Term Paper on "Aria Madamina in Don Giovanni"

Term Paper 6 pages (1944 words) Sources: 1+

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Giovanni

The aria from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Don Giovanni entitled "Madamina" (Act 1, Scene 2) is sung by Leporello, Don Giovanni's loyal and sarcastic servant. Leporello takes a very realistic view of his master and the women Don Giovanni seduces. The aria details Leporello's view of his master as he tries to dissuade the prim, prudish Donna Elvira from pursuing the Don, who has recently been 'loved and left' by the famous seducer. The aria seems incongruously humorous in an opera which ends with a dramatic deus ex-machina, in which a walking, talking, mobile statue from hell takes Don Giovanni to the underworld to get the Don's just desserts. However, without such moments of comic relief, the opera would be almost unbearably intense. In his use of dramatic conventions and structure, Mozart echoes the use of the humorous gravediggers in William Shakespeare's Hamlet or the porter scene in Macbeth. Arias such as the "Madamina" also suggest a positive, alternative view of Don Giovanni's sexuality posed by conventional morality.

In Leporello's view, Don Giovanni's flagrant defiance of common Christian codes of morality makes the Don a manly man, and admirable. Leporello is not as socially transgressive of class norms as Don Giovanni is of sexual norms, but by helping the Don, he too can defy a society that relegates him to second-class citizen status. Although the Don is ultimately condemned for his indiscretions, the fact that a lower-class man like Leporello is excused for echoing similar sentiments suggests that Mozart and his librettist may not completely 'buy into' this interpretation of the Don as a negative sexual predator. They may be forced to condemn Don Giovanni to hell at the end, but enjoy every moment of his path to the underworld where he goes, unrepentant.

The aria "Madamina" begins with an exchange between the woeful Donna Elvira and Leporello. She says: "You scoundrel! Are you mocking my grief?" (15). The opening to the aria sets the tone for the rest of the opera, which often uses mistaken identity as a way of expressing hidden sexual desire. The first sight of Donna Elvira is of her repenting of her faithless lover. "Ah, who will tell me/where that traitor is? / How could I love such a man/who betrayed my faith?" (13). At first, Don Giovanni does not recognize Elvira and vows to comfort her as a part of his seduction strategy. (The Don may be excused for forgetting, given that he has already seduced eighteen hundred women previously, according to Leporello's gleeful asides to the audience). However, Elvira soon recognizes her former lover -- causing the Don to flee. This humorous misrecognition indicates how many women Don Giovanni has seduced -- he literally cannot keep track of them all. Elvira, in contrast, has only made love to a few men. Elvira explains to the audience Don Giovanni's seduction 'style.'

What can you say after such awful behavior? You entered my house secretly.

You used cunning, flattery, and promises to seduce my heart; I fell in love with you, you cruel man!

You declared me your wife, and then, you defied the holy laws of heaven and earth and denied my sacred right; after three days you abandoned me in Burgos. You abandoned me, you fled, and left me in remorse and tears, my punishment because

I loved you so much! (13).

Leporello is called to testify as to why the Don acted so badly by his master, saying vaguely and unconvincingly that it is a strange world they all live in. This clearly shows his public alliance with Don Giovanni. But this seems to be his true feeling, as the servant begins the aria even after the Don has left; proudly taking out a thick book that lists all of the women Don Giovanni has made love to over the course of his existence. The servant consoles Elvira by saying that she will not be the first or the last woman who has been betrayed by Don Giovanni. "Look! This large book is filled entirely with the names of his conquests. / Every village, every town, and every/country has witnessed his impressive exploits." (13). Leporello takes a kind of possessive pride in his master's sexuality. Significantly, the catalogue is something, he proudly says, to have "made myself" (15). This is not the Don's list; rather, it is his servant's. It is the creation of a voyeur, it is not a conventional 'little black book,' since the Don seems to not desire to return to women after he has enjoyed them.

Leporello's attitude suggests a fairly light and indulgent attitude should be taken towards Don Giovanni. This is in stark contrast with the audience's first encounter with the Don, which shows Don Giovanni murdering the lovely Donna Anna's father the Commodore. Throughout most of the opera, Leporello always 'shows up' when moments of comedic levity are required, such as when the Don asks Leporello to pose as him, convince Elvira of his repentance and the fact that he loves her alone, so the Don can seduce Elvira's maid when she is distracted.

Don Giovanni's actions clearly have severe consequences for all who are touched by his life and lies. Death and heartbreak are the frequent result of his crimes. But the fact that such a good-hearted man such as Leporello does not mind serving his master makes the audience look more indulgently upon Don Giovanni's exploits. Leporello's indulgence shows the charm and sexual power of the figure of this version of Don Juan, as the servant clearly loves creating plots to attract unsuspecting women to his master.

The fact that seduction might not be such a bad thing is immediately underlined at the beginning of "Madamina," where Leporello delightedly lists the sheer volume of numbers of his master's conquests. It is not names, but numbers he chronicles, and listing the numbers drives the melody of the beautiful aria. The physical book itself and the particularly long roster of Spanish lovers are given a great deal of audience and musical attention in the presentation of the work.

There is a great deal of charm in the democracy of Don Giovanni's seduction. The Don seduces chambermaids as well as countesses, and when he later prefers Donna Elvira's maid to the higher-born woman herself, he both outrages the audience, yet also wins some of their sympathy. Women do not even have to be particularly attractive to win the Don's desire -- he likes women who are both fat and thin. As Leporello paints a word-picture of blondes and brunettes, the music paints word pictures to illustrate these preferences. The music softens and lightens as Leporello sings: "With the blond women, it's his custom to praise their gentleness," then grows softer and slightly darker as he states "with the dark haired, their fidelity, and with the gray haired, their sweetness." In describing his master's deduction, Leporello is himself seductive in his command of his voice and music and the degree to which the audience can see, hear, feel, and experience what it must like to be seduced by Don Giovanni. Leporello functions as a more palatable 'proxy' for Don Giovanni to Elvira, as he will later, on a literal level, do in Act 2, Scene 1, of the opera.

Another striking word picture painted in the aria is when Leporello creates a contrast between tall women and small women. Conveying the stately nature of the taller women, the music grows strong and assertive. However, when conveying the petite and spritely nature of the shorter conquests, the music grows faster and more delicate in tone. It is as if Leporello is 'making love' to the women through music although, because of his class status, he cannot in life.

The enthusiasm with which Leporello catalogues Don Giovanni's sexual conquests calls into question Leporello's own sexual status. On one hand, he seems to delight in Don Giovanni's sexual affairs. On the other hand, he is a willing stand-in for the Don. Leporello loves to act as a helper, while seldom expressing his desire to fully emulate his master. Does Leporello simply 'know his place?' After seducing Elvira later in the opera by singing at her window, as bade to do by Don Giovanni, Leporello quickly casts her off before taking advantage of her. Leporello seems more satisfied by acting on the Don's behalf than he does on his own.

Leporello's fascination with his master's exploits cannot solely be explained based upon his class status. After all, while it may be true that he delights in making love to higher-born women by proxy through his master, he does not take advantage of his position when Elvira believes he is the Don later in the opera. Also, Don Giovanni happily seduces servant girls in the opera as well as seduces members of the wealthy and powerful classes. Leporello could presumably enjoy these lower-born women, but he seems to prefer to help the Don, watch the process, and then write down… READ MORE

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