Mozart’s Don Giovanni: A Fun-Loving Rogue or a Lying Villain?

Is Mozart’s character Don Giovanni a fun-loving rogue or a lying villain?

After you have watched the opera or most of it, watch and read these opinions about Don Giovanni and the other characters: “Mozart’s Don Giovanni: An Enlightenment Hero?” by John Kerns. The character of Don Giovanni has been characterized by some as a lovable, fun-loving rogue and by others as an evil, lying villain. With which characterization do you agree and why? Make sure you back up your ideas with evidence from the text and music of the opera. You might consider any or all of the following:

• What Don Giovanni says about himself and what others say about him;
• Don Giovanni’s actions in the opera;
• how we might interpret the end of the opera;
• Don Giovanni’s music and how he interacts with others in music.