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I, Don Giovanni is a luscious and engaging glimpse into the decadent life of Lorenzo da Ponte, Mozart's librettist on The Marriage of Figaro and, of course, Don Giovanni.
Venice, 1763. Writer Da Ponte is leading the life of a debauched libertine. Under the tutelage of Giacomo Casanova, he devotes himself to the art of seduction—incurring the wrath of the fathers, husbands and brothers of Venice. Banished to Vienna, Da Ponte meets a newcomer to the music scene, one Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and is given the task of collaborating with the composer on his latest opera. Using his own life as inspiration, Da Ponte revises the tried-and-tested formula of the Don Giovanni story, revelling in the lusty subject matter. But after meeting the angelic Annetta, Da Ponte is compelled to abandon his playboy lifestyle, and decides to give Don Giovanni a dose of morality...
Including entire arias from Mozart's glorious opera, I, Don Giovanni is a bold, sumptuous and infinitely entertaining example of the way art often imitates life.
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