Composer
Librettist
Based On
a centuries-old Spanish legend about a libertine as told by playwright Tirso de Molina in his 1630 play El burlador de Sevilla y convidado de piedra
Company
San Francisco Opera Association
Location
San Francisco, CA
Venue
War Memorial Opera House
Season
1940
Language
Italian
Creative/Crew
Conductor
Stage Director(s)
Chorus Master
Incidental Dances by
Cast
Don Giovanni, a licentious young nobleman
Don Pedro, the Commendatore
Donna Anna, his daughter
Don Ottavio, her fiancé
Leporello, servant of Don Giovanni
Donna Elvira
Masetto, a peasant
Zerlina, his betrothed
Show Dates
Time and Place
Seventeenth Century; Seville
Scenes
Act I, Scene 1 -- Courtyard of Palace of the Commandant
Scene 2 -- Street in Suburban Seville
Scene 3 -- In Don Giovanni's Palace
Scene 4 -- A Countryside
Scene 5 -- Ballroom in Don Giovanni's Palace
Act II, Scene 1 -- Same as Act I, Scene 2
Scene 2 -- A Dark Hallway
Scene 3 -- A Cemetery
Scene 4 -- Room in Donna Anna's Palace
Scene 5 -- In Don Giovanni's Palace
Media
Document
SFO_PUB_01_SFO_1940_05_compressed.pdf
(7.16 MB)
Notes
To access the full production program, click the PDF link above.
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NB: Arthur Bloomfield's publication, 50 Years of the San Francisco Opera, notes that the 10/21/1940 Don Giovanni performance was supposed to star Tito Schipa as Don Ottavio, but bad weather delayed his arrival from Panama; Alessio de Paolis went on instead. De Paolis did not sing the Act I aria “Dalla sua pace” and might have omitted the second act aria “Il mio Tesoro” as well. Alfred Frankenstein's contemporary SF Chronicle review (10/22/1940) of the performance confirms this cast change as well as the skipped aria in Act I and likely in Act II - though Frankenstein admits he did not stay for the second act. |