THE OPERAS OF MOZART
http://artsatmichigan.umich.edu/seen/2014/03/26/preview-the-magic-flute/
MUSC2HBH2 Music, Culture and History 2B
Dr. Andrew Warburton
Tatum Thomas (219 001 981)
14 December 2020
, DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE (THE MAGIC FLUTE)
Classical composer, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, was born in Salzburg, Austria in 1756. He was
a young prodigy in both playing and composing music on the violin and keyboard. When he was
five years old, he performed in front of the European nobility. In 1773, Mozart worked as a court
musician for the ruler of Salzburg, Prince-Archbishop Hieronymus Colloredo. He was quite the
social butterfly and would make many friends that expanded his versatility. Although he is
known for his 22 operatic works, he started by writing music in various other genres such as
serenades, masses, symphonies, sonatas, and string quartets. Mozart is known for his unusual
decision to become a freelancer, which caused him to be financially unstable. However, he
certainly was a sought-after composer in Europe.
Regarding his operatic compositions, he was an innovator and visionary. Operas of the time
adhered to themes of mythical Greek gods and epic tragedies with exaggerated characters.
Mozart’s central ideas were more about humanity and representing real emotions. His music has
an element of yearning for something greater than what we know. It was the norm to write
operas in Italian however he went against the grain and invented singspiels, which are
German-language operas. Mozart did away with recitatives and opted for spoken dialogue which
was also more realistic and dynamic for the artists. He could condense texts from literary works
used more effectively. It can be said that they are one of the earliest forms of musicals. Hence,
the German singspiel opera, The Magic Flute, is a whimsical tale that suspends but also depicts
reality.
Mozart’s last opera was “ Die Zauberflöte” which translates to “The Magic Flute.” At the age of
35, he was very poor due to his lavish party-going lifestyle mixed with an unstable income.
Whilst his physical health diminished, his creative spirit augmented. In his last year, he wrote an
abundance of memorable music. This includes the opera seria, “La Clemenza di Tito” which was
composed in between his writing of The Magic Flute ( Eckelmeyer, 2015 ). The coronation of
Leopold II, as King of Bohemia, was the setting for an interruption in his other musical train of
thought. Despite this, “The Magic Flute” was an absolute success. Emanuel Schikaneder, played
a big part in the opera as he was the librettist and starred as Papageno. He dabbled in the folk or
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