Overture from Opera "The Abduction from the Seraglio"

Mozart adored the theatre and he never missed seeing a new play in Vienna. At the time, the Austrian Emperor Joseph II was fascinated by the idea of developing German national opera and saw its future in the singspiel. The leading Viennese composers Gluck and Salieri, however, treated the genre haughtily; Mozart was destined to realise his idea. Gottlieb Stefani, director of the National Singspiel Theatre, approached the composer to write a zingspiel based on his libretto for the recently published Belmont and Constanze, or The Abduction from the Seraglio by Christoph Friedrich Bretzner (already transformed into an opera by Johann André). The idea was to be a surprise to commemorate the visit of Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich of Russia and his wife to Vienna. Mozart set to work with gusto. "Stefani's verses are not the best" - he shared with his father - "but they appeal to me, as they suit my concept". The visit was postponed, however, and then two operas by Gluck were chosen for this celebration. The Emperor ordered Mozart's new opera, called The Abduction from the Serglio (K. 384), to be staged on 16 July 1782 at the Burgtheater. Mozart conducted the premiere, and the success was incredible - all the seats in the hall were sold out and every aria was applauded with thunderous cheers. Thus was born the first German national opera in the singspiel style. And for the first time, the individual musical numbers are paired not with traditional recitatives, but with speech scenes and dialogues in German. The Emperor was fascinated, but did not hesitate to say to Amadeus, "It is too wonderful for our ears and it has too many notes, dear Mozart!" to which he objected good-naturedly, "Your Majesty, there are as many notes as needed."

The oriental theme on which The Abduction from the Seraglio is built was very popular in those days and quite conveniently merged with the idea of democratising opera. The general public was already tired of pompous heroic plots. Here, the plot reveals Belmonte's peripatetic quest to find his fiancée Constanze, kidnapped by pirates along with his maid Blonde and servant Pedrillo, and then ransomed by Selim Pasha. The story ends happily - the rich Turk, touched by the love of the youths trying to escape from the barracks, frees them. The overture to the opera swiftly brings us into the story. This is how Wolfgang describes it to his father: 'The overture is quite short, the forte and piano change throughout, with the Turkish music always coming in at the forte. So it goes on in continuous modulations. And I doubt if anyone who has even had a sleepless night could fall asleep to it." For the "Turkish" music Mozart uses characteristic percussion instruments such as cymbals, triangles, drums, accompanied by sparkling piccolo flutes, and in the minor middle lyrical section there is a theme from Belmonte's first aria.