The Marriage of Figaro is a remarkable comedy centered on the expression of love. It was based on the play by Beaumarchais and the music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart [1756 -1791], an influential, popular, and prolific composer of the classical period, in collaboration with libretto Lorenzo Dan Ponte, a venetian composer and poet. The opera was sung in Italian and supertitle in English, which gave me great opportunity to understand and enjoyed the show presented by the American Opera and Musical Institute of Augusta University on 12th, 13th, and 14th of February.
The Marriage of Figaro featured versatile voices, among which are Bass Baritone Jason McKinney [soloist], as Figaro, Baritone Mark Diamond, as count Almaviva, and Soprano Krista Wilhelm Sen, as the countess. In the orchestra pit were twenty-two performers with historical display of the classical musical instruments and at the centered was the harpsichord - the major instrument of the baroque period. The instruments include violins, violas, cellos, bass, flute, oboe, clarinets, bassoon, horns and Timpani.
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The musical style was mostly set in the major keys with few minor keys. The pieces I enjoyed were the aria [ duet] between Figaro and Susanna, at the beginning of the opera when Susanna disclosed count Almaviva seduction towards her, the raged and revenge that engulfed Figaro with the musical blend of the orchestra .Also is the aria of the countess – the lamentation of her husband infidelity, but the most trilling moment of the day for me was the recitative and aria of Figaro, when he expressed his annoyance and bitterness about the betrayal and infidelity of women with the strings and harpsichord accompaniments to drive home the mood at fast tempo. Also features are choruses, ensembles, triplet quadruple, minuet and trio in different forms-ABA,
A married couple may not always be the happiest couple even though it may seem that love is expressed in the relationship. Some marriages are meant to be while some are not. What causes a person to be dissatisfied with their marriage? Or how do external factors play a role on the outcome of a relationship? As for the case in "Holding Things Together" and "The Painted Door"; these short stories have a few similarities, but they also have many contrasting factors to take into consideration on why one couple is successful with there relationship while the other is not.
“My happiness is in your hands.”1 This is the Countess’ plea as Susanna enters the Count’s study. She is about to accept the Count’s offer to meet after her wedding at her mistress’s request. This riveting scene in “The Marriage of Figaro” premiered on the stage of the Burgtheater in Vienna on May 1st, 1986.2 With the music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and the libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte, the Italian opera was an adaption of Pierre- Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais’ play “The Follies of a Day or, The Marriage of Figaro”. The play finally made it to the stage on April 27th, 1984, of the Comedie-Française after being banned by King Joseph II and being revised by a second censor board.3 “The Marriage of Figaro” takes place on the wedding day of the Count’s valet, Figaro, and the Countess’s personal maid, Susanna. The Count, who has foresworn the feudal custom of a master deflowering any female servant, has his eyes set on Susanna. Susanna, Figaro, and the Countess plot to reveal the Count’s infidelity. The Countess, lonely and heartbroken, convinces Susanna to arrange a meeting with the Count following her wedding, where the Countess will go in Susanna’s place. Troubles arise, including an amorous teenage boy, a mother with misguided affections and a sour gardener. As plots thicken and confusion grows, all is revealed in the end, and the follies of the day are resolved. While the title features Figaro as the main character, it could be argued that the story revolves around Susanna. Susanna’s development throughout the play can be analyzed on three levels: her individual character, her role in the relationship she and the Countess develop, and the function of their relationship in the greater scheme of the play.
The term sonata was used during the Early Baroque to denote musical works to be played instead of sung (cantata). Sonatas were usually played by a small number of instruments, anywhere from three to a small group of maybe six or eight. These groups were called chamber groups because they usually performed in small spaces, typically rooms in aristocratic homes or palaces. This example illustrates a chamber group playing Bach's Air on the G String from the Suite No. 3 in D.
The orchestration comprises of a standard set of instruments, including two flutes, two clarinets, two oboes, two bassoons, two trumpets, three trombones, four horns, timpani, bass drum, cymbals and strings. An additional instrument is the tuba (Chung 22). Moreover, it appears that the piano is not the only soloist; rather other instruments such as flutes, clarinets and horns make minor appearances for similar purposes.
<td width="50%">Baroque OrchestrasClassical OrchestrasString section and basso continuo central to the orchestra. Other instruments are occasional additions.Standard group of four sections: strings, woodwinds, brass and percussion. Different instruments treated individually.Fairly small; generally 10- 40 players.Larger than baroque; great variation to the numbers of players.Flexible use of timbres, e.g. Timpani and trumpets used generally just for festive music.Standardised sections. Most sections used regularly.Tone colour is distinctly secondary to other musical elements.Greater variety of tone colour and more rapid changes of colour. Timbre is unimportant and therefore a piece written for harpsichord could easily be rearranged for a string section.Each section of the classical orchestra has a special role. And each instrument is used distinctively.Wind instruments mainly used as solo instruments or as part of the basso continuo.The wind section had become a separate unit capable of contrast and distinct colour.The harpsichord generally plays an ostinato under the orchestra. Piano not invented.The piano introduces a third colour-tone to be contrasted with the orchestra
A. The Baroque Wind Band. Lipscomb University, 2007 -. Web. The Web.
The first aspect of the music I recognized was the volume, or the dynamics. It ranged from forte during the climactic moments to mezzo piano during the calmer parts, but mostly remained in this range throughout the concert. There were also several instances of crescendo and decrescendo, which served to build up tension or slow the piece down, respectively.
3 is the second movement of the piece. It lasts around five minutes of the total 22 minutes of the whole Orchestral Suite. Air is written for Trumpet, timpani, oboe, violin, viola and continuo. It is written in major key. The meter is duple, and I would dare to say that it is quadruple. The texture is polyphonic. It has a slow tempo and there is no presence of accelerando nor ritardando. The harmony is consonant. Melody is conjunct and peaceful. Has a lot of repetition. The melody is consistent. The string instruments are prodminant whereas the timpani and oboe just go along with the melody. Esta es una pieza sencilla binaria; claramente no hay devolución del material melódico apertura en la segunda parte del
Countless dozens of Ph.D. theses must be written about Mozart's The Magic Flute, and yet it is so lively with elements of fantasy and free-flying imagination that it is often the first opera to which children are taken. It has a plot of such complexity that it takes several viewings for all but the most studious opera buffs to sort out the characters and follow the ins and outs of the multilevel story. At the same time, it has so much easily accessible charm and so many glorious Mozart tunes that even the novice will be captivated. There is a large cast of characters including the priest Sarastro (a very serious, proselytizing basso), the Queen of the Night (a mean, angry, scheming coloratura), and her daughter, the beautiful and courageous Pamina. There is the handsome hero, Tamino, on the quintessential road trip, and his cohort in misadventure, the bird seller, Papageno.
Opera in the Romantic Period was a time when opera changed drastically, especially in the country of Italy. The recognition of singers as being important, almost irreplaceable, in the art of “bel canto” opera changed the idea of a vocalist in opera forever. A singer’s voice was prized and Italian composers, like Rossini, Donizetti, and Bellini, wrote operas and works to showcase the voice, it’s color, range and agility. These Italian composers were moving away from the normal style of composition of the time, and the composer Rossini, who set the stage for many other followers. Many of the operas written during this time are still performed today and are highly acclaimed.
A sinfonia (Italian for symphony) broadly refers to a number of instrumental works from the Baroque period, including symphonies, sonatas, canzonas, concerti, and Italian opera overtures. Even J.S. Bach titles his “three-part” inventions for harpsichord “Sinfonia”. Torelli’s Sinfonia in D (G.8) is a four-movement “concerto” for trumpet, strings and harpsichord continuo. Unlike a concerto grosso, where a main theme is presented and then reappears in fragments, the main themes of Sinfonia in D are developed rather freely. The second movement (Adagio) is a very short, slow, interlude without trumpet that introduces the third movement (Allegro). Hence, the program shows these two movements as “adagio-allegro” joined together.
In Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, the three men Basilio, Cherubino, and the Count romantically pursue Figaro’s fiancée, Susanna. This combination of romantic feelings comes to a head in the trio “Cosa sento.” Mozart distinguishes the three characters not only through their respective tessituras, but with their three different musical textures as well. Basilio, a tenor, sings in a way that makes him sound innocent and beguiling. The Count sings in a bass’s tessitura, giving his music a powerful and noble sound.
Opera is a unique genre of spoken word and song accompanied by music. The music takes one through ascending and descending ranges of emotions. Mozart's Don Giovanni is a perfect example of how this genre emits a wide variety of feelings and attitudes. This "dark comedy seems to convey Mozart's feeling that events have both comical and serious dimensions…" (Kerman, 205). The opera, as a whole, is neither exclusively comedic nor entirely tragic.
Beaumarchais, Caron De, and John Wood. The Marriage of Figaro. The Barber of Seville and The Marriage of Figaro. London: Penguin, 1964. 106-217. Print.
To give a little background on the play, the pursuit of marriage is the driving force behind the play. “I now pronounce you, man and wife.” This traditional saying, commonly used to announce a newlywed couple during a wedding ceremony, marks the happily ever after that many dream of today. In today’s society, marriage is an expression of love between two individuals. Marriage has not, however, always been an act of love.