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. Papageno ultimately finds his Papagena (who starts out disguised as a crone), Tamino ultimately wins Pamina, Sarastro presumably wins a passle of converts, and everyone goes home humming the catchy Mozart melodies. It is all presented in a plot complicated by a dragon, a threesome of warbling ladies in service to the Queen of the Night, another threesome of boy-angels, even a bully - Monostatos, guard for the Queen. It is lightened by such elements as locked lips, charmed animals, and, of course, a magic flute.
Mozart wrote The Magic Flute in 1791, just after the French Revolution and just before he died. Haydn had introduced Mozart to Freemasonry, and the opera is full of the ideas (the autonomy of the individual, self-determination, appalling sexism), the ideals (power, wisdom, beauty), and the symbols (aprons, hammers, compasses, a pyramid with an ...
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...came inaudible as Hölle dipped out of his range. Erika Miklosa has neither the range, nor the vocal skills, nor the temperament of the Queen of the Night; she might make a good Queen of High Tea. In short, a highly uneven musical evening, and one in which the music was never able to soar and beguile as The Magic Flute must.
Komische Oper is the third tier company in Berlin, in budget as well as in ticket prices. This has the distinct advantage of making opera accessible to young people and there were plenty in the audience the other night, rarely seen, one would guess, at the other houses here and almost never in the US. But while young people may be wooed to opera with overdone productions, they are not likely to become devotees unless they are captured with beautifully sung music. Otherwise, it's back to The Phantom Menace, where the scenery doesn't get stuck.
The main characters are Bright Morning, Running Bird, Nehana, Rosita, Señora, and Tall Boy. The point of view is told by Bright Morning, a 14 year old brave girl who is a tall and skinny Indian girl, with a chipped tooth who loves her tribe, family, and her dog. Running Bird is a 14 year old Indian girl who is best friends and gets enslaved by the Spaniards with Bright Morning. Nehana is the 14
Sadie, Stanley. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Essays on his Life and his Music. United States: Oxford University Press. 1996, Print.
Throughout history, child prodigies have been celebrated as objects of envy and adulation. Rarely, however, have they been understood. Often taunted by peers, hounded by the press, prodded by demanding parents and haunted by outsize expectations of greatness, they are treated as wondrous curiosities. But their stories are often a sad and captivating one, marked by early achievement and the promise of something greater. The letters exchanged between Mozart and his family reflect a wider story of how complications arise during a prodigy's transition into adulthood with evidence of immense pressure from his father, immaturity, and the eventual need to lead a normal life.
Alexandra Rannow sounds like she is a soprano which would make sense since this song has some high C’s and requires the singer to sing at a higher pitch. A contralto would have trouble hitting these high notes. This piece had sections where is was sung in legato which was amazing since Alexandra definitely sung it smoothly and it had a few parts were it was in Staccato which was also nicely done. The dynamics were accurately sung compared to professional recordings of this piece. The transitions from piano to forte were phenomenal because Alexandra didn’t rush through the transitions but she rather evened it out. The same goes for the crescendos and decrescendos. The long crescendos and decrescendos were smooth and same for the short ones. Some people have the tendency to rush through them and not sing them evenly. The closest description to Alexandra’s transition from decrescendo to crescendo was like watching t...
castrato soprano, lovely to watch and to listen to however pitiful in plot and lightweight
Mozart will forever be known as one of the top five composers of all time. His influence stretches across the world and even into today’s music. The story of his life is one of fascination and mystery, but his greatness is undoubted. His story will live on through time and perhaps, inspire future musicians to be great.
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.
Probably the greatest genius in Western musical history, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Salzburg, Austria, Jan. 27, 1756, the son of Leopold Mozart and his wife, Anna Maria Pertl. Leopold was a successful composer and violinist and assistant concertmaster at the Salzburg court, whose archbishop, Sigismund von Schrattenbach, encouraged the activities of Leopold and his remarkable children.
In 1927, Edgar Istel wrote an article on Mozart 's opera The Magic Flute that stated "The Magic Flute represented his [Mozart 's] highest achievement in the realm of German opera." (Istel, 1927). This statement deemed The Magic Flute more powerful than his earlier works Don Giovanni, Cosi Fan Tutte, and Tito which were all set in an Italian opera style. Istel also states, "(…) he succeeded, in truly Shakespearian fashion, in combining into a complete picture of most unique sort the elements of comedy with those deeper emotions whose impress the chastening influence of time had left on his own nature" (Istel, 1927); subsequently, telling us that the Shakespearian influence seen in Mozart 's work was one that has gone appreciated for
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was undoubtedly one of the greatest composers of not only the classical era, but of all time. On January 27, 1756 in Salzburg, Austria, Mozart was born into an already musically talented family. His father Leopold, a composer and musician, and sister Nannerl toured parts of Europe giving many successful performances, including some before royalty. At the young age of 17, Mozart was appointed Konzertmeister at the Salzburg Court. It was there that young Mozart composed two successful operas: “Mitridate” and “Lucio Silla”. In 1981 he was dismissed from his position at the Salzburg Court. He went on to compose over 600 works including 27 piano Concertos, 18 Masses (including his most famous, the Requiem), and 17 piano sonatas. Mozart was not often known for having radical form or harmonic innovation but rather, most of his music had a natural flow, repetition and simple harmonic structure.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart composed an exemplary piece of classical music that can be seen in television and films of the twenty-first century. Mozart would hear a complete piece in his head before he would write it down. He created pieces that had simple melodies, but also the orchestration sounded rich. Out of the forty-one symphonies Mozart composed, I have chosen Mozart’s Symphony No. 40 in G minor or better known as The Great G Minor Symphony, written in 1788. Mozart’s Symphony No. 40 is considered the most popular out of all forty-one symphonies because the opening movement is very memorable. Mozart’s Symphony No. 40 is effectively composed through the use of a specific form, elements of music, and using the appropriate instruments so one can see brilliant scenes unfolding.
The flute has seen many changes from its start as a singular piece of bone to the modern day silver flute with keys and an intricate mechanism. A pivotal time in the development of the flute was during the classic era and the years 1750 – 1900. Not only did the flute’s physical appearance change, but so did its role in musical works. Changes to the flute led to a growing importance in the musical realm. Although the flute was once used as an accompanying instrument, the growth during this time period led to the flute being capable of standing on its own in solo repertoire.
This paper discusses Mozart's life, his compositions and his importance to the world and the world of music. It explains how Mozart's music is still some of the most popular classical music played today and his life is still studied because his music is so well known and liked.
The 1984 film Amadeus, directed by Miloš Forman, told the story of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart story in such a way that an individual watching more than likely would have never imagined such a brilliant musician’s life having been the way it was portrayed in the film. When many people think of Mozart today, the thought of his skill to compose musical masterpieces is probably the first of many things to come to mind – his work speaks for itself; Mozart’s operas and symphonies are beautiful, so comparing it to the eighteenth century Classical era, Mozart’s work had to have been much loved and appreciated, right? Well, according to Amadeus, this was not necessarily the case.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born on January 27, 1756, in Salzburg, Germany. Born to Leopold Mozart, a violinist and a minor composer, learning music was a must for Amadeus. He was the youngest of seven children, even though most of his brothers and sisters died in early childhood. His eldest sister, Maria “Nannerl” Anna, began keyboard lessons at the age of seven with her father, while three-year-old Amadeus watched and listened. This acted as the first footstep for young Mozart’s long musical journey.