Peter Boyajian

MUSI 101
Final Paper
March 11, 2016
Don Giovanni: The Apex Predator

In many scenes throughout their opera buffa, Don Giovanni, Mozart and Da
Ponte use a complex interplay between their music and poetry to construct various
characters, both socially and morally. One number in which this phenomenon is
particularly evident is the duet La Ci Darem La Mano, sung between Don Giovanni
and Zerlina. At certain times in this duet, the music and poetry work together to
highlight Don Giovannis calculated, experienced, yet eager nature and Zerlinas
honesty, uncertainty, and hesitation while simultaneously making it clear that it is
Don Giovanni, not Zerlina, who holds the power in this duet. At other times, the
music undermines the poetry and, in doing so, further emphasizes this power
imbalance while also painting Don Giovanni as deceitful and Zerlina as weak-willed.
In order to fully grasp the intricate social class and power relations at play and gain
a more profound understanding of the characters motives and intentions in this
duet, it is necessary to delve deep into the music and poetry of La Ci Darem La
Mano.
To begin, let us first examine the ways in which the music and poetry work
together to make Don Giovanni seem calculated, experienced, and eager. A prime
example of this, seen throughout the entirety of the duet, is Don Giovannis syllabic
annunciation of nearly every single word that he says, with the only notable
exceptions coming in lines 4, 9, 11, and 28 when he melismatically sings Partiam,

ben, Dilleto, Sorte, and innocente, respectively. This syllabic annunciation

gives the listener the sense that Don Giovanni knows exactly what he wants to say
and how to say it. So too, the few words that he sings melismatically are evidence
that he knows exactly which words to emphasize in order to properly woo Zerlina.
These factors, in conjunction with the adagio tempo at which he initially sings, make
him seem calm, calculated, and experienced: an effect which is complimented by
the phrases you will give me and you will tell me in lines 1 and 2, respectively,
because they express decisiveness, as if he had planned everything out beforehand.
In contrast to the calmness just described, there is also an underlying sense of
eagerness at play that comes to the surface at various points throughout the duet.
This eagerness is expressed most fervently when Don Giovanni forcefully and
passionately sings Andiam! Andiam! in the seventeenth stanza, but is also evident
through the shift towards louder dynamics in the seventh stanza which makes it
sound like he is begging Zerlina to Come!. Interestingly, while Mozarts music and
Da Pontes poetry can hence be seen to work together to paint a picture of Don
Giovanni as being calculated, experienced, and eager, the differing way in which
they interact when Zerlina is singing paint her in a completely different light- one
much more uncertain and hesitant- and leave the listener with a sense that she is
being honest.
At many points throughout the duet, examining the words that Zerlina says
independent of the accompanying music makes her seem very uncertain. In lines
5,7, and 8, for example, the phrases Id like to, but yet I would not and its true I
would be happy, but he may just be tricking me clearly indicate verbal uncertainty.
When we do consider the accompanying music, such uncertainty is further
emphasized through Zerlinas inability to decide on a small range of pitches with

which to sing, a phenomenon which mirrors her inability to decide whether or not to
run away with Don Giovanni. A similar situation is seen with regards to her
hesitance; when only looking at the words, we see hesitance expressed through her
repetition of line 8, but, when we also consider the music, we see it expressed
through the adagio tempo with which she sings lines 10, 15, and 19 as well. Such a
tempo shows her hesitation because it gives the sense that she is not ready to
move as quickly as Don Giovanni who has just begun singing in a quicker andante
tempo. The similarity between what the text and music imply in these examples
make it seem like Zerlina is being honest because her intentions seem to be
identical when viewed textually and musically. Such honesty is further expressed by
the word painting present in line 17 in which her voice trembles when she sings the
word trema which translates to tremble.
The final effect brought about by the music and poetry working together is
the power imbalance which seems to favor Don Giovanni. Numerous poetic and
musical factors contribute to this imbalance. Poetically, we see in many different
lines that it is Don Giovanni who sets the rhyme scheme and Zerlina simply follows
his lead. When, in line 9, for example, he ends with dilletto, Zerlina then ends her
next line with Masseto, and when he then ends line 11 with sorte, it comes as
no surprise that she immediately chooses to rhyme it with forte. Additionally, the
fact that he often speaks in commands, as evidenced by lines 1,2, 9, 13, and 14,
among others, makes it seem like he is trying to control Zerlina. Musically, this
controlling, overpowering behavior is further supported by the andante tempo at
which he sings and by his powerful voicing of Andiam! Andiam! in line 24.
Although the imbalance of power and different characteristics just described all
stem from the collaboration between Mozarts music and Da Pontes poetry, there

are also interesting factors which emerge when the music and poetry are not
working together.
In particular, when we try to determine the relative social classes of Don
Giovanni and Zerlina, the poetry and music each lead to separate conclusions. The
former implies that Don Giovanni is in a higher social class than Zerlina, as
evidenced by the commanding way in which he speaks to her. The latter, on the
other hand, makes it seem as though they are in the same social class because of
the lover-like manner in which they sing the last stanza together. Knowing, as we
do, that Don Giovanni is in fact in a higher social class than Zerlina, this begs the
question of why Mozart tries to obscure such a fact. One possible explanation is
that he is trying to paint a picture of Don Giovanni as being deceitful and not
trustworthy by making him actively hide his social class. This deceitful image is
paralleled by the eagerness expressed in the seventh and seventeenth stanzas
because it makes Don Giovanni seem like he is a predator in search of love who will
do whatever he has to do to obtain it; his entire goal is to seduce his prey, Zerlina.
The music once again works to undermine the poetry in line 25 when Zerlina
finally sings Andiam! for the first time. In contrast to the forceful and passionate
way in which Don Giovanni sings this word twice just one line earlier, Zerlina sings it
quietly while holding the first syllable for such an extended period of time that it
seems like she is simply submitting to Don Giovannis unrelenting requests that she
come away with him rather than actually saying that she would like to do so as the
poetry would suggest. Hence, it is evident here that the imbalance of power
portrayed throughout the duet in conjunction with Don Giovannis well calculated,
experienced, eager, predatory behavior eventually becomes too much for Zerlina to
handle and she folds under the pressure.

To conclude, the interaction between Mozarts music and Da Pontes poetry

within La Ci Darem La Mano works to give Don Giovanni and Zerlina unique
characteristics and to shape the relationship between them. More generally, we
have seen copious amounts of evidence that detailed character traits and social
hierarchies can be developed through the complex interplay between poetry and
music within an opera. It is only by closely examining this complex interplay that
we can ever hope to fully understand the origin of these interesting phenomena.