The marvellous

When the Italian theatre takes up the story of Don Juan at the beginning of the 17th century, it undergoes major changes in relation to the Spanish original from which it is directly descended. These transformations are such that they affect the fundamental sense of the original play and its moral and religious message.
Therefore one must examine the reasons for the success encountered by this play with the troupes of the Commedia dell'Arte in the 17th century, and why it was subsequently adopted on numerous occasions by the Italian opera in the following century.
Decor by Ludovico Burnacinifor the opera Il
Pomo d'oro performed in Vienna in 1667
   
Inventione della Confraternita
di Servi - 1619 -
One of the main reasons is its magical nature or at least the elements provided by its Spanish author Tirso de Molina and destined to become magical when transposed into Italian.
The story of the character of Don Juan has nothing of intrinsic interest for the comedians of the time, because the questions of honour and repentance in the Burlador de Sevilla, are not as crucial in Italy.
On the other hand, the fact that this character at the end of various adventures is taken away to Hell by a statue constitutes the culminating point of the play.
In the Italian versions it is no longer a question of knowing whether Don Juan is going to repent or be punished but rather of knowing how and when he will be punished.
This is not for reasons of morality but solely to serve a production that portrays the marvellous and the illusory.
   

From this perspective, the statue takes on a new importance and provides the sudden dramatic turn of events anticipated by the public.
It makes possible a series of scenic effects with the use of stage machinery that, depending on the version, can even make the statue fly away. This is far removed from the severe and punitive aspect of the Spanish statue. On the other hand, one is still close to the influence of the Renaissance with its rediscovery of antiquity and everything that it implied in Italian thought and art.

To begin with , the statue takes the aspect of ancient statuaries. In the manner of the sculptor Donatello who in 1453 produces the first equestrian statue representing the Condottiere Gattemalata, the statue of the versions of Don Juan also appears on horseback as from the first sketches of the Convitato di pietra. In that of Naples at the beginning of the 17th century, it is clearly stipulated in Act III - Scene 1 :
Temple in the country with equestrian statue.
Carriage of Phaéton Opera
by Lully National Archives .Paris
   
Carro tromphale della Confraternita
del Carmine - 1619

Then, it is the statue that provides the magic of the play, an element indispensable to the audience since its introduction during the Renaissance.
Indeed, the intellectuals of this period are well versed in the writings of Aristotle, and especially his Poetics, in which he introduced a literary effect that he names
“ thaumaston ” and that the humanists translated by
“ marvellous ”.
For Aristotle “ thaumaston ” is an effect of surprise, something astonishing and admirable, a sudden turn of events or an episode at the limits of credibility.
The Renaissance transforms the “ thaumaston ” and changes the surprise, be it literary or artistic, into something impressive bound to a promise of revelation.
The marvellous is then a reaction of trance that seizes the observer.
This concept is widely used in art, and gradually adopted by the church, notably at the time of the Counter reformation , turning the believer into a child who is surprised by the unknown and amazed by all it discovers. Thus the baroque movement exalts the marvellous in churches replacing astonishment by admiration.

   
But the marvellous does not only serve religion. The theatre adopts it in turn, strips away the mystical element and, thanks to the construction of sophisticated performance venues introduces it in the production to create the sense of wonder, because surprise provides pleasure and stretches the credibility. From there evolves the theatrical machinery that utilises pyrotechnics, fountains, movable decors, and supernatural effects.
In such a context, the story of Don Juan, which already contains a supernatural intervention of the gods thanks to the statue, adapts perfectly well to the theatrical requirements of the moment.
It contains the necessary element of magic that only requires a different presentation. The interpretations of the Italian versions of Don Juan, produced in France a few years later by Dorimon and Villiers, will diminish the marvellous aspect attributed to the statue by the Commedia dell'Arte, by rendering it too garrulous to be astounding.
Stage effect
for L'infedelt fulminatta - 1683