lit and the pyrotechnics primed. | 0:49:23 | 0:49:27 | |
I'm so happy everything is going smoothly here. | 0:49:28 | 0:49:31 | |
# Don Giovanni! # | 0:49:31 | 0:49:33 | |
Hello! | 0:49:35 | 0:49:36 | |
Poor Mozart's premiere was delayed again when a singer fell ill. | 0:49:38 | 0:49:42 | |
The maestro's frustrations poured out in a letter. | 0:49:42 | 0:49:46 | |
"Everything dawdles along here because the singers are lazy." | 0:49:46 | 0:49:50 | |
At least he had another five days to put off writing his overture. | 0:49:50 | 0:49:54 | |
And finally, here we go. | 0:49:58 | 0:50:00 | |
Stand by everybody, switch the studio lights off. | 0:50:00 | 0:50:04 | |
Don Giovanni is dining, attended by Leperello, | 0:50:04 | 0:50:06 | |
when his jilted fiance Donna Elvira bursts in. | 0:50:06 | 0:50:10 | |
From there, we're going to jump forward to a brilliant example | 0:50:10 | 0:50:13 | |
of Mozart's genius for ensembles. | 0:50:13 | 0:50:16 | |
MUSIC PLAYS | 0:50:18 | 0:50:20 | |
THEY SING IN ITALIAN | 0:50:20 | 0:50:22 | |
The strings here have a very spacious sound. | 0:51:11 | 0:51:14 | |
Don Giovanni's gestures clearly show his defiance. | 0:54:01 | 0:54:04 | |
Da Ponte mixes the comic and tragic brilliantly. | 0:54:25 | 0:54:27 | |
CHEERING AND APPLAUSE | 0:57:09 | 0:57:12 | |
I am very moved. It was more than what I expected. | 0:57:22 | 0:57:26 | |
We don't do theatre like this any more. | 0:57:26 | 0:57:28 | |
To have the chance to reproduce it exactly like that was very special | 0:57:28 | 0:57:32 | |
for me as a performer. | 0:57:32 | 0:57:34 | |
This journey has shown me | 0:57:34 | 0:57:36 | |
that Mozart cared more about the here and now than posterity. | 0:57:36 | 0:57:40 | |
Don Giovanni's all about the immediate experience | 0:57:40 | 0:57:42 | |
the maestro could give his audience. | 0:57:42 | 0:57:45 | |
During this wonderful musical adventure, | 0:57:45 | 0:57:48 | |
I have felt that I have been working | 0:57:48 | 0:57:50 | |
next to the ever-joyous spirit of Mozart. | 0:57:50 | 0:57:53 | |
Viva, Mozart. Viva, Don Giovanni! | 0:57:53 | 0:57:55 | |
And one, two, three... cheese! Tequila! | 0:57:56 | 0:57:59 | |
HE SINGS | 0:58:03 | 0:58:06 |