Wolfgang A. Mozart
Don Giovanni (selections)
I already disliked Mozart before I first heard Don Giovanni. He is like a smooth-jazz guitarist, efficiently sorting patterns according to whim and harmonic theory. Catchy, occasionally strikingly beautiful, but rarely meaningful beyond “what skill! Hooray for Mozart!” People always talk about his Requiem, or the Ave Maria, and granted these are fine works - but they are voices in the wilderness of zippy melodies and playful bits and pieces.
Now, playfulness - can it really be such a bad thing? I would never advocate for the dismal, and play is lovely, but joy, truth, and love are better.
But Don Giovanni demonstrates that Mozart’s brand of playfulness is essentially base. Don Giovanni epitomises the typical Mozart, delighting and stimulating inferior minds and never recognizing superiors. Sure, he goes to hell at the end, but he’s unrepentant. The opera only comes to life when he’s present - noone offers anything else but devotion, nothing to inspire devotion.
