Wolfgang
Amadeus Mozart was born on January 27th, 1756, in Salzburg. Mozart began showing his musical excellence
at an early age. He could learn and
perform music, played the clavier, and composed symphonies all before the age
of ten. His father was a violinist and
vice-kapellmeister allowing Mozart the opportunity to travel across Europe and
display his musical skills to various audiences. After a short season as a court organist to
the Archbishop in Salzburg, he embarked on a free-lance career. He met the Webers in 1777 and lived with them
for a time as he sought to make a career through his compositions. Mozart eventually married Constanze Weber against
the wishes of his father. By 1782 he
began to produce compositions in seemingly every form and genre. He became a staple to the court of Emperor
Joseph II, where Mozart produced some of his best known music. Though producing well-loved serenades,
dances, operas, string quartets, piano concertos, symphonies, and various other
pieces, Mozart struggled to make a successful living due to his mismanagement
of money and poor behavioral decisions.
Illness linked to his kidneys took his life and career at the early age
of thirty-six.
Die
Zauberflote (The Magic Flute), is an opera by Mozart premiered in Vienna on
September 30th, 1791, only two months before Mozart’s death. Mozart wrote the opera in two acts with a
German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. At
its premier, Mozart himself conducted the orchestra and Schikaneder performed
as Papageno (the Prince’s companion). The
show was an instant success. The plot
consists of the Queen of the Night persuading Prince Tamino to rescue her
daughter from captivity. The Prince
seeks to save Pamina from the high priest Sarastro, yet learns the ideals of
Sarastro’s community and seeks to join it.
Mozart uses imagery, folk idioms, and pantomime to elevate the idea of human
wisdom above ignorance.
The Magic Flute characteristically
reflects opera’s style of sung text and spoken dialogue. This opera mirrors standard sonata form, with
the exposition in Act I and development and recapitulation in Act II. This work reflects its time in generating ideals
towards the Enlightenment. It draws
attention to moral truths pointed at middle and lower classes. Mozart seeks to impart the idea that things
are not always as they appear to be on the surface. Its emotional contrast and value in Tamino’s
logical reasoning all point toward these new ideals of the Enlightenment. Mozart’s opera follows all the ‘rules’ from a
technical standpoint and Mozart is famously known for his impact on Classical
music.
http://www.biography.com/people/wolfgang-mozart-9417115#later-years
The Queen of the Night's aria is so beautiful and demanding on the voice. I am amazed that the women who play this role can do it so effortlessly.
ReplyDeleteAhhhhh I love The Magic Flute. It's so fun and you can tell Mozart just really enjoyed writing it. The Queen of the Night aria is AMAZING.
ReplyDeleteIm curious to know if theres an argument about relating Verdi tradgicomedy to this style opera.
ReplyDeleteThe Magic Flute is actually also very big in the percussion world. There is a Glockenspiel excerpt from this opera that is called on every single major orchestra audition that Ive ever seen.
ReplyDeleteMozart has a lot of other interesting operas that you could compare the Magic Flute to.
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