157 ([return])
[ The distinguishing form of imitation appears to be always justified psychologically by its appropriateness to the particular character; in the quartet, for instance, Donna Anna and Don Ottavio have the imitation; in the first finale it is given to Zerlina and Masetto.]
158 ([return])
[ A. M. Z., II., p. 538.]
159 ([return])
[ Beethoven declared he could not write operas like "Figaro' and "Don Juan"; they were repulsive to him (Rellstab, Aus meinem Leben, II., p. 240. Cf. Beethoven's Studien, Anh., p. 22). The pure morality of the great man, both in his life and his art, must be reverently acknowledged; at the same time, without allowing art to stray beyond the bounds of morality, we would not willingly see it excluded from the representation of this phase of human nature.]
160 ([return])
[ There is no truth in the remark in the Fliegende Blättem f. Musik (I., p. 184) that the song shows Don Giovanni as he wished to appear, while the accompaniment indicates what he really was. Don Giovanni expresses his real feelings, and the song is not mere hypocrisy. The peculiar character of the accompaniment is brought about simply by the nature of the instruments.]
161 ([return])
[ This little duet and chorus is written on different paper, like Masetto's air (Anh. 2). The two were not inserted later, but written in Prague, during the rehearsals, when the whole of this part seems to have been revised.]