Date of Award
5-1996
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
M.A.
Degree Program
English
Department
English
Major Professor
Robert Sturges
Second Advisor
Dan Doll
Third Advisor
John R. Holmes
Abstract
The thesis essay "Potentiality in Lorenzo da Ponte's Don Giovanni" explores the many facets of Don Giovanni's roles and functions in the opera by Mozart-daPonte. The thesis states that Don Giovanni does not merely function as a libertine who is finally punished for his crimes; instead, Don Giovanni offers many various roles and functions to the other characters. The functio of Don Giovanni at any given time in the opera depends on the other character's psychological background and impression of Don Giovanni. For instance, the noble Donna Elvira looks to Don Giovanni for a lover; but the peasant Zerlina sees in Don Giovanni an opportunity for marriage, which would allow her to rise in social standing. Zerlina's betrothed, Masetto, sees Don Giovanni as a rival love and threat, but the servant interprets Don Giovanni as an employer, who provides for him life's basic necessities, such as food, clothing, and shelter.
Don Giovanni's various roles are evident not only in da Ponte's libretto, but also in the Don Juan texts of Tirso de Molina, Molière, and George Bernard Shaw. Lorenzo da Ponte's text receives the primary focus, but the other texts are incorporated as well in order to show consistency in Don Juan's character; that is, he's always perceived in many different ways, whether the text is drawn from the Renaissance, Seventeenth Century, or Nineteenth Century. The thesis concludes on the note that Don Giovanni has no semantic in and of himself, but rather it's the other characters who give him this value or role: which role depends upon the individual's psychological make-up and background.
Recommended Citation
Ortego, James, "Potentiality in Lorenzo Da Ponte's Don Giovanni" (1996). University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations. 3197.
https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/3197
Rights
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