How does Don Giovanni escape after Zerlina cries out for help?

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Don Giovanni; Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart — Don Giovanni Illustration (c. 1914) of a scene from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's opera *Don Giovanni* (1787), in which Don Giovanni attempts to seduce Zerlina.

In the first act of Don Giovanni, when Zerlina screams for help during the ballroom scene, the crowd attempts to intervene, but they find the door locked. Once the angry guests threaten to break down the door, Don Giovanni reappears with his servant, Leporello, held at sword's point. He deceitfully proclaims that his lackey is the true attacker. By using Leporello as a shield against the crowd, Don Giovanni is able to escape.1