大象传媒

Donald Macleod looks at the pivotal roles played by the servants in Mozart's operas Le nozze di Figaro, Cos矛 fan tutte and Don Giovanni.

The characters Mozart creates in his operas are some of the most acutely observed heroes, heroines and villains ever to grace the stage. They reflect both the strengths and the weaknesses of humanity in ways that are still easily recognisable more than two hundred years later.

Born in 1756, the theatre was a life-long passion for Mozart. Starting at the tender age of just 11, in the space of 22 years he produced an astonishing 24 theatrical works. His destiny was to follow in his father鈥檚 footsteps, as a court musician. Instead, by 1781, after a disagreement over his frequent absences from court, Mozart parted ways with his employer, the Elector of Cologne. He left Salzburg and servitude behind, to set himself up in Vienna, a thriving centre for music. The following year he triumphed with his comic singspiel, Die Entf眉hrung aus dem Serail. The succession of works that followed include many of the mainstays of operatic repertory, among them The Magic Flute, which was completed in the year of his death, at the age of 35 in 1791.

This week Donald Macleod finds connecting points between the characters Mozart created for the stage and the composer's own experiences in life. He examines how Mozart struggled to be a dutiful son, and how he tackles honour and duty in Idomeneo, Lucio Silla and Mitridate. The ideas of enlightenment that influenced Mozart's own views find expression in the balance of power he depicts between servants and the ruling classes in The Marriage of Figaro. The composer鈥檚 thorny path to marriage with Constanze also finds him examining the complexities of love in Die Enf眉hrung aus dem Serail and Cos矛 fan tutte. The series ends with Mozart's masterly representation of temptation and evil, as characterised by the ultimate bad boy Don Giovanni and the scheming and manipulative Queen of the Night.

Today, Figaro and Susanna are busy planning their forthcoming nuptials, but their boss, the Count, has some ignoble ideas of his own. Despina teams up with Don Alfonso in a ruse to trick sisters Fiordiligi and Dorabella, and Don Giovanni's servant Leporello is fed up with his lot in life. He always gets the boring jobs to do.

Overture to Le nozze di Figaro
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Georg Solti, conductor

Le nozze di Figaro (Act 1)
Cinque, dieci 鈥�. Se vuol ballare, Signor Contino
Lucia Popp, soprano, Susanna,
Samuel Ramey, baritone, Figaro
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Georg Solti, conductor

La finta giardiniera (Act 1)
Appena mi vedon
Dawn Upshaw, soprano, Serpetta
Concentus Musicus Wien
Nikolaus Harnoncourt, director

Cos矛 fan tutte ( Act 1, Sc 3 excerpt)
In uomini, in soldati 鈥�.alla bella Despinetta
Hanny Steffek, soprano, Despina
Walter Berry, bass, Don Alfonso
Alfredo Kraus, tenor, Ferrando
Giuseppe Taddei, baritone, Guglielmo
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, soprano, Fiordiligi
Christa Ludwig, mezzo-soprano, Dorabella
Philharmonia Orchestra
Karl B枚hm, conductor

Don Giovanni (Act 1)
Notte e giorno faticar
Luca Pisaroni, baritone, Leporello
Diana Damrau, soprano, Donna Anna
Ildebrando d鈥橝rcangelo, bass, Don Giovanni
Vitalij Kowaljow, bass, Il Commendatore
Mahler Chamber Orchestra
Yannick N茅zet-S茅guin, conductor

Don Giovanni (Act 1)
Ah! Chi mi dice mai...Madamina, il catalogo 猫 questo
Joyce di Donato, mezzo-soprano, Donna Elvira
Ildebrando d鈥橝rcangelo, bass, Don Giovanni
Luca Pisaroni, baritone, Leporello
Mahler Chamber Orchestra
Yannick N茅zet-S茅guin, conductor

Producer Johannah Smith for 大象传媒 Wales