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Why does Leporello reveal his true identity in Donna Anna’s courtyard?
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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 the second act of Mozart's Don Giovanni, Leporello reveals his true identity in the courtyard of Donna Anna’s house because he is cornered by Donna Anna, Don Ottavio, Zerlina, and Masetto.1
Earlier in the act, Leporello and Don Giovanni had exchanged clothes as part of a scheme to deceive others. Consequently, when the group encounters Leporello in the dark, they mistake him for his master, Don Giovanni. As they surround him and prepare to confront him, Leporello finds himself in a desperate situation and discloses his true identity to the astonishment of the group, which allows him to beg for mercy and eventually escape.1