It is sung by Don Giovanni's servant Leporello to Elvira during act 1 of the opera.[1] Sung to a mostly light-hearted tune, it consists of a description and detailed count of his master's numerous conquests.
Madamina, il catalogo è questo Delle belle che amò il padron mio; un catalogo egli è che ho fatt'io; Osservate, leggete con me.
In Italia seicento e quaranta; In Alemagna[2] duecento e trentuna; Cento in Francia, in Turchia novantuna; Ma in Ispagna son già mille e tre.
V'han fra queste contadine, Cameriere, cittadine, V'han contesse, baronesse, Marchesane, principesse. E v'han donne d'ogni grado, D'ogni forma, d'ogni età.
Nella bionda egli ha l'usanza Di lodar la gentilezza, Nella bruna la costanza, Nella bianca la dolcezza.
Vuol d'inverno la grassotta, Vuol d'estate la magrotta; È la grande maestosa, La piccina è ognor vezzosa.
Delle vecchie fa conquista Pel piacer di porle in lista; Sua passion predominante È la giovin principiante.
Non si picca – se sia ricca, Se sia brutta, se sia bella; Purché porti la gonnella, Voi sapete quel che fa.
My dear lady, this is the list Of the beauties my master has loved, A list which I have compiled. Observe, read along with me.
In Italy, six hundred and forty; In Germany, two hundred and thirty-one; A hundred in France; in Turkey, ninety-one; But in Spain already one thousand and three.
Among these are peasant girls, Maidservants, city girls, Countesses, baronesses, Marchionesses, princesses, Women of every rank, Every shape, every age.
With blondes it is his habit To praise their kindness; In brunettes, their faithfulness; In the white-haired, their sweetness.
In winter he likes fat ones. In summer he likes thin ones. He calls the tall ones majestic. The little ones are always charming.
He seduces the old ones For the pleasure of adding to the list. His greatest favourite Is the young beginner.
It doesn't matter if she's rich, Ugly or beautiful; If she wears a skirt, You know what he does.
Structure and previous versionsedit
The aria's two halves reverse the usual order of cavatina followed by cabaletta: in the first, a quick Allegro in 4/4, Leporello has a patter summarizing the number and occupations of Don Giovanni's lovers, while in the second, an Andante con moto in 3/4, in the style of a polonaise (with a melody similar to that of the Larghetto of Mozart's earlier Quintet for Piano and Winds), he describes his approaches and preferences, while Donna Elvira presumably listens in horror.
A corresponding scene in which Don Giovanni's servant expounds the catalogue of his master's lovers was already present in several versions of Don Juan's story, in opera, theatre and Commedia dell'arte: probably the initiator was a version of Il convitato di pietra (The Stone Guest) attributed to Andrea Cicognini.[3] The most immediate forerunner (premiering in 1787, a few months before Mozart's Don Giovanni) was the opera Don Giovanni, o sia Il convitato di pietra composed by Giuseppe Gazzaniga to a libretto by Giovanni Bertati. In Gazzaniga's opera, the aria in which Don Giovanni's servant, Pasquariello, describes his master's catalogue of lovers to Donna Elvira begins:[4][5]
Dell'Italia, ed Alemagna ve ne ho scritte cento, e tante. Della Francia, e della Spagna ve ne sono non so quante: fra madame, cittadine, artigiane, contadine, cameriere, cuoche, e sguattere; perché basta che sian femmine per doverle amoreggiar. [...]
From Italy and Germany I have written here a hundred and more. From France and from Spain there are more than I know: be they ladies, city women, artisans, peasants, waitresses, cooks and scullery maids, it suffices they be female for him to have to make love to them. [...]
Commentaryedit
Kierkegaard discusses the aria in the section "The Immediate Stages of the Erotic, or Musical Erotic" of his Either/Or. He conjectures that the number 1003, the number of Spanish women seduced by Don Giovanni, might be a last remnant of the original legend about Don Giovanni (or Don Juan); moreover, the number 1003 being odd and somewhat arbitrary suggests in Kierkegaard's opinion that the list is not complete and Don Giovanni is still expanding it. The comic sides of this aria have dramatic and ominous undertones. Kierkegaard finds in this aria the true epic significance of the opera: condensing in large groups countless women, it conveys the universality of Don Giovanni as a symbol of sensuality and yearning for the feminine.
Some commenters have found that several devices in the text and the music manage to convey a universal meaning, something beyond a simple, humorous list of women: for instance, Luigi Dallapiccola remarks that the line "Cento in Francia, in Turchia novantuna", breaks the rhythm of octosyllables and so illuminates the whole aria.[4] According to Massimo Mila, "this Commedia dell'arte gag (which used to be accompanied by the gesture of unrolling the catalogue's scroll towards the audience) had incalculable consequences in determining the romantic interpretation of Don Giovanni's character". Romanticism interpreted the obsession expressed in the catalogue as a longing for the absolute.[3]
^The NMA p. 78 has restored Mozart's spelling "Lamagna".
^ abMila, Massimo (1988). Lettura del Don Giovanni di Mozart (in Italian). Torino: Einaudi. ISBN88-06-59999-2., which is a detailed, scene by scene, analysis of the opera: the catalogue aria is analysed in pages 93–102.
^ abMacchia, Giovanni (1995). Vita avventure e morte di Don Giovanni (in Italian). Milan: Adelphi. ISBN88-459-0826-7., which also quotes other versions of the catalogue, in opera and in Commedia dell'arte.
^Libretto 2007-11-10 at the Wayback Machine of Giuseppe Gazzaniga's Don Giovanni, o sia Il convitato di pietra
English translation of "Madamina, il catalogo è questo" published on the New York City Opera Project at Columbia University
February 16, 2024
madamina, catalogo, questo, also, known, catalogue, aria, bass, catalogue, aria, from, mozart, opera, giovanni, italian, libretto, lorenzo, ponte, mozart, most, famous, popular, arias, sung, giovanni, servant, leporello, elvira, during, opera, sung, mostly, li. Madamina il catalogo e questo also known as the Catalogue Aria is a bass catalogue aria from Mozart s opera Don Giovanni to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte and is one of Mozart s most famous and popular arias It is sung by Don Giovanni s servant Leporello to Elvira during act 1 of the opera 1 Sung to a mostly light hearted tune it consists of a description and detailed count of his master s numerous conquests Madamina il catalogo e questo source source Fernando Corena from a 1955 recording by Josef Krips and the Vienna State Opera Problems playing this file See media help Contents 1 Text 2 Structure and previous versions 3 Commentary 4 Recordings 4 1 CD 4 2 DVD 5 References 6 External linksText editMadamina il catalogo e questo Delle belle che amo il padron mio un catalogo egli e che ho fatt io Osservate leggete con me In Italia seicento e quaranta In Alemagna 2 duecento e trentuna Cento in Francia in Turchia novantuna Ma in Ispagna son gia mille e tre V han fra queste contadine Cameriere cittadine V han contesse baronesse Marchesane principesse E v han donne d ogni grado D ogni forma d ogni eta Nella bionda egli ha l usanza Di lodar la gentilezza Nella bruna la costanza Nella bianca la dolcezza Vuol d inverno la grassotta Vuol d estate la magrotta E la grande maestosa La piccina e ognor vezzosa Delle vecchie fa conquista Pel piacer di porle in lista Sua passion predominante E la giovin principiante Non si picca se sia ricca Se sia brutta se sia bella Purche porti la gonnella Voi sapete quel che fa My dear lady this is the list Of the beauties my master has loved A list which I have compiled Observe read along with me In Italy six hundred and forty In Germany two hundred and thirty one A hundred in France in Turkey ninety one But in Spain already one thousand and three Among these are peasant girls Maidservants city girls Countesses baronesses Marchionesses princesses Women of every rank Every shape every age With blondes it is his habit To praise their kindness In brunettes their faithfulness In the white haired their sweetness In winter he likes fat ones In summer he likes thin ones He calls the tall ones majestic The little ones are always charming He seduces the old ones For the pleasure of adding to the list His greatest favourite Is the young beginner It doesn t matter if she s rich Ugly or beautiful If she wears a skirt You know what he does Structure and previous versions editThe aria s two halves reverse the usual order of cavatina followed by cabaletta in the first a quick Allegro in 4 4 Leporello has a patter summarizing the number and occupations of Don Giovanni s lovers while in the second an Andante con moto in 3 4 in the style of a polonaise with a melody similar to that of the Larghetto of Mozart s earlier Quintet for Piano and Winds he describes his approaches and preferences while Donna Elvira presumably listens in horror A corresponding scene in which Don Giovanni s servant expounds the catalogue of his master s lovers was already present in several versions of Don Juan s story in opera theatre and Commedia dell arte probably the initiator was a version of Il convitato di pietra The Stone Guest attributed to Andrea Cicognini 3 The most immediate forerunner premiering in 1787 a few months before Mozart s Don Giovanni was the opera Don Giovanni o sia Il convitato di pietra composed by Giuseppe Gazzaniga to a libretto by Giovanni Bertati In Gazzaniga s opera the aria in which Don Giovanni s servant Pasquariello describes his master s catalogue of lovers to Donna Elvira begins 4 5 Dell Italia ed Alemagna ve ne ho scritte cento e tante Della Francia e della Spagna ve ne sono non so quante fra madame cittadine artigiane contadine cameriere cuoche e sguattere perche basta che sian femmine per doverle amoreggiar From Italy and Germany I have written here a hundred and more From France and from Spain there are more than I know be they ladies city women artisans peasants waitresses cooks and scullery maids it suffices they be female for him to have to make love to them Commentary editKierkegaard discusses the aria in the section The Immediate Stages of the Erotic or Musical Erotic of his Either Or He conjectures that the number 1003 the number of Spanish women seduced by Don Giovanni might be a last remnant of the original legend about Don Giovanni or Don Juan moreover the number 1003 being odd and somewhat arbitrary suggests in Kierkegaard s opinion that the list is not complete and Don Giovanni is still expanding it The comic sides of this aria have dramatic and ominous undertones Kierkegaard finds in this aria the true epic significance of the opera condensing in large groups countless women it conveys the universality of Don Giovanni as a symbol of sensuality and yearning for the feminine Some commenters have found that several devices in the text and the music manage to convey a universal meaning something beyond a simple humorous list of women for instance Luigi Dallapiccola remarks that the line Cento in Francia in Turchia novantuna breaks the rhythm of octosyllables and so illuminates the whole aria 4 According to Massimo Mila this Commedia dell arte gag which used to be accompanied by the gesture of unrolling the catalogue s scroll towards the audience had incalculable consequences in determining the romantic interpretation of Don Giovanni s character Romanticism interpreted the obsession expressed in the catalogue as a longing for the absolute 3 The aria is the basis of Michael Nyman s In Re Don Giovanni 1977 his first work for the Michael Nyman Band It is built upon and then varying the first fifteen bars This work in turn became a duet between Wolfgang and Leopold Mozart in Nyman s opera Letters Riddles and Writs titled Profit and Loss citation needed Recordings editThis list is incomplete you can help by adding missing items August 2021 CD edit Samuel Ramey Mozart The da Ponte operas Riccardo Muti EMI 2002 conductor Riccardo Muti Gregory Yurisich Mozart Don Giovanni EMI Virgin Classics 2003 conductor Roger Norrington Huub Claessens Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Complete Works Brilliant Classics 2005 conductor Sigiswald KuijkenDVD edit Stefano de Peppo Great Operas Great Voices Membran Music Ltd Pan Dream S R L conductor Michael Halasz Ildebrando D Arcangelo The Complete Operas Salzburger Festspiele Unitel Classica DECCA 2006 Don Giovanni conductor Daniel Harding Ferruccio Furlanetto Mozart Don Giovanni Sony BMG Music International 2008 conductor Herbert von KarajanReferences edit Don Giovanni Da Ponte libretto at Naxos The NMA p 78 has restored Mozart s spelling Lamagna a b Mila Massimo 1988 Lettura del Don Giovanni di Mozart in Italian Torino Einaudi ISBN 88 06 59999 2 which is a detailed scene by scene analysis of the opera the catalogue aria is analysed in pages 93 102 a b Macchia Giovanni 1995 Vita avventure e morte di Don Giovanni in Italian Milan Adelphi ISBN 88 459 0826 7 which also quotes other versions of the catalogue in opera and in Commedia dell arte Libretto Archived 2007 11 10 at the Wayback Machine of Giuseppe Gazzaniga s Don Giovanni o sia Il convitato di pietraExternal links editMadamina il catalogo e questo Score in the Neue Mozart Ausgabe English translation of Madamina il catalogo e questo published on the New York City Opera Project at Columbia University Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Madamina il catalogo e questo amp oldid 1163263004, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
