Mozart's Operas (Centennial Books): (a Centennial Book) - Softcover

Heartz, Daniel; Bauman, Thomas

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0520078721 ISBN 13: 9780520078727

Publisher: University of California Press, 1992

Synopsis

In this title, renowned Mozart scholar Daniel Heartz brings his deep knowledge of social history, theater, and art to a study of the last and great decade of Mozart's operas. Mozart specialists will recognize some of Heartz's best-known essays here; but six pieces are new for the collection, and others have been revised and updated with little-known documents on the librettist's, composer's, and stage director's craft. All lovers of opera will value the elegance and wit of Professor Heartz's writing, enhanced by thirty-seven illustrations, many from his private collection. The volume includes Heartz's classic essay on "Idomeneo" (1781), the work that continued to inspire and sustain Mozart through his next, and final, six operas. Thomas Bauman brings his special expertise to a discussion of "Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail" (1782). The ten central chapters are devoted to the three great operas composed to librettos by Lorenzo da Ponte - "Le nozze di Figaro" (l786), "Don Giovanni" (l787), and "Cosi fan tutte" (l790). The reader is treated to fresh insights on da Ponte's role as Mozart's astute and stage-wise collaborator, on the singers whose gifts helped shape each opera, and on the musical connections among the three works. Parallels are drawn with some of the greatest creative artists in other fields, such as Moliere, Watteau, and Fragonard. The world of the dance, one of Heartz's specialties, lends an illuminating perspective as well. Finally, the essays discuss the deep spirituality of Mozart's last two operas, "Die Zauberflote" and "La Clemenza di Tito" (both l79l). They also address the pertinence of opera outside Vienna at the end of the century, the fortunes and aspirations of Freemasonry in Austria, and the relation of Mozart's overtures to the dramaturgy of the operas.

About this title

Review

"Heartz's style is easy, almost conversational in tone. He has the great gift of being able to describe a complex sequence of shifting tonalities and textures so lucidly that he makes the drama come excitingly alive in purely verbal imagery. . . . A most welcome addition to the classics of the Mozart literature."--Alec Hyatt King, "The Musical Times

From the Back Cover

'The book is bursting with perceptive observations of detail that will enrich any sentient reader's understanding of Mozart's musical and dramatic acumen, and that many teachers will be able to use to guide their students through the operas.' --Mary Hunter, 'Notes'

Edition details

• Publisher: University of California Press
• Publication date: 1992
• ISBN 10: 0520078721
• ISBN 13: 9780520078727
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 382