Geek alert! For my operatic friends...

We had to do an assignment on the Abduction from the Seraglio by Mozart. We had to answer the question: Based on the music, who is the most important character in the opera? Here is my answer...

"Based on the music from the Abduction, I would conclude that Osmin has the most important role. Mozart had stated in letters and probably to Stephanie that the music was the most important part of this project. He also said that he stretched Constanze’s music to allow his soprano to show-off a bit and as a result was the most well-developed musical character besides Osmin. However, Mozart did add an extra aria and duet for Osmin and asked Stephanie to invent more text for that aria. Mozart was writing these parts, especially the soprano (Constanze) and bass (Osmin), for specific artists of his day. The range of Osmin’s character showcases the musical importance, as well as the character development of Osmin, reaching down to a low D! Osmin is portrayed as the “other,” the true Turk, who uses his deep voice to communicate a sense of foreboding, comedy, and other-worldlyness. Musically, his arias, duets, and ensembles move the story along and add a sense of mysticism and tension to the plot. He is like the connection between the main characters, between the powerful and oppressed, and between the westerners and the Turks."

This was Mozart's first opera that he wrote in Vienna. He was trying to make connections and get his name out there. At this point, there was a huge fascination with anything Turkish. In the recent past (the 1600s) The Ottoman Empire had tried twice to take over Vienna and the Habsburg empire. The Ottomans failed, but still controlled most of the middle east and parts of central Europe. There was a great deal of negative propaganda against the Turks, portraying them as ruthless, unorganized groups of crazy people. Parts of that were true to an extent, as they were very violent with their captors, but they were a well-organized, highly structured and well-trained empire. Eventually, the Turkish style was en vogue especially with aristocrats and royalty. People had their portraits done wearing Turkish outfits. We drank their coffee, and ambassadors visited their lands. As a result, composers tried to add "turkish" sounds to their music, which was probably a very western adaptation of what the thought was Turkish music. Most of the music was based on the Janissary, or military, Turkish music. Originally this Janissary music was to inspire their troops and put fear into the enemy, so it was loud and proud. It was mostly percussion based, with cymbals (think Zildjian!), drums, flutes, and an early form of timpani, very similar to the American Revolution-style of drum and fife. So when composers wrote in this style, they utilized percussion and march-like tunes usually in a form of the minor or maybe even lydian modes. There are all sorts of characteristics one can dissect from a character like Osmin who is the master's gardener in the opera. The Abduction isn't as well known as Mozart's other operas, but it's worth a listen!