The Abduction from the Seraglio, or, The Abduction from the Harem/Brothel was Mozart’s first important German opera. Of course, Mozart had done other operas in German, but this was his first big-hit. The Abduction from the Seraglio was brought into play partly by the success of Idomeneo, King of Crete in Munich, and also from the determined efforts of the Austrian Emperor Joseph II; Joseph II wanted to establish a German opera in Vienna, probably because of the snobbery of having operas in languages other than one’s own home language! No, actually, Viennese audiences preferred the musically sophisticated Italian opera to the usually crudely conducted German plays whose dialogue was interspersed with simple little songs. (Remind anyone of The Magic Flute!)
Mozart, at the time, in 1781, had an idea for an opera called Zaide, but Mozart suspected that it would be too serious of an opera for the Viennese, and he thought the text was too feeble. But, he figured that the librettist of this piece might give him a better opera libretto. Gottlieb Stephanie revised the libretto of The Abduction from the Seraglio, which was originally written by Friedrich Bretzner. Stephanie, while being a playwright, was also an actor and an ‘inspector’ of the National Singspiel in Vienna. Apparently, Stephanie was considered an unpleasant man, but Mozart seems to have gotten along well with him. Stephanie was to later provide Mozart with the libretto for Der Shauspieldirektor.
The Abduction from the Seraglio was supposed to premiere in September of 1781 for the Grand Duke Paul Petrovich, later Paul I of Russia. It was postponed until the following year. In the meantime, Mozart had been kicked out (literally, on the backside) by his employer, the Archbishop Colloredo of Salzburg. He fell in love with Constanze Weber - a woman who his father did not approve of and married her three weeks after the premiere of The Abduction from the Seraglio had happened. So, this was obviously a tumultuous time for poor Mozart. (It also interesting to note that the main female character in The Abduction is named Constanze).
The oriental harem was a popular subject for drama in the mid-eighteenth century. Stephanie’s appropriation of Bretzner’s work was not uncommon. Actually, Bretzner himself resented and protested bitterly against Mozart’s “pilfering” of his work. Okay, lets just ignore the fact that Bretzner also had “pilfered” considerably from earlier dramas; the original libretto that The Abduction from the Seraglio is based on was called Belmonte und Constanze, which was a prototype of the English libretto, The Sultant or a Peep Show into the Seraglio and the libretto Adelheit von Veltheim…ah, show business! Someone protests against their work being pilfered while they are rummaging through piles of other people’s works. Actually, if any of you out there watch The Simpsons, Bretzner was like Krusty the Klown. Krusty would be like (in Krusty voice!) “that guy stole my bit!” while his assistant would point out that he had stolen that bit from Steve Allen! Anyway, plays and comic operas about Turks and harems and foreigners enslaved and rescuers were rife in Europe at the time of the Turkish wars. Also, I might mention that there has always been an interest in the “exotic” or the “oriental” in Western music history. Some notable examples are from Gustav Mahler’s mystic music and Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Mikado.
Okay, now on to the opera. The action of The Abduction from the Seraglio takes place in and around the palace of the Pasha Selim, in Turkey, somewhere by the sea; yeah, they’re not any more clear than that. The time is mid-sixteenth century.
The Overture of this opera, a presto-andante-presto, contrasts a brisk C major presto whose fortes introduce Mozart’s ‘Turkish music,’ with a tender andante in C minor. By the way, presto means “very quick” and andante means “moderately slow.” The ‘Turkish’ coloring in the Overture is achieved by exotic orchestration, with piccolo, triangle, cymbals, kettle- and bass-drums
Act I is set in a forecourt outside the palace. Belmonte, a young Spanish nobleman, has come in search of his betrothed, Constanze, who, together with her maid, Blonde, and Belmonte’s servant Pedrillo, had been captured by pirates and sold into slavery. Pedrillo had somehow managed to get a message to Belmonte, informing him of their whereabouts. As Belmonte is wondering how to get into the harem, Belmonte hears someone approaching. It is Osmin, the Pasha’s steward, who has come outside to pick figs. When Belmonte asks Osmin of he is near the Pasha’s palace, Osmin’s replies are very surly, and when Belmonte asks about Pedrillo, Osmin gets into a rage and chases him off. There is a really cool aria/duet that represents this part of the plot. So, Osmin introduces himself with a strophic song, “Wer ein Liebchen hat gefunden,’ which Belmonte attempts unsuccessfully to interrupt with a spoken question after each stanza, after which he and Osmin finally converse in a buffo, that is, comic duet.
Pedrillo now appears, exciting a fresh fury of outburst from Osmin, who is clearly jealous of Blonde’s affection for him. Pedrillo, he claims, is nothing but a worthless philanderer interested in chasing women - like Osmin isn’t such a person? Haha. Anyway, he says that Pedrillo deserves to be “first beheaded, then hanged, then impaled on red-hot spikes.’ Osmin sure comes up with some interesting stuff about how to torture people, and he especially likes repeating this one throughout the opera! Osmin goes back into the palace, and Pedrillo and Belmonte talk to each other. Apparently, Pasha Selim has not treated them harshly, and even though Constanze is not enamored by him, he does not force himself upon her. Belmonte informs Pedrillo that he has a ship just waiting nearby, ready to take them in a moment’s notice. But, first, they have to get Constanze and Blonde. Pedrillo tells Belmonte that he should pretend to be an architect, since the Pasha is interested in architecture and may gain him entrance into the palace. At this point, the Pasha’s entourage or Janissaries are heard to approach, and they sing the praises of the Pasha.
Pasha Selim pleads with Constanze to love him, and reminds her that he could use force upon her, but that he wants her to give her heart freely. Aaahh, what a magnanimous fellow. It’s like a guy walking into a bank, and announcing to the teller “I would like you to choose to give me all the money in this bank of your own free will; but remember, if you don’t, I could always pull out a gun and rob you.” I mean, honestly, anyone who demands that someone love them, irrespective of physical force, is still emotional abuse, and the fact that the Pasha sees this as totally normal is ridiculous to me. Anyway, so Constanze pledges her love to Belmonte and states her desire to remain faithful to him. Belmonte and Pedrillo finally get into the harem under the guise of being an architect, despite Osmin’s suspiciousness.
Act II starts out with a fight between Osmin and Blonde, who is lascivious with her and bullies her around. Blonde tells Osmin that this may be the way to a Turkish woman’s heart, but she is an Englishwoman, and is used to her freedom! This was a great comic line. Osmin claims that Englishmen must have been mad to allow such a state of affairs, but runs away when Blonde threatens to scratch his eyes out. It’s a funny aria, but even funnier to watch. Actually, the character of Blonde- a high-spirited and independent English servant, is indebted to Bickerstaffe’s libretto The Sultan or A Peep into the Seraglio.
Constanze is still lamenting her separation from Belmonte, and the Pasha is soon on her heels, demanding to know whether she will love him. She remains steadfast in her refusal, and he reminds her, yet again, that he could force his attentions upon her. It is at this point that Constanze sings her most famous aria, where she scornfully defies his threats. “Martern aller Arten,” is an interesting aria. It sounds like the formal defiance aria from opera seria (serious opera), so it is rather strange that Mozart produced it for an opera buffa. The aria is expansive with an elaborate introduction. This C major explosion, with it momentary plea, is overridden by its proud vocal display, and the brave supporting argument of solo flute, oboe, violin, and cello. Fierce coloratura in the voice’s highest range alternates with descents to regions well below those in which the soprano voice of comfortable. It is also a great feminist aria, where Constanze tells the Pasha that she would rather die than submit her self to him. All I can say is, Sing It, Sister!
Pedrillo and Blonde then meet to discuss how they will escape. Pedrillo explains that he will drug Osmin with wine so that they can escape. Pedrillo persuades Osmin to break the laws of Mohammed and, therefore, of his Muslim religion, and enjoy a delicious wine. He offers him two wines, a “mother” wine and a “daughter” wine. Of course, the mother wine is substantially larger than the daughter wine, so Osmin requests, quite sweetly, that he would like die Mutter wine. Osmin then passes out in a drunken stupor. The delightful aria/duet for this is called, “Vivat Bacchus! Bacchus lebe,” which basically extols the Greek character Bacchus, the god of wine, and the equivalent of Dionysus.
So now, all four all together, Belmonte, Constanze, Pedrillo and Blonde. The men express doubt about their lover’s fidelity, and when the women express hurt and anger; the men are made to apologize. The peace is restored when tribute has been paid to the virtues of true love, and the four lovers await their escape. I know it’s corny, but it’s opera, so give me a break!
Act III begins with the escape. Pedrillo sings a serenade to Constanze and then to Blonde, as the agreed signal for their escape. As they climb down their ladders, Osmin catches them, and is exultant at the thought of the type of tortures he will subject them to. They are brought to the Pasha, who regards this act as evidence of Constanze’s duplicity. Belmonte reveals that he is not a student of architecture, but a Spanish nobleman, and that his father will pay any ransom that they ask for. Unfortunately, Belmonte’s father was responsible for driving the Pasha (who had originally been a Spanish nobleman himself) into exile and robbing him of his loved ones and all his possessions. So this didn’t exactly help! Interestingly, Pasha Selim tells Belmonte that he despises his father too greatly to emulate his behavior, and lets them free. Everyone, except for Osmin, who bemoans the loss of Blonde, sing the praises of the merciful Pasha.
There is a very good rendition of this opera recorded by TDK at the Orchestra and Chorus of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino and conducted by the always fabulous Zubin Mehta.
This Composition was posted on Thursday, May 29th, 2008 at 12:05 pm and is filed under Mozart, Opera. You can follow any responses to this Composition through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.