Mozart - The Magic Flute The opera was the culmination of a period of increasing involvement by Mozart with Schikaneders theatrical troupe, which since 1789 had been the resident company at the Theater auf der Wieden. Mozart was a close friend of one of the singer-composers of the troupe, tenor Benedikt Schack (the first Tamino), and had contributed to the compositions of the troupe, which were often collaboratively written. Mozarts participation increased with his contributions to the 1790 collaborative opera Der Stein der Weisen (The Philosophers Stone), including the duet (Nun liebes Weibchen, K. 625/592a) among other passages. Like The Magic Flute, Der Stein der Weisen was a fairy-tale opera and can be considered a kind of precursor; it employed much the same cast in similar roles. The libretto for The Magic Flute, written by Schikaneder, shares much of its plot and many of its characters with the Singspiel Oberon, written by Karl Ludwig Giesecke for the Schikaneder troupe two years earlier (and set to music by Paul Wranitzky) as a re-adaptation of Sophie Seylers Singspiel Hüon und Amande. Mozart evidently wrote keeping in mind the skills of the singers intended for the premiere, which included both virtuosi and ordinary comic actors asked to sing for the occasion. Thus, the vocal lines for Papageno—sung by Schikaneder himself—and Monostatos (Johann Joseph Nouseul) are often stated first in the strings so the singer can find his pitch, and are frequently doubled by instruments. In contrast, Mozarts sister-in-law Josepha Hofer, who premiered the role of the Queen of the Night, evidently needed little such help: this role is famous for its difficulty. In ensembles, Mozart skillfully combined voices of different ability levels.m.youtube/watch?v=MP-o-hBTelIMP-o-hBTelI
Posted on: Mon, 25 Aug 2014 07:52:37 +0000
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