How many mozart operas

But music wasn't the only way he improved opera. The excellent plots and realistic, human characters of his works were very novel for the time. In fact, he searched for a good long while before he found a librettist Lorenzo da Ponte who was good enough to write for the composer's music.

The Mozart operas haven't left the performance repertory since the era he wrote them. Amazing - over two hundreds of unbroken performances! He wrote in different styles of opera , depending on the era of his life. In his later operas he deftly combines two or more styles, proving again that he was one of the greatest operatic innovators.

The Elector of Bavaria asked Mozart and librettist Giambattista Varesco to write an opera for a court carnaval in They agreed and created Idomeneo. Based on a legend from the Ancient Greeks, the opera is set on Crete and involves Greeks, Trojans, gods and priests. The story involves the hero rescuring his lover from a Turkish palace.

It's a light-hearted opera, with a strong dash of humor. Since the opera involves Turkish elements, Mozart composed some fitting Turkish-sounding music for it. Turkish art was very popular in Europe then, and this coupled with the fun plot made the opera a smash hit.

Mozart earned quite a decent bit of money from performances of this opera. Some of the arias are astonishingly difficult, filled with complex runs and fast passages. But Mozart replied calmly "There are just as many notes as there should be". Meaning " The Marriage of Figaro ", this opera had an average reception in Vienna when it first premiered in Then Mozart took it to Prague It's an opera buffa in style, with a libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte.

The play it was based on was actually banned in Vienna at first, because it poked fun at the nobility. The entire plot spans a single day. In London he won the admiration of musician Johann Christian Bach — , and he was exposed from an early age to an unusual variety of musical styles and tastes across Europe. From the age of ten to seventeen, Mozart's reputation as a composer grew to a degree of maturity equal to that of most older established musicians.

He spent the years from to at Salzburg writing instrumental works and music for school dramas in German and Latin, and in he produced his first real operas: the German Singspiel that is, with spoken dialogue Bastien und Bastienne. Despite his growing reputation, Mozart found no suitable post open to him; and his father once more escorted Mozart, at age fourteen , and set off for Italy to try to make his way as an opera composer. In Italy, Mozart was well received: in Milan, Italy, he obtained a commission for an opera; in Rome he was made a member of an honorary knightly order by the Pope; and at Bologna, Italy, the Accademia Filarmonica awarded him membership despite a rule normally requiring candidates to be twenty years old.

During these years of travel in Italy and returns to Salzburg between journeys, he produced his first large-scale settings of opera seria that is, court opera on serious subjects : Mitridate , Ascanio in Alba , and Lucio Silla , as well as his first string quartets.

At Salzburg in late he renewed his writing of Symphonies Nos. Paris was a vastly larger theater for Mozart's talents. His father urged him to go there, for "from Paris the fame of a man of great talent echoes through the whole world," he wrote his son. But after nine difficult months in Paris, from March to January , Mozart returned once more to Salzburg, having been unable to secure a foothold and depressed by the entire experience, which had included the death of his mother in the midst of his stay in Paris.

Unable to get hired for an opera, he wrote music to order in Paris, again mainly for wind instruments: the Sinfonia Concertante for four solo wind instruments and orchestra, the Concerto for flute and harp, other chamber music, and the ballet music Les Petits riens. In addition, he began giving lessons to make money.

Mozart's years in Vienna, from age twenty-five to his death at thirty-five, cover one of the greatest developments in a short span in the history of music. In these ten years Mozart's music grew rapidly beyond the realm of many of his contemporaries; it exhibited both ideas and methods of elaboration that few could follow, and to many the late Mozart seemed a difficult composer.

The major instrumental works of this period bring together all the fields of Mozart's earlier activity and some new ones: six symphonies, including the famous last three: no.

He finished these three works within six weeks during the summer of , a remarkable feat even for him. Besides the love drama, another drama unfolds between father and son. Having been rescued from a storm by Poseidon Greek god of the seas , Idomeneo had promised to sacrifce the first human being he would encounter when going on shore.

As fate will have it, that human being turns out to be his son Idamante. On top, Idomeneo learns that his son is in love with the enemy Ilia. Hence he decides to send Idamante together with Elettra to Mykene. But the people of Crete have had enough of the storms, caused, as they believe, by a sea monster. They demand the sacrifice of Idamante. The prince however, kills the sea monster, but still, Poseidon wants to see him dead. At the last moment, Poseidon himself intervenes : Idomeneo shall renounce the throne in favour of Idamante and Ilia.

His daughter Vitellia wants to marry Titus, who in turn is in love with Berenice. What follows is a series of intrigues against Titus. For the love of his people, Titus renounces his love of Berenice, and is ready to marry Servilia. But Servilia loves Annius. Fortunately, the Emperor understands matters of the heart and even offers to marry Servilia and Annius. In the meantime, Vitellia sends out her lover Sextus to kill Titus.

After a failed attempt of murder against him and watching his Capitol burning down, Titus forgives both Sextus and Vitellia.

Surprisingly, the drama is far less feudal than it seems. Unusual for an opera seria, Mozart included eight ensembles. In three of those, the Emperor Titus himself sings alongside his people. If you love Mozart and travel to Europe make sure you experience at least one Mozart concert and one opera on his home continent. Find out in this up-to-date opera calendar for Vienna and embedded sites for Barcelona, Rome, Prague and Venice whether Mozart will be on the menu during your stay.

Venus, the Roman goddess of love, rules Alba and its people with benevolence. She encourages her son to take over and become King of Alba. However, Ascanio is more concerned about marrying Silvia. The happy end: Ascanio and Silvia make their way to the altar. Like many serious Mozart operas, Wolfgang Mozart composed this oeuvre on commission.

Mozart Operas. The opera buffa is a comic Italian opera, in contrast to the opera seria. It was created after the opera seria from around , and was very popular in the Vienna classic era.

The harder his victims are to get, the more enjoyable for him. Subsequently, he erroneously tries to win a former lover Donna Elvira and to burst into the wedding of Zerlina and Masetto. After that, a rather bizarre ghostly encounter takes place: Don Giovanni hears the murdered father of Donna Anna speak from his grave.

He invites him for dinner! Finally, his guest arrives and in turn asks him to join him. Feeling no regrets for all his unscrupulous behaviour, Don Giovanni accepts.

Figaro himself is followed by Marcellina, an old spinster who claims an old promise of Figaro to marry her in return for lending her money. Encouraged by Figaro and Susanna, Rosina decides to win back her husband through a cunning play with Cherubino.