HOME | BIOGRAPHY | COMPOSITIONS | SELECTED ESSAYS | BIBLIOGRAPHY | RELATED SITES
HOME | BIOGRAPHY | COMPOSITIONS | SELECTED ESSAYS | BIBLIOGRAPHY | RELATED SITES
 |
By early summer 1781 Mozart was in Vienna and on his own. He had successfully arranged his dismissal from the service of the archbishop. More significantly, he was beginning to make the painful but necessary break with his father, Leopold. At the age of 25 he was, for the first time in his life, a free agent.
His primary goal was to establish himself in Vienna as a mature musician. Of course, Mozart had many contacts among the city's aristocracy. But most remembered him only as the wunderknabe who had entertained the imperial family on previous visits with his father and sister.
Mozart certainly wasn't known in Vienna as an opera composer, even though Idomeneo, rè di Creta (K. 366) recently had been such a success in Munich. Most of his opera commissions had originated in Italy, and his only previous attempt to compose an opera buffa for Vienna -- La finta semplice (K. 51) in 1768 -- had ended in failure.
But opera was the one thing Mozart most wanted to write. So he made it known that he was available and passed the time pleasantly by flirting with Constanze Weber, the daughter of his landlady. (Rumors that he was seducing Constanze -- or vice versa -- reached even the ears of an alarmed Leopold Mozart in Salzburg.)
Then, a break: "Well, the day before yesterday Stephanie junior gave me a libretto to compose," Mozart wrote to Leopold on August 1. "The libretto is quite good. The subject is Turkish and the title is: Belmonte und Constanze, or Die Verführung aus dem Serail." (Mozart's slip of the pen -- "seduction" for "abduction" -- has amused biographers ever since.)
| First performances Throughout Mozart's lifetime, Die Entführung aus dem Serail was his most popular work outside of Vienna. Here is a selection of premiere dates and locations: |
|
| July 16, 1782 | Vienna |
| Autumn 1782 | Prague |
| May 8, 1783 | Warsaw |
| June 1783 | Bonn |
| Aug. 2, 1783 | Frankfurt am Main |
| Sept. 25, 1783 | Leipzig |
| Jan. 24, 1784 | Mainz |
| April 18, 1784 | Mannheim |
| Nov. 17, 1784 | Salzburg |
| Jan. 12, 1785 | Dresden |
| March 1, 1785 | Riga |
| April 1, 1785 | Munich |
| Summer 1785 | Aachen |
| June 18, 1787 | Hamburg |
| Oct. 16, 1788 | Berlin |
| January 1791 | Amsterdam |
It may have been Joseph himself who suggested the subject of Mozart's new opera. The occasion of its premiere was to be the state visit in September by Grand Duke Paul Petrovich of Russia and his wife. The purpose of the visit -- to negotiate a secret agreement that would allow Austria and Russia to begin carving up the Ottoman Empire -- made the Turkish subject of Belmonte und Constanze especially appealing. According to Nicholas Till, it was "a story that would serve the emperor's propagandist campaign against the Turks."
Stephanie and Mozart's libretto came to them ready-made. It had been published earlier that year by Christoph Friedrich Bretzner, a Leipzig merchant. Titled Belmont und Constanze, oder Die Entführung aus dem Serail, it already had been produced as a singspiel in Berlin.
For many critics, the book leaves much to be desired. It has been described as "the very worst that he ever set to music" (Edward Dent), "hack work with moments of poetic illumination" (William Mann) and "one of the weakest Mozart ever set" (Till). Mozart himself began to have second thoughts. That October, he admitted to his father (to whom he had sent a copy of the libretto) that "you are quite right so far as Stephanie's work is concerned. ... I am well aware that the verse is not of the best." But in Mozart in Vienna, biographer Volkmar Braunbehrens summarizes the story's attraction: "The title Die Entführung aus dem Serail was a sure draw. It evoked images of adventure, abduction, and the simultaneously fascinating and terrifying aura of a Turkish harem while promising a happy ending." Mozart understood this perfectly. "I know this nation -- and have every reason to think that my opera will be a success," he wrote in September. "If it is, then I shall be as popular in Vienna as a composer as I am on the clavier."
Mozart rapidly composed the first act. But there was no way even he could finish the entire work in time for the grand duke's visit, even though that had been postponed until November. For one thing, he realized that substantial changes would have to be made to the libretto. For another, the emperor may have had second thoughts about entertaining a Russian grand duke with a "Turkish" opera; two works by Gluck were substituted instead.
This bought him much-needed time, but Mozart's frustration grew as he struggled with Stephanie's modifications. More than once he inserted his own verse, and he even composed one aria for Osmin before the words were written. Somewhat wistfully, he wrote to his father: "The best thing of all is when a good composer, who understands the stage and is talented enough to make sound suggestions, meets an able poet, that true phoenix; in that case no fears need be entertained as to the applause even of the ignorant."
Finally, after ten months of work, Die Entführung aus dem Serail was finished. It went into rehearsal in June. The first performance, at Vienna's Burgtheater, was July 16. Mozart's letter to his father following the premiere is lost but, judging from the one that followed, things had not gone entirely well: "Can you really believe it, but yesterday there was an even stronger cabal against it than on the first evening! The whole first act was accompanied by hissing." The trio that ended the first act went badly when the singers lost their places. "I was in such a rage ... that I was simply beside myself." The rest of the letter, however, puts the best face on things and registers Mozart's satisfaction with the repeated encores and the crowded theater. "My opera has brought in 1200 gulden in the two days," he reported, knowing the best way to impress Leopold. Perhaps hoping to further please his father, he enclosed the original score. "The first act, when I was sending it somewhere or other -- I forget where, unfortunately fell in the mud, which explains why it is so dirty."
Leopold's answer to his son is lost. It certainly was not positive or, at least, not sufficiently positive. Leopold's indifference cut Mozart to the quick. "I thought (judging by my own feelings) that you would hardly be able to open the parcel for excitement and eagerness to see your son's work," Mozart wrote bitterly. "But you -- have not had the time."
In fact, Leopold had opposed Wolfgang's move to Vienna as well as his intention to marry Constanze Weber, so perhaps his cool response was a way of indirectly expressing his dissatisfaction. But in reality he probably was quite proud of his son's accomplishment. Evidence of this is apparent in a letter Leopold sent to Nannerl shortly after the Salzburg premiere of Die Entführung in 1784. "The whole town is delighted with it," he wrote. "Even the Archbishop was gracious enough to say: 'Really it wasn't at all bad.'"
Dramatis personae:
Synopsis:
The setting is the Pasha Selim's palace, somewhere by the sea.
Act I
 |
| Overture |
| Die Entführung aus dem Serail |
| © Philips Classics Productions |
| 416 479-2 |
Osmin enters with a ladder, which he leans against a tree. He climbs the ladder and begins to pick figs, pointedly ignoring Belmonte's repeated inquiries. Finally, he answers: Yes, this is the Pasha's house. The conversation continues, haltingly, until Belmonte mentions Pedrillo's name. This is a mistake: Apparently Osmin has a serious grudge against Pedrillo. Osmin angrily threatens Belmonte, who becomes frustrated and leaves.
Pedrillo then enters to face the enraged Osmin, who exits, but not before describing what should be done to Pedrillo and his ilk: "First beheaded, then hanged, then impaled on red-hot spikes, then burned, then bound and drowned, finally flayed."
|
| O wie ängstlich |
| Die Entführung aus dem Serail |
| © Philips Classics Productions |
| 416 479-2 |
The Pasha and Constanze arrive by boat and are enthusiastically greeted by a chorus of Janissaries. The Pasha, apparently continuing a discussion that has been going on for some time, privately implores her to give him her heart of her own free will. But she refuses. He insists; she asks for more time and sadly departs. Pedrillo interrupts the Pasha's thoughts to introduce Belmonte, the "architect." Over the opposition of Osmin, Belmonte and Pedrillo enter the palace.
Act II
Osmin and Blonde argue in the palace garden. Osmin claims that she is his property and orders her into his house. Blonde refuses, proudly asserting that she is an Englishwoman and thus nobody's slave. He fumes, but she returns his bluster in equal measure and, with a threat to scratch out his eyes, frightens him away.
|
| Martern aller Arten |
| Die Entführung aus dem Serail |
| © Philips Classics Productions |
| 416 479-2 |
Pedrillo and Blonde surreptitiously enter for a brief tryst. Blonde is ecstatic to hear of Belmonte's arrival and their impending escape. But she also is worried: What about Osmin? No problem, Pedrillo says. He produces a sleeping-draught that he will mix in a bottle of wine for "the old fox." She happily leaves to tell Constanze. Pedrillo steadies himself for the approaching "battle."
Osmin returns, suspicious of Pedrillo's good mood. Pedrillo attributes it to the wine, which he immediately produces and offers to share with Osmin. Reluctantly, Osmin gives in. Soon he's taking deep swigs from the larger bottle. He falls asleep and Pedrillo awkwardly drags him into his house.
Belmonte, Constanze and Blonde enter and everyone is happily reunited. But after the initial embrace, suspicion rears its ugly head. Belmonte and Pedrillo both question their lovers' faithfulness. Constanze is wounded that Belmonte would ever think such a thing; Blonde boxes Pedrillo for the same reason. Quickly, the men beg forgiveness. It's forthcoming almost as quickly, and everyone departs to prepare for the great escape.
Act III
It's the middle of the night. Pedrillo and Belmonte meet in front of the palace. Pedrillo reports that the coast is clear, but insists that the rescue can't take place until he gives the signal. He produces a mandolin; the signal is a serenade that he sings beneath the women's windows. Appropriately enough, the song is about a "lovely maid," taken captive in a Moorish land. The first two verses produce no result, so he sings two more.
Constanze and Blonde appear at their windows; the men grab the ladders and commence the rescue. Everything is going fine until, unfortunately, Osmin wakes up and sounds the alarm. All four escapees are quickly rounded up and ordered into the Pasha's apartments, where Osmin describes the attempted rescue to his master. Constanze begs the Pasha's forgiveness, but Belmonte takes a more practical route. He identifies himself as a Spanish nobleman whose family would pay a handsome ransom for himself and Constanze. But he makes a fatal mistake: "My name is Lostados," he says.
Belmonte's admission provokes an unexpected and unfortunate response. Years ago, the Pasha says, Belmonte's father had robbed him of everything: his honor, his property and his happiness. Now, that man's son is in his power. "In my place what would he do?" the Pasha asks, rather rhetorically. Belmonte answers: "My fate would be pitiable."
The Pasha and Osmin retire to discuss the best method of torture and death for the foreigners. In their absence, Belmonte and Constanze reaffirm their love and eagerly look forward to dying in each other's arms.
The Pasha returns with his decision. Because he is not like Belmonte's father -- whom he describes as a "barbarian" -- he has decided to set his prisoners free. "It is a far greater pleasure to repay an injustice with a favour than an evil with an evil," he says.
Osmin is shocked and disappointed over losing Blonde, his "property." He repeats his litany of terrible tortures from Act I and angrily exits as Belmonte, Constanze, Pedrillo and Blonde sing the praises of human kindness. The Janissaries return for a final chorus in honor of the Pasha: "Bassa Selim lebe lange, Ehre sei sein Eigentum!" "Long live the Pasha Selim! Let honor be his due!"
Recommended recordings:
References: