Così Fan Tutte, ossia La scuola degli amanti, or more familiarly known as Così Fan Tutte, is one of Mozart’s last operas, translated as “Women are all alike, or The School of Lovers.” Being named as such, the principal theme of this opera is the fickleness and infidelity of women. The libretto of this piece was written by Lorenzo da Ponte, who was also the librettist for Don Giovanni and La nozze de Figaro, two other renowned operas of Mozart’s.1 This opera was first performed in Vienna at the Burgtheater, on January 26th, 1790.2 Though the exact origin of the story Ponte based his libretto on is unclear, many people at the time believed that the story was based on a scandal in Emperor Joseph II’s court, where two Viennese officers were rumored to have had a bet on proving the fidelity of their girlfriends---which just so happens to be the principal plotline of the opera. Ironically enough, Emperor Joseph II himself, a devoted admirer of Mozart’s works, was also the one to commission Cosi Fan Tutte after The Marriage of Figaro, one of Mozart’s most successful works. Unfortunately, however, the opera was not well received by viewers and the opera was seen as immoral and ludicrous. It wasn’t until the 19th century, long after Mozart’s death, did the Cosi Fan Tutte make its comeback and slowly gain recognition as another masterpiece.3
Opera
This opera, commonly classified as an opera buffa (comical opera), is actually a dramma giocoso, an opera that mixes qualities from both opera seria (serious opera) and opera buffa.1
Summary
The opera is in two parts—the first act showing the devotion of the women to their husbands, and the second showing the changes in their hearts. The setting of this opera is in Naples, Italy, and ...
... middle of paper ...
...acked by either oboe or trumpets when they are trying to make a statement (like in Fiordiligi’s Come scoglio, which was previously mentioned), and she is firmly rejecting the disguised Ferrando’s advances. Despina, who is impish and lacking this ‘gentleness’, is usually backed by a combination of woodwinds excluding clarinet.
Bibliography
1 http://inkpot.com/classical/cosi.html
2 http://www.harmetz.com/soprano/synopsis/cosifantutte.htm
3 Opera Classics Library, Mozart’s Cosi Fan Tutte. Opera Journeys Publishing [2004]
4 http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/history/stories/synopsis.aspx?id=119
5 http://imslp.org/wiki/Così_fan_tutte,_K.588_(Mozart,_Wolfgang_Amadeus)
6 http://www.wolfgang-amadeus.at/en/music_of_Mozart.php
7 Famous Mozart Operas; An Analytical Guide for the Opera-Goer and Armchair Listener. Spike Hughes. New York, Dover Publications [1972]
Cosi fan Tutte shows that anyone can be deceived or be the deceiver, can love for real, for fake, and desire pride or lust, and fall into a crisis. It is interesting (and certainly amusing) how all of these five words connect with each other. Was love between the two men and two women genuine? Who was the deceiver and deceived? Was it because of the men’s failure to trust, or women’s failure to resist desire? Is there always such a crisis in a relationship? All these questions make one wonder. One thing for sure is that there is a positive and a negative side to these words. Gender does not matter, in the four characters’ situation, both perspectives of the words applied. The five words have shown me that there is a double meaning, or a duality in
In his day, Johann Adolph Hasse was at the forefront of Italian opera. Although he composed a fair amount of sacred works, he is best known for his operatic output. He was widely popular throughout Italy and Germany, and was commissioned by courts and opera houses throughout Europe. His performances were attended by cultural figures at the time, as well as some of the biggest names in common-era music today. In his later life, styles changed and so Hasse’s acclaim diminished after his death. But generations later, he was re-established as a figurehead and icon of classic ancient Italian opera, a designation he possesses even today.
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.
At this point in our civilization the play’s fascination and its horror may be greater than ever before because we have been made so very sensitive to the issues of race, class, and gender that are woven into the texture of Othello. [. . .] The issue of gender is especially noticeable in the final scenes of the play – with the attacks on Bianca, Emilia, and Desdemona – which are vivid reminders of how terrible the power traditionally exerted by men over women can be. (xiii-xiv)
One of the most interesting challenges in operatic composition , is composing for all the specific characters. A composer has to distinguish between characters through his music. Jan can’t sound like Fran , and Dan can’t sound like Stan. Each character must have his or her own traits. Mozart’s opera , Don Giovanni , provides us with many different characters to compare and contrast. One scene in particular lends itself to the comparison of Don Giovanni , Leporello , and The Commendator. Scene fifteen of Act two, places all three characters in close interaction with each other , making it easy to compare and find out how Mozart and his Librettist Lorenzo da Ponte brought them all to life.
Eastern Washington University Department of Music presented a program of Opera works by Giacomo Puccini, Aron Copland, W.A. Mozart, John Dowland, Franz Shubert, Maurice Ravel, and Robert Schumann on Friday, March 7, 6:30 p.m., in the Music Building, Recital Hall. These Opera works were sung by Senior Recitalist, Alexandra Rannow.
The William Shakespeare tragedy Othello features various types of love, but none compare to the love we find between the protagonist and his wife. In this essay let us examine “love” as found in the play.
At this point in our civilization the play’s fascination and its horror may be greater than ever before because we have been made so very sensitive to the issues of race, class, and gender that are woven into the texture of Othello. [. . .] The issue of gender is especially noticeable in the final scenes of the play – with the attacks on Bianca, Emilia, and Desdemona – which are vivid reminders of how terrible the power traditionally exerted by men over women can be. (xiii-xiv)
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.
A Short History of Opera: 4th Edition. New York: Columbia University Press, 2003. Simon, Henry W. 100 Great Operas and Their Stories. New York: Penguin Books, 1994 New York: Anchor Books, 1989. Osborne, Charles.
Mahler's early career was spent at a serious of regional opera houses (Hall in 1880, Laibach in 1881, Olmutz in 1882, Kassel in 1883, Prague in 1885, Liepzig in 1886-8, Budapest from 1886-8, and Hamburg from 1891-7), a normal career path, until he arrived as head of the Vienna Opera in 1897. Mahler ended some of the more slovenly performance pra...
Some of Mozart’s famous pieces were A Little Night Music (Eine kleine Nachtmusik), 1787, Don Juan (Don Giovanni), 1787, The Marriage of Figaro (Le nozze di Figaro), 1786, and The Magic Flute (Die Zauberflöte), 1791. A Little Night Music or Eine kleine Nachtmusik was admired for its lively, joyful quality, and its memorable melodies. In the 21st century, A Little Night Music remains the most frequently performed and iconic of all classical compositions. The second I heard this piece I knew exactly what it was, and loved the sound of the string instruments. Don Giovanni was one of the greatest operas of all that capture enormous power. It also portrayed the feat of the
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.
The Classical Period brought forward new musical innovation. The sudden change in emotion and contrast in the music from the classical era is one of the many fascinating topics. However, the topic most talked about to this very day is Mozart’s Requiem. The mystery of which parts were composed by Mozart puzzles many. Even the rumor that surrounds Mozart’s cause of death is fascinating. Peter Shaffer’s play Amadeus, added more controversy to this intriguing mystery.
According to Walter, Tasso and Guarini developed new conventions of pastoral drama that later became wide-spread (100). Shakespeare’s pastoral plays show several similarities with the plays by Tasso and Guarini. First of all, both Aminta and Il Pastor Fido are set in Arcadia, a pastoral world far removed from the chaos of the city. In the case of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and As You Like It, the play is set in a forest, whereas The Tempest is set on a deserted island. In all three plays, the plot develops away from the court. Another convention of Italian pastorals, developed by Agostino Beccari in his play Sacrifizio, is a complicated romantic plot (Walter 84). The complicated love triangles in both A Midsummer Night’s Dream and As You Like It mirror those in Guarini’s Il Pastor Fido. In A Midsummer Night’s Dream especially, the romantic plot is parallel to that of Il Pastor Fido in both onset and resolution, although it develops differently. In As You Like It, the relationship between Silvius and Phebe is similar to the one between Aminta and Silvia in Tasso’s play. Furthermore, Il Pastor Fido features two characters cross-dressing in order to observe and seduce their romantic counterparts. In both cases, this indirectly influences the resolution of the plot. In