About

Abduction

from the

Seraglio

World Premiere:  Burgtheater - Vienna

July 16, 1782 

WBO Premiere:  Feb 13, 2015

Pictured: Aerial view of the Burgtheater in Vienna, Austria

The 25-year-old Mozart arrived in Vienna in 1781, looking for composing opportunities. A couple of years earlier the Austrian Emperor, Joseph II, had started a cultural project called the Nationalsingspiel, intended to support the composition of new operatic works in German and counterbalance the Italian opera, which was extremely popular in Vienna at the time. 

Johann Gottlieb Stephanie was appointed by the Emperor to run this project, and Mozart sought him out as soon as he arrived in Vienna, hoping for a commission.

The general manager of the Burgtheater at the time,  Count Franz Xaver Orsini-Rosenberg heard Mozart play some of his Idomeneo at a house party. He was very impressed and he became instrumental in getting Stephanie to put together a libretto for Mozart to compose a singspiel. Stephanie chose to adapt (plagiarize may be more accurate) Bretzner's work.

Mozart was enthusiastic about it and worked quickly at first, then demanded major changes to the libretto. Stephanie obliged, but the project's timeline suffered, and the premiere, which was a resounding success, had to wait until July of 1782. 

Essentially a comic opera, Abduction is an orientalist piece, presenting the Ottoman Empire in a sanitized Western European light. The score makes somewhat oblique references to the music of Turkish Janissary bands, especially in the choral sections. Aside from that, there are major vocal challenges for the main characters, particularly Konstanze's aria "Martern aller Arten" and Osmin's aria  "O, wie will ich triumphieren."  Interestingly, the piece provides a very flattering depiction of the Ottoman ruler, Pasha Selim, who is presented as a sophisticated ruler and a sensitive man, unwilling to force his love on Konstanze.

This is the piece that gave rise to the famous "too many notes" comment from Emperor Joseph II, though, to the Emperor's credit, the original quote: "gewaltig viel Noten" translates more accurately as "an awful lot of notes."

The basic premise of the story reflects a real phenomenon. For several centuries until the French conquest of Algiers in 1830, pirates from Northern Africa would regularly board ships in the Mediterranean, capture people, and demand ransom from European countries or sell people into slavery. In this case, Konstanze, her English servant Blonde, and Belmonte's servant Pedrillo are captured and sold to Pasha Selim. Pedrillo becomes a servant in the Pasha's household, and the two women end up in the Pasha's harem.



The story follows the adventures of Belmonte and Pedrillo as they try to rescue their respective girlfriends, Konstanze and Blonde, from the grip of Pasha Selim’s guards, escape the palace and sail back to Spain. Along the way, we witness early women’s lib, as practiced by Blonde on Osmin, we get some understanding of how women are kept and treated in the harem, and we learn a thing or two about the universality of human nature, regardless of culture or the color of the skin.

We present this fun and extremely accomplished score in its full version without cuts, with a superb cast and chorus and with period setts with costumes. 

José Luis Moscovich - Conductor and Stage Director

Peter Crompton - Set and Projection Designer

Callie Floor - Costume Designer

Adrian Gilstrap - Lighting Designer

Frederic O. Boulay - Projection Systems Designer

Shirley Benson - Props Designer

Giselle Lee - Sound Designer

Pictured: Floorplan for a set design by Peter Crompton

Cast

Konstanze -

Belmonte -

Osmin -

Pedrillo -

Blonde -

Pasha Selim -

* First appearance with WBO



Photo: Otak Jump

Chorus

Orchestra

Kristina Anderson (concertmaster)

Violin I · Emily Chiet, Virginia Smedberg

Violin II · Lisa Zadek 

Viola · Donny Lobree

Cello · Janet Witharm, Thomas Shoebotham

Bass · Christy Crews

Flute/Piccolo · Michelle Caimotto

Oboe/English Horn · Meave Cox

Clarinet - Arthur Austin

Bassoon · Amy Duxbury

Horn · Cathleen Torres, Diane Ryan

Trumpet · Richard Leder

Trombone ·

Timpani · Don Baker

Percussion · Norm Peck

~

Orchestra Librarian · Virginia Smedberg

Orchestra Manager · Christy Crews

* First appearance with West Bay Opera