Mozart, "Là ci darem la mano", duettino

We know that the premiere of Don Giovanni, in Prague, in October 1787, was a success with the public and critics. The same did not happen in Vienna, the following year, although Mozart introduced some changes to please the Viennese spirit. It was not enough. Apparently, the more conservative Viennese of the time did not see favorably that the work ended with the protagonist being punished by death, however libertine he might be. After all, Don Juan was a nobleman, and the storming of the Bastille was a year and a little more away...

Duetinno "Là ci darem la mano"
For the Viennese premiere, Mozart added, removed, and modified arias, in accordance with the singers' specific abilities in the piazza. But one duet remained untouched.
It is the duet (rather, duettino) Là ci darem la mano, one of Mozart's most famous baritone and soprano (or mezzo) duets, sung in the first of the opera's two acts, and commissioned for Don Giovanni and Zerlina, the latter the fiancée of Masetto, a peasant.

"There we will hold hands."
Don Giovanni has fallen in love with Zerlina, as soon as he sees her. And he manages to drive Masetto away, after offering the couple his castle to celebrate the wedding there. With Masetto out of the picture, Don Giovanni begins the display of his amatory arts, assuring Zerlina that "there [in the castle] we will hold hands", and then he will hear from her, a yes. The seducer advances in his conquest at a steady pace. Zerlina is about to be captivated when Doña Elvira enters the scene, who will snatch her from the arms of the dissolute Giovanni, whom she knows well.

Duettino and not duet the piece is marked. And that is because it is not much of a duet if by duet we mean simultaneous singing. Indeed, the two voices only come together at the end, after Zerlina intones Andiam...! (5:15). Previously, Giovanni has intoned his text to seduce, Zerlina hers, showing her confusion.

Variations and fantasies

The piece, which does not exceed four minutes in length, encouraged a good number of composers to write variations or fantasies on it, commissioned to different instruments. There are variations for piano, clarinet, oboe, English horn, guitar... The most popular is Chopin's opus 2, from 1827, in its versions for solo piano and orchestrated. Beethoven, Berlioz, and Liszt, are other renowned authors who were also captivated by Mozart's duettino.

The performance is by American baritone Rodney Gilfry and Romanian mezzo soprano Liliana Nikiteanu. The video includes the prolegomena of Don Juan's seduction and Zerlina's confusion. Please excuse the abrupt ending.