Bell Ringer – 12/12/2013 m.socrative.com - Room #38178 QUESTION: 1. What are Pierre de Beaumarchais 2 most famous plays? USE YOUR DEVICES IF YOU HAVE ONE – its so much quicker to grade when you submit them electronically!!!

Opera - General Generally COMIC – not sentimental Every word is sung – music continues throughout the entire production Drama is propelled by song Did often include ballet, but not always Ballets would not include singing (only danced to instrumental music)

The Marriage of Figaro Comic Opera 1786 by Mozart Libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte, based on the stage play by Pierre Beaumarchais Libretto: the text or words of an opera The play was, at first, banned in Vienna because of its disregard to the rules Poked fun at government officials

The Marriage of Figaro Mozart’s librettist got permission for the opera First of 3 collaborations between Mozart and Da Ponte Don Giovanni (based on the ballet Don Juan) was the second Mozart selected the play and brought it to Da Ponte (who turned it into a libretto in 6 weeks) He removed all the original political references For example: he replaced a speech by Figaro against inherited nobility to an aria about unfaithful wives

The Marriage of Figaro Mozart got 450 florins for the work 3 times what he made in a YEAR when he was a court musician in Salzburg Premiered in Vienna on May Mozart conducted the first 2 performances himself 9 performances total The work was revived in 1789 Replaced 2 arias with original compositions

Activity We will now read a short summary of the plot of “The Marriage of Figaro” as well as some historical and literary background on the work. You have questions to answer as we go – we will do these as a class You might be asked to SUMMARIZE this opera on your test next week….

Watch – The Marriage of Figaro Act 4 – Mistaken Identities in the Garden

The Magic Flute 2 act opera by Mozart A “Singspiel” – includes both singing and spoken dialogue (similar to a “musical” today) Premiered in 1791 in Vienna Comic Opera

The Magic Flute Mozart was a close friend to one of the singers of the Schikaneder’s theatrical troupe (the resident company at the Theater auf der Wieden in Vienna) and wrote the opera for the troupe The libretto was written by Schikaneder himself Mozart wrote with the singers in mind – there were trained singers, but also several comic actors that were not the best singers Melodic lines are often played by the orchestra and then sung (so the singers could find the pitch and hear what their line should sound like)

The Magic Flute The opera drew immense crowds and reached 100s of performances during the 1790s Its success lifted Mozart – he had fallen ill just weeks before the premiere The 100 th performance was on November 1792 – Mozart did not get to witness this performance He died December 5, 1791 One of the most beloved works in the operatic repertoire – the 4 th most frequently performed world wide

Activity We will now read a short summary of the plot of “The Magic Flute” You have questions to answer as we go – they’re on the BACK of the Marriage of Figaro Questions You might be asked to SUMMARIZE this opera on your test next week….