Don Juan

Don Juan in the French version of 1805 was billed as a lyric drama in three acts. Kalkbrenner arranged Mozart’s music on this occasion, and his work was so poor that critics have called his tampering with the original score a scandal, an outrage, and an absurdity, or even an act of vandalism. Thuring and D. Baillot did the words for the libretto, and Pierre-Gabriel Gardel created its choreography. The composition had its premiere on 17 September 1805, and it did have enough power as an operatic…