Don Giovanni has a strong reputation as an incorrigible ladies’ man. It is worth noting that audiences have little to rely on but this reputation, for at no point in Mozart’s opera does Giovanni successfully complete a seduction. He’s seen after the fact, he’s seen caught by Donna Anna, and he’s seen sweet-talking Zerlina and Donna Elvira. But most of what opera-goers know about Giovanni’s track record comes from this aria, sung by Leporello early in Act I.

The Catalogue Aria does more than establish Don Giovanni’s reputation. Leporello also hopes to ease Donna Elvira’s pain by assuring her that his master meant nothing personal by abandoning her—that’s just the way he is. Some critics believe that Mozart and Da Ponte, with the careful counts and categorizations displayed verbally in the aria, poke fun at the Enlightenment’s dependence on detailed observation and demonstrable fact, as if even passion could be quantified and sorted out.