History Theatre / DonGiovanni

* CombatPragmatist: Don Ottavio knows he can't possibly outmatch Don Giovanni with a sword, so he simply brings a gun. Don Giovanni realizes that his fencing skills are [[NeverBringAKnifeToAGunfight useless]] and simply runs for it.

* AuthorAppeal: Mozart loved to write parts for baritones and basses. It shows up in all of his operas, but is most apparent in this one, which features only one tenor in the main cast -- SatelliteLoveInterest Don Ottavio. Leporello and Giovanni are both singable by a bass or bass-baritone (though Giovanni is more flexible, and can even be sung by a low tenor), and the Commendatore and Masetto are both basses.

* SatelliteLoveInterest: Ottavio exists solely to love Anna.

** In the 1987 Salzburg festival run, Ferruccio Furlanetto and Sam Ramey took turns singing both parts on alternating nights.

* BadassBaritone: Despite not being the lowest voice by far - a low tenor can manage the role, though it's never cast that way - Giovanni manages to outwit and out-badass everyone in the opera. Out of the other men, only the the Commendatore's basso profondo can be considered badass - basses Masetto and Leporello are mostly comic characters and Don Ottavio is a tenor.

* AttemptedRape: Played straight or subverted, depending on the interpretation. Though Giovanni himself makes a point of saying that there's no talent beyond his (charming women), Anna is quite adamant that he covered her mouth and tried to embrace her by force and that she fought him off. Of course, she also says that she thought it was Ottavio, who, being a {{Purity Sue}}, would hardly have come into her bedroom in the middle of a night in a mask and cape. On the other hand, Giovanni never denies trying to rape Anna, and later attempts to take advantage of Leoporello's girlfriend offstage; this sort of thing certainly isn't beneath him; what we do know is that Anna is all but bodily throwing him out of her room in scene one, and there's no reason for her to believe anyone's watching.

* [[TenorBoy Don Ottavio]] -- The obligatory noble fiance of Anna to balance out the Don. He's either completely clueless or a completely flat character or simply considers Anna a {{Purity Sue}}; he doesn't doubt her for a second and does practically everything she wants. Always asking Anna to marry him, but she always brings up her period of mourning. Why Giovanni seems to respect him is never explained.

* SanitySlippage: A frequent interpretation of Don Giovanni towards the end of the opera.

* SkewedPriorities: Half the town is looking for you with TorchesAnd Pitchforks, and the other half is looking for revenge after [[YouKilledMyFather you killed their father]]? If you're Don Giovanni, this is a good time to start looking for girls!

* TheScapegoat: Leporello again. Even when the other characters discover that the man they thought was Giovanni was in fact his servant, they still blame him for most of what happened a few minutes ago.

* WritersCannotDoMath: Leporello says that Giovanni has bedded one thousand and eight hundred women. Adding the numbers up gives the actual total as two thousand and sixty-five.

''Don Giovanni, or the Rake Punish'd'' is one of the most famous versions of the Don Juan legend and the second joint venture of the composer-librettist team of Music/WolfgangAmadeusMozart and Lorenzo Da Ponte. As a ''dramma giocoso'' (a genre-busting mix of comedy and drama), the {{opera}} tells the story everyone has heard of and no one actually can narrate beyond saying that the protagonist is TheCasanova, while the Don Juan legend is in fact much older.

* DeusExMachina

* DraggedOffToHell: Giovanni, through the above trope.
* DroitDuSeigneur: Masetto is GenreSavvy enough to suspect that Giovanni is hoping to try this with Zerlina. He's not wrong.

* GreenEyedMonster: Masetto. Though, to be fair, what man wouldn't be jealous if Don Giovanni was hitting on his wife?

* OffstageVillainy: Don Giovanni is confirmed to be [[TheCasanova a serial womanizer]], but none of his attempted seductions during the course of the story actually succeed in closing the deal. Not for lack of trying, though.

A good way to tell when the plot is going to get dramatic is to watch for whenever Ottavio, Anna or the Commander appear; the other supporting characters are mostly comical. The plot itself is full of twists, so go to [[Synopsis/DonGiovanni our synopsis]] to read it.

* OffstageVillainy: Don Giovanni is confirmed to be a serial womanizer, but none of his attempted seductions during the course of the story actually succeed in closing the deal.

* InsaneForgiveness: Donna Elvira is willing to forgive everything if Giovanni just loves her. Also, surprisingly, despite all his scariness, the commander. What do you do if someone tries to rape your daughter, kills you and mocks your grave and you know this man has just a few more hours to live? Gloat back, just wait to really enjoy just seeing him go to hell? Of course not, you come back from the grave in a desperate attempt to save his soul from hell...

* AskAStupidQuestion: After the duel, Leporello asks Don Giovanni, "Who died, you or the old man?" The Don replies, "What a stupid question!"

''Don Giovanni, or the Rake Punish'd'' is one of the most famous versions of the Don Juan legend and the second joint venture of the composer-librettist team of Creator/WolfgangAmadeusMozart and Lorenzo Da Ponte. As a ''dramma giocoso'' (a genre-busting mix of comedy and drama), the {{opera}} tells the story everyone has heard of and no one actually can narrate beyond saying that the protagonist is TheCasanova, while the Don Juan legend is in fact much older.

* BadassBaritone: Despite not being the lowest voice by far - a low tenor can manage the role, though it's never cast that way - Giovanni manages to outwit and out-badass everyone in the opera. Out of the other men, only the the Commendatore's basso profondo can be considered badass - bases Masetto and Leporello are mostly comic characters and Don Ottavio is a tenor.

* HandsomeLech: Oh, take a wild guess.

In short, the plot covers a single day where everything that can go wrong does go wrong for the [[VillainProtagonist hero]] and can most easily be presented through its characters:

* DroitDuSeigneur: Masetto is GenreSavvy enough to suspect that Giovanni is hoping to try this with Zerlina.

* InsaneForgiveness: Donna Elvira is willing to forgive everything if Giovanni just loves her. Also, surprisingly, despite all his scariness, the commander. What do you do if someone tries to rape your daughter, kills you and mocks your grave and you know this man has just a few more ours to live? Gloat back, just wait to really enjoy just seeing him go to hell? Of course not, you come back from the grave in a desparate attempt to save his soul from hell...

* JacobMarleyWarning: Provided by the Commendatore, who orders Don Giovanni several times to repent. The Don [[spoiler: repeatedly refuses. [[DraggedOffToHell Very bad idea.]]]]