New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1850-11-26
NETWORK TRIBUNE.
THE OPERATION GIOVANNI;
A LECTURE.
BY JOHN S. DWIGHT, OF BOSTON.
Reported for The Tribune


The Fourth Lecture of the Course before the
Mercantile Library Association was delivered
last night, at the Broadway Tabernacle to
large and attentive audience john S, DWIGHT
Esq. OF BOSTON, was the speaker, and his theme
was The Opera, and especially Mozart's Don
Giovanni" Mr.. Dwight said that the Lecture
was one of regular Series of Six upon the same
general topic" The Opera -and was not so
perfect in its separate arrangement as 1t would
be in connection with the others. We shall only
give mere sketch of it, without attempting to
quote the Lecturers words
Mr. DWIGHT remarked that in the Opera re
suited the effort OF Music to escape the tantastcfet-
tiers of Science, and to get back to nature 1t was
her successful and final protest against church
cramped forms. At the period of the rise OF the
Opera, the Human Mind and Conscience had at
tanned its majority, Ecclesiastical Supremacy In
eall affairs Of Life was questioned, the Senses be-
gan TO be respected, and Music was replenished
from the spontaneous Secular Melodies in which
the full heart found utterance; popular Melodies
sprung up like wild flowers in the by-ways Of
Life they were an unwrtten music, unrecoS-
nized by the Church Composer they were ruled
out by Science; they accompanied themselves
spontaneously in thirds and sixths while artificial
Church Harmony, confined to barren tourths and
6fths, cast but occasional furtve chances at their
forbidden charms About the commencement OF
the Seventeenth Century, these Natural Melodies
began to attract the attention OF Composers
popular Aira were written out and harmonzed,
and Recitative or Singing Speech, came into
notice-and it has been ever since the distinct
i've feature Of the Opera. Mr. Dwight spoke
of the initiative character of Man, who loves to
fancy himself another to wear the Dramas mask
professedy to realize things from many Hand
points to cultivate the cosmopolitan side OF his
nature. to verify the maxim that There is nothing
foreign to us which is human" to make Lltera
ture and Art equally dramatic with his real Life
Music which is a universal Language, adapss
itself most readily to this dramatic need. The
Musical Drama from the old Mysteries and Mo-
ralties, in which the church dramatzed the char
acters and events of Sacred History, or the allie,
gorc personi6cations OF moral and metaphysical
entities by way of making its dull lessons palata-
ble to the wandering minds OF weary listeners
Classic subjects followed Sacred. But Composers
soon grew liberal toward Secular Music, and the
Onera appeared The Lecturer gave tcrse ana
bold description Of The Opera which we WIZ not
spoil by condensing. He concluded that " Inc
Conservation of the Senses, the ideallzng OF Com
mon Life the yindication Of Nature, the harmony
Of ~
The Opera" The first Opera was Produced al
Rome in 1000 and was called TIE Representa-
t;on of the Soul and the B0dy." Thus the Opera
symbolized it's own mission by touching on tue
problem of the Soul and the Body In lts llrst essay
The first Secular Opera was composed ABOUT she
time by Jacopo PERI ana was eLitioJ D G
Mr.. DWIGHT referred to several OF the early Gom-
posers. remarking that francesca CaYall oil zen
Ice in his onere Gins0ne was the first one who
introduced Aria and used Meditation to express
changes of feeling. Before Handel Is time the Ope-
~ had absorbed all the musical feeling of Italy. In
Venice there were light or nine Opera Houses, and
Composers produced pieces by the hundred. The
fayoTite home music was the Cantata, dramatic
ruonoogue consisting oil an Aar, preceded by a
Recitative and accompanied by an instrument.
Corelli had now fully developed the powers ofthe
Violin, and wherever it was used taste for free
and graceful Melody prevailed. The Opera was
introduced successfully into France at the Court
of Louis XIV. into Germany rather slowly, and
before 1900 was fixed in England. Having thus
sketched the rise Of the Opera, the Lecturer Sc
ected az an exponent of the genius OF Dramatic
Music, the great Opera Of Don Gsorann,, one Of
the immortal productions OF Mozart, In whom Nd
sic appears as the native language OF the Senses
and Of Love. Mr.. d. reviewed briefly the cha
racter Of MoZarts music, and then took up the
Don Gl0rannt-the story OF one passion under
many forms, the keen zest Of Life and Freedom
in reckless protest against the passion starving
Conventionaism of Society," the intense conscious.
ness OF being, strong in the faith that Joy is the
true condition Of Life, blindly realizing itself in
the ecstatic lawlessness OF Love, yet shuddering
with presentiment Of fearful retrbuton. Most
people are disappointed at first look at the
bretto Of this Opera; it seems waste of
fine music to couple it with the story OF a deg
perate rake they are at a loss to account for the
charm OF the grotesque absurdities OF the donoue-
ment, the animated statue and the posse comita
tus of the lower world rising TO claim the hero
But Don Juan is a historical type Of character,
and concerns Us all. The true conception Of Don
Juan is that OF gentleman and man Of genius,
full OF passion, sympathy and energy, noble in per-
son and in fortune, a generous creature, pro-
voked by the moralisIn Of the times TO a reckless
appetite which is excited and disappointed until
it becomes iend and drives him TO triumph over
Womans ruin. His impulsiye passion becomes
willfulness his nobleness is hardened into Satanic
feature; he hates and sacrifices Woman for tue
mere satisfaction of the sense, and he roanls Tue
Earth beautiful, terrible, reslstless Fallen @lnse,
sacrificing victim after victim 10 his alideYo0FiHs
passion, perseyering until Hell claims IT'S own ~
the awful contamination OF the Banquet 0[o en-
Al this is the old theme OF Body ana 0o"i, ~ 90,
Liberty of Passion ii conflict WIN natto" .j bsd
The Tec+urer observed that Don Juan Gnu na =.
noetical and moral truth. No man eyer II -
hot bnt many have cause 10 dresa IL ~ ~ co.
,La .,cess of their own pent-up lofces' my ~
.till 70 Lnov what Hadlcalisn Iufhs ~ every
ST. af ITO or passion. The sensitive mozart
go re been the first TO snuddsf ~ ti5
,I,oTgir nj what he nigh, become Though the
excess OF the qualities winch made ann dl-