A high-ranked but dissolute character invites to dinner the funerary statue of a nobleman he killed in a duel after dishonoring his daughter. Thus the stage is set for the most dreadful of punishments, arguably the central moment in the life of Don Giovanni - one of the most fertile and suggestive myths of Western culture.

The celebrated character who would captivate Mozart, Byron, Richard Strauss, and Stravinski, among others, comes down to us through a complex history, whose origins are as intriguing as they are seldom explored. In a study both concise and comprehensive, Nino Pirrotta masterfully traces the roots of the Don Giovanni legend in the European musical theater.

Beginning with the seventeenth-century play by the Spanish author Tirso de Molina, El burlador de Sevilla, Pirrotta examines the major stage productions that were to lead to Mozart's unparalleled version, reconstructed here in a riveting, scene-by-scene analysis.

Conceived as a book for non-specialists, Don Giovanni's Progress far exceeds these boundaries, as in discursive presentation delivers a sophisticated discussion of performing strategies and musical scores.

What also emerges from Pirrotta's study is a vivid account of the human resources that came into play over the many decades of artistic collaborations, frequent borrowings, and unique fascination for this "sublime" yet doomed character - in all, a prime contribution to the history of music and literature.