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Christoph Willibald von Gluck

Don Juan (ballet)

Don Juan ou Le Festin de Pierre (Don Juan, or the Stone Guest's Banquet) is a ballet with a libretto by Ranieri de' Calzabigi, music by Christoph Willibald von Gluck, and choreography by Gasparo

Background#

The ballet Don Juan was based on Molière’s Dom Juan ou le Festin de pierre of 1665. . The music was known to Vincenzo Righini, who borrowed some of its ideas in his opera Il convitato di pietra, first performed in Prague in 1776 as the second of the three notable operas originating in Prague that were based on the Don Juan legend (the most famous being Don Giovanni of 1776 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart). The 19th movement, marked “Moderato,” was used by Mozart in the third act finale of his opera Le nozze di Figaro.

  • Original edition of the libretto in Bayerischen Staatsbibliotek
Composer
Christoph Willibald von Gluck