Mozart
Child Mozart in
Schönbrunn Palace
Rameau and Paisiello Operas First Performed
Classical Music Datebook: August 23
Operas of Rameau and Paisiello Premieres
- Jean-Philippe Rameau’s opera-ballet Les Indes galantes premieres in Paris on August 23, 1735.
- Giovanni Paisiello’s opera Il Re Teodoro in Venezia premieres in Vienna this day, in 1784.
Related Article:
French Opera Beginnings
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Richard Wagner Opera Siegfried
Wagner Opera Siegfried: Plot, Synopsis & Character Descriptions of a German Opera
Siegfried is the third of the four operas that comprise Richard Wagner‘s Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung). It was first performed at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus, Germany, on 16 August 1876, as part of the first complete performance of The Ring. Hans Richter conducted.
Siegfried, the opera, incorporates an earlier symphonic poem music of Wagner, Siegfried Idyll, which he composed for his wife, Cosima.
This part of Siegfried opera is primarily inspired by the story of the legendary hero Sigurd in the Norse mythology.
The opera is in 3 acts.
Major Characters Roles
- Mime (tenor)
- Siegfried (tenor)
- Wanderer/Wotan (bass baritone)
- Brunnhilde (dramatic soprano)
Minor Character Roles
- Alberich (bass)
- Fafner (bass)
- Forest Bird Voice (soprano)
- Erda (contralto)
Synopsis of Wagner’s Opera Siegfried
Act I. Cave in the Forest
Scene 1. Alberich’s brother, Mime, rears Siegfried after his mother Sieglinde’s death. Mime wants the ring and the gold, which are being guarded by Fafner, disguised as a dragon. Unfortunately, Mime could not reforge the broken sword of Siegfried’s father, Siegmund. Scene 2. Wotan the wanderer visits Mime and agrees to answer his questions. Scene 3. Siegfried returns and reforges the sword.
Act II. The Depths of the Forest
Scene 1. Finding Alberich keeping vigil by Fafner’s cave, Wotan tells the dwarf that Siegfried is coming to slay Fafner. Scene 2. Mime brought Siegfried to the den to learn fear, but Siegfried is unmoved and kills Fafner. Scene 3. The dragon’s blood gives Siegfried the power to hear people’s thoughts. He soon realizes that Mime means to kill him. Siegfried kills Mime first and follows a wood bird to the rock where Brunnhilde lies, surounded by a ring of fire.
Act III. Scene 1 & 2. Wild area at the foot of a rocky mountain. Scene 3. Brunnhilde’s rock
Scene 1. Wotan consults Erda. Scene 2. He meets Siegfried and is annoyed by Siegfried’s arrogance. Siegfried breaks Wotan’s spear to get to Brunnhilde. Scene 3. At the summit of Brunnhilde’s rock, Siegfried makes his way through the ring of fire, awakens Brunnhilde, and falls in love with her.
Related Articles:
- In This ‘Ring,’ Wagner Gets a Touch of Marx by Anthony Tommasini, New York Times, May 15, 2009. Accessed August 16, 2011.
Source:
The Da Capo Opera by Nicholas Ivor Martin, Da Capo Press (1997).
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Mozart Librettist Lorenzo da Ponte
Lorenzo Da Ponte, Italian Librettist
Da Ponte wrote the libretti of Mozart’s three best Italian operas.
Biography of Lorenzo Da Ponte’s life and times, Italian librettist who wrote three of Mozart’s four best operas.
Lorenzo da Ponte is a significant librettist of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. He wrote three texts of Mozart’s four most famous Italian operas – Le Nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni and Così fan tutte.
Full article of Lorenzo da Ponte’s Biography
Mozart’s music excerpted from Le Nozze di Figaro is captured here. Enjoy!
URL: Le Nozze di Figaro (Courtesy of YouTube)
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(Originally reposted Sept 28, 2007.)
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Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro First Performed
Mozart Opera Milestone, May 1.
Le Nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), K.492, First Performed.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart opera buffa Le Nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), K.492, is first performed in Burgtheater, Vienna, on this day, May 1, 1786. Performers were Benucci, Storace, Mandini and Kelly.
This opera is in four acts with text written by Lorenzo Da Ponte, based on the comedy La Folle Journee, ou Le Mariage de Figaro (1778) by Beaumarchais.
The Marriage of Figaro by Mozart is a comic social satire, a sequel to Rossini’s The Barber of Seville (Il barbieri di Siviglia). Playwright Pierre Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais wrote both stories as plays. Mozart picked up The Marriage of Figaro while Rossini chose The Barber of Seville. Credited as one of the best known librettists of Mozart, Lorenzo Da Ponte has kept most of the complicated parts of Beaumarchais’ satirical comedy. Mozart, brilliantly managed to reflect the mood of the characters with his enchanting music as ever, despite working constraints of the old opera comedy.
Le Nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro) is considered one of the best operas by Mozart, alongside The Magic Flute, Don Giovanni and Cosi fan tutte, and highly played in opera houses around the world.
More of Mozart’s operas can be found under Mozart Operas Category.
Video Credit: YouTube
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