Following Donna Elvira’s aria, her hasty exit with Zerlina is likely to be met with applause (for the aria, NOT necessarily for her departure from the stage!). Regardless of this interruption or not, the continuo should sound a very rapidly arpeggiated chord on the downbeat not for the sake of key establishment, but simply to illustrate Giovanni’s frustration. At his exasperation, the word “mal” in “vanno mal tutti quanti” should be particularly emphasized.
Ottavio’s first line is worthy of mention in that the placement of syllables on the word “idolo”, as printed in various scores including Bärenreiter , places the stress on the ‘o’ rather than the initial ‘i’. For this reason, I suggest articulating the “ido-“ on the ‘C’ to retain proper emphasis. In the continuation of this sentence, a very slight hint of portamento should color the leap downward on the word “pianti”. The exclamation “Oh Don Giovanni!” is must be sounded in a way that gets D.G.’s attention, perhaps making him think he’s been recognized, while really only being a general exclamation from Ottavio.
Giovanni’s line “ Comandate..i congiunti, I parenti, …” must be paced so as not to sound rhythmically contrived. Again, Mozart is confined to notating this text in 4/4 meter and the singer must make choices to ignore some rests so that these syllables do not start to sound affected. Practice speaking the text in a natural, conversational way and this will provide the best sense of rhythmic pacing. Likewise, at Donna Elvira’s entrance, Mozart must account for the number of beats by notating her exclamation “Ah!” longer than he surely intends it. The only syllable that should be deliberately prolonged is the first of the word “perfido” where Mozart uses a fermata.
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