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Who is Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni?
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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 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s opera Don Giovanni, Don Ottavio is a tenor character who serves as the fiancé of Donna Anna.1
Throughout the opera, Ottavio plays a supportive role, attempting to comfort Anna following the death of her father, the Commandant, and vowing to bring Don Giovanni to justice for his crimes. His dedication to Anna is a central theme, as he repeatedly seeks to soothe her grief and proposes marriage, though she insists their union must wait until her father’s murder is avenged. Musically, Ottavio is known for his arias, including "Il mio tesoro" in Act II, which Mozart famously substituted with a simpler aria for the opera's 1788 Vienna performances.23