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Why did Prague commission Mozart to write 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.
Prague commissioned Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to write Don Giovanni due to the outstanding popularity of his previous opera, The Marriage of Figaro, in the Bohemian capital.123
Following the success of Figaro in Prague, Mozart traveled there in January 1787 to attend performances and engage with local music lovers and patrons. Encouraged by the warm reception of his work, the theatre’s director and impresario invited him to compose a new opera specifically for the city. Mozart accepted this commission and collaborated once again with his librettist, Lorenzo Da Ponte, to create Don Giovanni, which premiered in Prague on October 29, 1787.123