Programs · Episode

MOZART: The Abduction from the Seraglio

Program: At the Opera
Aired: Saturday, March 9, 2024 @ 6:00 pm
Hosted by Lisa Simeone

If you believe the story, this classic "rescue" opera is the piece the Emperor said had, "too many notes." Judging by its lasting popularity, audiences seem to think it has just the right number of notes and so, apparently, did Mozart. On At the Opera, we'll hear Mozart's comedy in recordings led by Charles Mackerras, George Solti, and William Christie.

FEATURED RECORDINGS:

Charles Mackerras, conductor
Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Chorus
CAST: Yelda Kodalli (Konstanze); Paul Groves (Belmonte); Désirée Rancatore (Blonde); Peter Rose (Osmin); Lynton Atkinson (Pedrillo); Oliver Tobias (Selim)
(Telarc 80544)

George Solti, conductor
Vienna Philharmonic, Vienna State Opera Concert Chorus
CAST: Edita Gruberova (Konstanze); Gösta Winbergh (Belmonte); Kathleen Battle (Blonde); Heinz Zednik (Pedrillo); Martti Talvela (Osmin); Weill Quadflieg (Selim)
(London 417402)

William Christie, conductor
Les Arts Florissants
CAST: Christine Schäfer (Konstanze); Ian Bostridge (Belmonte); Patricia Petibon (Blonde); Iain Paton (Pedrillo); Alan Ewing (Osmin); Jürg Löw (Selim)
(Erato 3984-25490)

MORE ABOUT THE OPERA:

What sort of music might be described as having "too many notes?" Chopin's rapid-fire "Minute Waltz," perhaps? Or maybe the frantic swirl of Rimsky-Korsakov's "Flight of the Bumblebee?" Nope. According to legend, at least, it was an opera: Mozart's The Abduction from the Seraglio.

It was Emperor Joseph II who reportedly offered that tin-eared conclusion about the opera's note-count, after its 1782 premiere, in Vienna. What he actually told the composer, according to one observer, was, "That's an awful lot of notes, my dear Mozart."

You may remember the famous story from its cinematic recreation in the movie Amadeus. In that scene, the Emperor uses the more familiar "too many notes" line, though he does also concede that the drama he just enjoyed is, "quite new." And what Mozart put on the stage for the Emperor was indeed something new. As the poet Goethe once said, Mozart's Abduction "knocked everything else sideways."

The opera was also quite fashionable. Anything Turkish was in style at the time, and accordingly, Mozart sets Abduction in a Turkish harem. He also flavored the music with the bang and clang of extra percussion, evoking Turkey's Janissary bands — especially in the rollicking overture.

But Abduction was far more than just Turkish and trendy. The depth of Mozart's music had been increasing constantly, and Abduction may represent the first time his phenomenal genius for the complexities of musical theater was heard in full bloom. In letters to his father he wrote about trying to capture the very heartbeats of emotion in his characters.

Abduction is the crazy story of two men rescuing their lovers from a Pasha's harem, but the way Mozart blends high comedy with touching tragedy signals his new maturity as an opera composer.

The famous quartet in Act Two, sung by the two principal couples, is almost a miniature opera within itself. It begins and ends with the joy of the lovers' reunion, yet its melancholy middle section palpably expresses the personal doubts darkening the characters' outward happiness.

On At the Opera, host Lisa Simeone presents the three acts of The Abduction from the Seraglio in three outstanding recordings. One is from Vienna, with conductor George Solti and a cast including Kathleen Battle and Edita Gruberova. Another was made in Scotland, featuring singers Paul Groves and Yelda Kodalli, with conductor Charles Mackerras. And, we'll hear a recording from France, featuring Ian Bostridge and Christine Schäfer, and led by William Christie.

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