An ambiguous partnership of word and tone: media “confrontation” in Mozart’s Don Giovanni

Abstract

English: Mozart’s opera Don Giovanni is generally recognised as the greatest work dealing with the theme of Don Juan. It is also extremely complex and raises in an unusually challenging way the significance of the figure of Don Giovanni. This article examines the relevance of Nicholas Cook’s theory regarding the analysis of musical multimedia. Focusing also on the works of Wye Jamison Allanbrook and Leonard Ratner that have a bearing on the topic, it explores Mozart’s ingenious deployment of musical expression, style, and syntax in the opera as primary agents in the construction of human character. Cook’s “contest” model postulates that the projection of Don Giovanni’s character owes its complexity to a remarkably ambiguous partnership of word and tone, resulting in what may be called a “contradiction” of musical and verbal meaning.

Afrikaans: Mozart se opera Don Giovanni word algemeen beskou as die grootste werk oor die tema van Don Juan. Die opera is terselfdertyd uiters kompleks van aard en vergestalt op ’n ongewoon uitdagende wyse die betekenis van die figuur Don Giovanni. Hierdie artikel ondersoek die relevansie van Nicholas Cook se teorie vir die analise van musikale multimedia vir hierdie probleem. Terwyl dit terselfdertyd fokus op die werk van Wye Jamison Allanbrook en Leonard Ratner, ondersoek die artikel Mozart se vindingryke aanwending van musikale ekspressie, styl en sintaksis in die opera as primêre werktuig in die konstruksie van die menslike karakter. Cook se “konflik”- model bring na vore dat die projeksie van Don Giovanni se karakter op ’n merkwaardig meersinnige samespel van woord en toon berus wat ’n bepaalde “weerspreking” van musikale en verbale betekenis tot gevolg het.