Inhalt:
Mozart was the first composer whose operas have never left the international
repertoire, and for many he remains one of the finest vocal composers who
ever lived. In a sense, all of his music is vocal music, depending as it does
on arresting, singable melodies, but in his great operas, single arias and
sacred works, Mozart put his melodic gift to work, revealing the subtleties
and expressive potential of a wide range of texts in languages ranging from
Italian to Latin to German. In every case, he created masterpieces, from
operas such as The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni, and The Magic Flute to
the sacred choral motet Ave Verum Corpus and, of course, the unfinished
Requiem, his final project.
This second Getting the Most Out of Mozart volume in our Unlocking the
Masters series focuses on Mozart's great operas and other vocal works, but
also discusses numerous lesser-known compositions, from operas he wrote as a
child to insertion arias for favorite singers or operas by other composers.
In each case, David Hurwitz describes how the musical setting and choice of
instruments supports the text. He takes readers through the seven major
operas aria by aria, showing how Mozart uses vocal style and orchestration to
create believable and moving characters that remain the standard for
characterization in music to which all composers and dramatists aspire.