|
Back
Mythical Pirates, Musical Genius New York
Sosnoff Theater, Bard College
08/16/2026 -
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: The Abduction from the Seraglio (“Die Entführung aus dem Serai”) (Based on Bretzner novel)
Stefano de Peppo (Pasha Selim); Jana McIntyre (Konstanze); Catherine Creed (Blondchen); Minghao Liu (Belmonte); Aaron Blake (Pedrillo); Harold Wilson (Osmin)
Marco Nistico (Stage Direction); Rafaël Newman (Dialogue Translation); John Horzel (Video Projection); James Bagwell (Choral Director); Bard Festival Chorale; Leon Botstein (Conductor, Music Director); American Symphony Orchestra
”"Too beautiful for our ears, my dear Mozart, and monstrous many notes.”
Emperor Joseph II after the first performance of Abduction from the Seraglio.
”Only as many notes as are needed”
Mozart’s riposte
S,DiPeppo, H.Wilson,C.Creed, M.Hao, L.Botstein (back), A.Blake(©Giselle A.Cat)
Decapitations, or deportations to Equatorial Guinea would befall any composers/librettists or directors who dared produce a musical comedy about our “Nine-Eleven”. But from the tme of Cervantes (who was indeed a prisoner) through Rossini and Bizet, comedies about Islamic corsairs capturing “kaffir” ships in the east Mediterranean were all the rage.
Add to this the burlesque of Ottoman music by Haydn, Mozart and the finale of Beethoven’s Ninth.
The apogee of piratical drollery was of course Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Abduction from the Seraglio. After all, the young Mozart was not only happy to have a profitable commission. But he the always-childish composer was intrigued with the cymbals, gongs, drums and brassy noises from the mysterious Orient.
Mozart loved it, Vienna in 1787 loved it, and only a sourpuss like the Emperor thought it had “too many notes.”
The opera was the climax of Bard College’s Summerscape. For what is not to like? Mozart gave us a dashing hero, a lovelorn heroine, and a pair of Muslim clowns. Add to this, from overture to finale, lots of pseudo-Turkish music, a chorus of Janiserries and–-best of all–Mozart arias which could fit into any of his “great” last operas.
One shouldn’t say the climax was a deus ex machina. An Allah ex Machina is more fitting.
The opera was caviar for Leon Botstein. One may have reservations for his conservative Berlioz or Richard Strauss operas at Bard. Yet by playing it “safe” in Abduction, without turning the humor into burlesque, by conducting an extraordinary series of solos (flute, oboe, violin and cello before Konstanze’s aria, Mr. Botstein gave admirable impetus to the comedy
He also let those “Turkish” trumpets, drums and triangles bang away. Mozart would have been thrilled.
This was a “semi-staged” concert performance, with visuals projected on the screen during the English-language recitatives. I’m uncertain whether the English-garden blooms or Georgian windows were terribly North African, but they were hardly displeasing.
And now we come to the voices. “Pasha” Stefano di Peppo was the strong literally silebt type. But he certainly looked stately. On the other hand, his elderly servant Osmin, while a comic character, let his basso profundo voice–down to a very low D–carry his comic arias.
The other “servant” was Konstanze’s Blondchen, sung by soprano Catherine Creed. Coming on the other soprano voice of Ms. McIntyre, one had the initial feeling a certain shrillness . But oh! That was a mistake.
Blondchen is more than Konstanze’s maid. She is an English maid. And Mozart, who loved England (and spoke quite good English) probably pictured an engaging but nagging Blondchen. (He probably would have called her “Blondie”!)
In an opera where melody was all, Pedrillo, Belmonte’s servant, was the physical clown. From the start, Aaron Blake not only had a splendid resonant voice, but his movements, his standup-comedy routines, his argument with blockhead Osmin were a live-wire physicality to the whole production.
Two of the thankless character roles were hero and heroine. Neither Minghao Liu or Jane McIntyre gave much personality to the usual love-stricken Belmonte or the prisoner Konstanze. Mr. Liu, while stiff in his movements, or too well-practiced in his amorous scenes, has a lovely tenor voice, If the feelings don’t match his silver tones in his Third Act “I build my faith upon your power,” his phrasing would have called for an repeated encore in 18th Century Vienna.
Ms McIntyre was a different story. Her entrance aria was sung with beauty–but her moderate vocal throttle literally reverberated off the walls of the Sonoroff Theater with the Second Act “torture” aria. A piece with endless fluttering scales, reaching an effortless high D, were absolutely ravishing.
As for Konstance, Belmont, Blondchen and Pedrillo, their Act 2 quartet musically was a tour de force, and, to this listener, the musical lodestone of the whole opera.
One must be honest. This singspiel is musically no Magic Flute. And the chamber drama is hardly has the electfiying joy of Da Ponte’s Così fan tutte.
Never mind. One of Leon Botstein’s virtues is to shed light on buried near-mastpieces. And with this Abduction, he uncovered some radiant jewels.
Harry Rolnick
|
