BBC - Mozart in Prague: Rolando Villazon on Don Giovanni

Don Giovanni had its premiere performance in Prague on October 29, 1787. Mozart's vastly successful opera, based on the stories of legendary libertine Don Juan, delighted the city that had taken him to their hearts. But what brought them all - composer and audience, theatre manager and cast - to this time and place?

Acclaimed tenor Rolando Villazon presents the story of one of the best-known operas of all time. Based in Prague, Rolando explores the run-up to that candle-lit first performance, looking at the music of the opera and the social setting in which it was first performed, before recreating the finale of the opera close to how it would have looked and sounded on that autumn evening.

Rolando visits the Estates Theatre, where Mozart conducted Don Giovanni's premiere. He works with local orchestra Collegium 1704, their conductor Václav Luks and opera singers Svatopluk Sem, Alzbeta Polackova, Fulvio Bettini and Jan Martinik, performing and dissecting the music of the opera. By singing and discussing key passages, Rolando reveals Mozart's genius as a composer and the revolutionary musical techniques he used.

As he explores, we are able to grasp how Don Giovanni not only entertained the audience but terrified them by playing on the deepest fears of the 18th century, how different it would have sounded played on the instruments of the time, and how with this masterpiece Mozart went beyond the musical conventions of the day and created something unique. By talking with a range of experts and drawing on historical sources, Rolando brings to life the setting, costumes and audience, and presents a detailed picture of the world in which the opera was first performed.

[MichaelEff-it]

Incredible insight to the transformation of the performance and how the goals of Mozart and the social participation of his contemporary audience informed the original production

[zralokvemigraci]

What a fun and enjoyable documentary! I am laughing that some of the typical Czech humor made it to the final cut, and I love Maestro Villazon's extreme energy and excitement, as well as sense of humour. I never had such a good laugh watching a documentary. Thank you for the upload!

[FatihVideographer]

I love BBC Documentaries about Mozart! Brilliant as always this one… The Genius of Mozart series is yet still my favorite of all times 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[marcschmelzle]

Viva Mozart, Don Giovanni e Villazon!!!

[Picasso_Picante]

I was smiling the whole hour watching this. Bravo! And I want that walking stick!!

[yvonnelenders]

Fantastic! Rolando Villazon is so animated & funny. Always a joy to watch him. Thank you.💕

[annamariabakosi]

Naponta hallgatok a Don Giovanniból egy-egy részletet... Függő lettem. Dependens! Csodálatos opera! És szabadságpárti!

[henrykoberle]

This most interesting, wonderful documentary has been enjoyed by surprisingly few people.Thank you for putting it on .

[gogigaga]

🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 The Last Scene tho is insane I wish theaters used fire more often

[airpanache]

Thank Rolando, such a wonderful spirit full of life. The DG production presented here is really amazing. The effect of candlelight is absolutely enchanting goes perfect with his genius music.

[simonkawasaki]

It would be interesting to see a similar take with Mozart's La Clemenza di Tito. It would certainly be very beautiful, with the intricate sets and costuming.

[cristinapamular]

Simple version yet very authentic and very much understood. It is very clear to me now that Mozart is indeed a genius & he is Music....dont u agree?

[silvia]

excelentný Mozart, excelentný Rolando...

[francescopignataro]

After this video I PRETEND a full production of Don Giovanni at Estates Theatre with THIS VERY staging, orchestra and lightning 😍

[zralokvemigraci]

I would just like to correct a bit of a misinformation about the corsets.
Firstly, the corset shown in this video is not era accurate.
Corsets (or stays, as they are often called) in Mozart's time were not primary meant to shape the body in extreme ways, or to cinch the waist. Metal wasn't yet used! The purpose of stays was to offer support to the chest and to hold skirts/petticoats and the dress. Mind you that all the clothes combined were quite heavy. Also between the dress and the petticoat women often wore quite big pockets. Overall stays prevented this weight from pulling at the waist and also shoulders, and kept the wearer's good posture. In the 2nd half of the 18th century stays were getting shorter and shorter and at the break of the century and in the early 1800's the garment evolved into almost a bra shape. The "torture" side to corsets comes later in 19th century, and still that was not something usual. The corsets were copying the natural shape of the body more and more through the course of the 19th century. Some women chose to lace their corsets very tight, but most didn't. Even working women wore corsets and stays. The trick was that the garment was custom made to fit the unique body of the wearer.
To sum this up, yes, you can admire pictures of women with tiny waists, but a big part of how that was achieved was the illusion created by the big skirts and tightly fitted bodice.
BUT, of course, one has to take into consideration that here we are talking about theatre. A corset is comfortable (or at least not a torture device) when it is sewn specifically for you, but in theatre the costumes may be passed down. While in a dress some adjustments can be done, they cannot adjust a corset to a different body. A question is, did they wear their own undergarments in the theatre or not? I myself don't know :)

[matthewpaluch]

"And so rose the ghost of his next and blackest opera..."

[mathersdavid]

That damnation scene really doesn't work too well. Maybe because the music is rather undistinguished, compared to some other ensembles in Don Giovanni.