Mozart and his Opera Writing

A detailed Summary of Mozart and his Opera Writing

Considered one of the greatest musicians to have lived during the classical period in musical history, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Salzburg, Austria, Jan. 27, 1756, the son of Leopold Mozart and his wife, Anna Maria Pertl. Wolfgang came from a family that was saturated with musical talent. His father, Leopold was a successful composer and violinist and assistant concertmaster at the Salzburg court. He had an older sister, Maria Anna who played the keyboard and toured with Wolfgang. Mozart composed a variety of works and but among his most acclaimed works are the operas Don Giovanni, The Magic Flute, and The Marriage Figaro. Mozart may be considered the most acclaimed opera writers, and one should recognize this over any other fact about Mozart.

Wolfgang showed incredible musical talent at a very early age, composing when he was five and when he was six playing for the Austrian empress. He was a child prodigy and his father, Leopold felt that it would be in the best interest for Wolfgang to showoff his talent, so when he was six the family embarked on a series of concert tours through Europe's courts and major cities. Mozart amazed his audiences with his skills; he played to the French

What the Lorenzo da Ponte operas show is that Mozart is a pioneer in classical operas and proves that his genus is unparalleled; he is capable of composing with elegant work ranging from comedies to tragic tails. "Had his pitifully short life been longer, it is quite possible that an innovative genius such as Mozart would have gone on to write more comic operas in the Italian style, more tragic or semi-tragic works, and more examples of Singspiel." (Boerner). With him it is truly the case that anything would have been possible. In some ways Mozart's successors had good reason to be relieved that he died when he did. Although Mozart died at the age of thirty-five, his legacy of music is incredible, not just in number but in diversity. His works span a wide variety from the lively to tender and gentle.

Like Haydn, who Mozart took a particular interest in, Mozart spent most of his life forced to work under people just to make a living. Though Mozart knew he did not want to compose music as a servant to someone. For such a great musician Mozart had little freedom to work for himself. He wanted to be able to work freely without limitations to works. Though he composed music through inspiration and superior knowledge, he was continually criticized for any composition that was not admired by the superiors. The ideas of Mozart's operas "...bring a new emotional weight to comic opera. Two-act form came to be preferred, especially in comic opera, at this period."(Tanner).

and English royal families, and had his first music published in Paris, where he wrote his earliest symphonies. The first works of young Mozart that were published were four sonatas written in 1764. The Mozart family continued to tour and while in Vienna, in 1768, Wolfgang composed his first opera, La Finta Sem

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Approximate Word count = 1210
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Music