Was Don Juan a Rapist?

No doubt the most famous portrayal of Don Juan is Mozart’s and Da Ponte’s opera, Don Giovanni.  It is a brilliant and gorgeous opera that I first saw in New York at Lincoln Center.  Kirkegaard, the famous philosopher tried to make the case that Don Giovanni was the most sublime piece of art ever created.  His reasoning is somewhat hard to follow (at least for me); I was never much of a philosopher. Nonetheless, the opera is definitely a work of great genius.  But one thing is for sure: the Don Juan portrayed is a villain to the end, as he was in Tirso’s portrayal.  Before the curtain practically rises, Don Juan has raped a woman and murdered her father.  Male desire can certainly be villainous, but it can be heroic and certainly multi-dimensional.  I was interested in exploring a much more complex Don Juan and understanding of passion in the Lost Diary.  Literary talk show host Michael Krasny asked if it was a “vindication of Don Juan.” I’m not sure I would call it a vindication, but I certainly would call it a redemption and transformation of Don Juan.  So it was particularly gratifying when I received an email from the acclaimed opera singer, Franco Pomponi, saying that he was preparing to sing the title role in Don Giovanni in France this summer.  I will include his email here in its entirety because I think it is a marvelous example of how the arts can influence each other—and also because he says some very nice things about The Lost Diary.