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Last week we looked at music by Antonio Salieri and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. We'll devote this week to the four of the Austrian master Mozart's most popular operas, Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), Don Giovanni, Così fan tutte (So are they all), and Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute).
Le nozze di Figaro
Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro, 1786) is thought by many scholars and critics to be one of the funniest and most perfect operas ever written. The opera is based on a 1784 play by Pierre Beaumarchais, La folle journée, ou le Mariage de Figaro. The play was scandalous at the time because it made fun of the upper class. Some say that the play mirrored the thoughts of the lower classes and helped plant the seeds of resentment that saw the lower classes overthrow the aristocracy during the French Revolution.
The text that Mozart used was written by the Italian poet and playwright Lorenzo da Ponte. Da Ponte is an interesting man in that he eventually moved to New York City and founded the Italian Department at Columbia University. The Italian poet even lived in Philadelphia for a while, owning a local grocery store while giving private Italian lessons. Da Ponte wrote the texts for three of Mozart's most popular operas: Figaro, Don Giovanni, and Così fan tutte.
The Marriage of Figaro is set in the castle of the Count Almaviva. His servants Figaro and Susanna are about to be married. The Count wants to retain his right as the head of the household to spend the wedding night with Susanna. Susanna, Figaro, the page Cherubino, the Count's wife Rosina, and others work to spoil the Count's plans.
In this excerpt we'll hear Cherubino's love song that he's written to the Countess. Cherubino is a "pants" role - a young male character that is sung by a woman. American mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade, who was born in Somerville, NJ, became a star for her performances as Cherubino. Here she sings Cherubino's Act II canzonetta "Voi che sapete" in a performance from the Paris Opera in 1980.
Next we'll see what is probably the most famous number in the opera, Figaro's "Non piu andrai." In this military song, Figaro makes fun of Cherubino. Cherubino has been used to a life of luxury, but the Count has ordered him to join his army. Figaro tells him to say goodbye to the riches he's used to. Here is Welsh bass-baritone Bryn Terfel to sing Figaros' aria. Terfel is well-known for his Figaro. When he made his MET debut in the role, his performance was so good, reports of it ended up on the front page of the New York Times.
Don Giovanni
Mozart and da Ponte teamed up for Don Giovanni (1787). The opera tells the story of the legendary lover Don Juan. In the opera Don Giovanni tries to seduce a young noblewoman. She calls out and her father comes to her aid. In a swordfight Giovanni kills the woman's father. This sets off a chain of events that ends with Giovanni being dragged to Hades for his deeds.
We'll show two excerpts from Don Giovanni. We'll start with the very famous duet between Don Giovanni and Zerlina, "La ci darem la mano" with Sir Thomas Allen and Joan Rogers. Giovanni tries to seduce the young peseant woman Zerlina on her wedding day. She's conflicted and doesn't know what to do, until they are interupted by one of Giovanni's jilted lovers.
Next we'll see Giovanni's Act II serenade. Accompanying himself on the mandolin and disguised as his servant Leporello, Giovanni sings this love song to a young servant woman. American bass, Samuel Ramey, from Colby, Kansas, sings Don Giovanni in a production from the Salzburg Festival in 1987.
Così fan tutte
This third and last opera by Mozart and da Ponte, Così fan tutte (1790) examines romantic relationships. Two men are challenged to prove their girlfriend's faithfulness. They disguise themselves as foreigners and each man courts the other's girlfriend. Initially the plan seems to work, but with a little persistence, the men are able to capture the hearts of his friend's girlfriend.
Here we'll see soprano Carol Vaness (from California) as Fiordiligi, Suzanne Mentzer (from Springfield, PA) as her sister Dorabella, and British baritone Sir Thomas Allen as the scheming Don Alfonso in this beautiful and famous trio "Soave sia il vento" (Gentle be the breeze).
Next we'll hear Italian mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli in the comic role of Despina, the sisters' maid. She tells them in the aria "Una donna a quindici anni" (A woman of 15 years old) that by the age of 15, women should know how to wrap a man around her finger. Women should control men and not the other way around!
Die Zauberflöte
We'll end this Opera-Online with two excerpts from Mozart's last opera in German, Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute, 1791). The opera is a favorite with young and old a like and is frequently one of the very first operas parents take their children to see.
The opera is in singspiel form, or an opera that has spoken dialogue and a comic plot rather than being fully sung through. Mozart was a freemason, and there are elements of that spiritually based brotherhood throughout.
The Princess Pamina is being held captive by Sarastro, the High Priest of the temple. The Queen of the Night asks young Prince Tamino to save her daughter Pamina from Sarastro. In his quest to free Pamina, Tamino is joined by the free-spirited bird catcher Papageno. Once inside the temple, they soon discover that Sarastro is really a kind, dignified man who is really saving Pamina from her evil mother, the Queen. The temple members vote to bring Tamino into their order, but he must pass several tests first. After successfully completing them, Tamino and Pamina are welcomed into the order and are united.
In the first excerpt German coloratura soprano Diana Damrau shows off her impressive acting skills and vocal technique as The Queen of the Night. This is the famous aria "Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen" (My heart is seething with hellish vengeance). It's one of the most difficult opera arias with runs and 4 high F's that must be touched with absolute accuracy. This opera may be in German and there might not be subtitles in English, but you won't have any difficulty understanding what's happening in this scene!
Next we'll see the charming duet for Papageno and his new girlfriend Papagena. They decide to fill the world with little Papagenos and Papagenas! British baritone Simon Keenlyside sings Papageno. He's well known for his athletic performances (look for his dive into the bed while singing at the beginning of the excerpt). He's joined here by Irish soprano Ailish Tynan as Papagena.
Opera on the Radio this weekend
This weekend WRTI, 90.1 FM features Richard Wagner's opera Die Walkure, the second opera in his four-part operatic mini-series, Der Ring des Niebelung in a performance taped live from the Los Angeles Opera. It stars tenor Placido Domingo as Siegmund, soprano Anja Kampe as Sieglinde, soprano Linda Watson as Brunhilde, bass Vitalij Kowaljow as Wotan, mezzo-soprano Michelle DeYoung as Fricka and bass Eric Halfvarson as Hunding. Don't forget to tune in on Saturday at 1:00 PM, or click here to listen to WRTI on your computer!
Don't forget to invite your friends to sign up to receive these alerts by emailing their name, school, and age to us at outreach@operaphila.org. Again, if you have suggestions of things you'd like to see, please let me know and I'll find a few clips as well.
Until next week...
Last week we looked at music by Antonio Salieri and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. We'll devote this week to the four of the Austrian master Mozart's most popular operas, Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), Don Giovanni, Così fan tutte (So are they all), and Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute).
Le nozze di Figaro
Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro, 1786) is thought by many scholars and critics to be one of the funniest and most perfect operas ever written. The opera is based on a 1784 play by Pierre Beaumarchais, La folle journée, ou le Mariage de Figaro. The play was scandalous at the time because it made fun of the upper class. Some say that the play mirrored the thoughts of the lower classes and helped plant the seeds of resentment that saw the lower classes overthrow the aristocracy during the French Revolution.
The text that Mozart used was written by the Italian poet and playwright Lorenzo da Ponte. Da Ponte is an interesting man in that he eventually moved to New York City and founded the Italian Department at Columbia University. The Italian poet even lived in Philadelphia for a while, owning a local grocery store while giving private Italian lessons. Da Ponte wrote the texts for three of Mozart's most popular operas: Figaro, Don Giovanni, and Così fan tutte.
The Marriage of Figaro is set in the castle of the Count Almaviva. His servants Figaro and Susanna are about to be married. The Count wants to retain his right as the head of the household to spend the wedding night with Susanna. Susanna, Figaro, the page Cherubino, the Count's wife Rosina, and others work to spoil the Count's plans.
In this excerpt we'll hear Cherubino's love song that he's written to the Countess. Cherubino is a "pants" role - a young male character that is sung by a woman. American mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade, who was born in Somerville, NJ, became a star for her performances as Cherubino. Here she sings Cherubino's Act II canzonetta "Voi che sapete" in a performance from the Paris Opera in 1980.
Next we'll see what is probably the most famous number in the opera, Figaro's "Non piu andrai." In this military song, Figaro makes fun of Cherubino. Cherubino has been used to a life of luxury, but the Count has ordered him to join his army. Figaro tells him to say goodbye to the riches he's used to. Here is Welsh bass-baritone Bryn Terfel to sing Figaros' aria. Terfel is well-known for his Figaro. When he made his MET debut in the role, his performance was so good, reports of it ended up on the front page of the New York Times.
Don Giovanni
Mozart and da Ponte teamed up for Don Giovanni (1787). The opera tells the story of the legendary lover Don Juan. In the opera Don Giovanni tries to seduce a young noblewoman. She calls out and her father comes to her aid. In a swordfight Giovanni kills the woman's father. This sets off a chain of events that ends with Giovanni being dragged to Hades for his deeds.
We'll show two excerpts from Don Giovanni. We'll start with the very famous duet between Don Giovanni and Zerlina, "La ci darem la mano" with Sir Thomas Allen and Joan Rogers. Giovanni tries to seduce the young peseant woman Zerlina on her wedding day. She's conflicted and doesn't know what to do, until they are interupted by one of Giovanni's jilted lovers.
Next we'll see Giovanni's Act II serenade. Accompanying himself on the mandolin and disguised as his servant Leporello, Giovanni sings this love song to a young servant woman. American bass, Samuel Ramey, from Colby, Kansas, sings Don Giovanni in a production from the Salzburg Festival in 1987.
Così fan tutte
This third and last opera by Mozart and da Ponte, Così fan tutte (1790) examines romantic relationships. Two men are challenged to prove their girlfriend's faithfulness. They disguise themselves as foreigners and each man courts the other's girlfriend. Initially the plan seems to work, but with a little persistence, the men are able to capture the hearts of his friend's girlfriend.
Here we'll see soprano Carol Vaness (from California) as Fiordiligi, Suzanne Mentzer (from Springfield, PA) as her sister Dorabella, and British baritone Sir Thomas Allen as the scheming Don Alfonso in this beautiful and famous trio "Soave sia il vento" (Gentle be the breeze).
Next we'll hear Italian mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli in the comic role of Despina, the sisters' maid. She tells them in the aria "Una donna a quindici anni" (A woman of 15 years old) that by the age of 15, women should know how to wrap a man around her finger. Women should control men and not the other way around!
Die Zauberflöte
We'll end this Opera-Online with two excerpts from Mozart's last opera in German, Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute, 1791). The opera is a favorite with young and old a like and is frequently one of the very first operas parents take their children to see.
The opera is in singspiel form, or an opera that has spoken dialogue and a comic plot rather than being fully sung through. Mozart was a freemason, and there are elements of that spiritually based brotherhood throughout.
The Princess Pamina is being held captive by Sarastro, the High Priest of the temple. The Queen of the Night asks young Prince Tamino to save her daughter Pamina from Sarastro. In his quest to free Pamina, Tamino is joined by the free-spirited bird catcher Papageno. Once inside the temple, they soon discover that Sarastro is really a kind, dignified man who is really saving Pamina from her evil mother, the Queen. The temple members vote to bring Tamino into their order, but he must pass several tests first. After successfully completing them, Tamino and Pamina are welcomed into the order and are united.
In the first excerpt German coloratura soprano Diana Damrau shows off her impressive acting skills and vocal technique as The Queen of the Night. This is the famous aria "Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen" (My heart is seething with hellish vengeance). It's one of the most difficult opera arias with runs and 4 high F's that must be touched with absolute accuracy. This opera may be in German and there might not be subtitles in English, but you won't have any difficulty understanding what's happening in this scene!
Next we'll see the charming duet for Papageno and his new girlfriend Papagena. They decide to fill the world with little Papagenos and Papagenas! British baritone Simon Keenlyside sings Papageno. He's well known for his athletic performances (look for his dive into the bed while singing at the beginning of the excerpt). He's joined here by Irish soprano Ailish Tynan as Papagena.
Opera on the Radio this weekend
This weekend WRTI, 90.1 FM features Richard Wagner's opera Die Walkure, the second opera in his four-part operatic mini-series, Der Ring des Niebelung in a performance taped live from the Los Angeles Opera. It stars tenor Placido Domingo as Siegmund, soprano Anja Kampe as Sieglinde, soprano Linda Watson as Brunhilde, bass Vitalij Kowaljow as Wotan, mezzo-soprano Michelle DeYoung as Fricka and bass Eric Halfvarson as Hunding. Don't forget to tune in on Saturday at 1:00 PM, or click here to listen to WRTI on your computer!
Don't forget to invite your friends to sign up to receive these alerts by emailing their name, school, and age to us at outreach@operaphila.org. Again, if you have suggestions of things you'd like to see, please let me know and I'll find a few clips as well.
Until next week...
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