Political Aspects Of Mozart's Opera Essay

Political Aspects of Mozart’s Operas
Music has been a medium for composers and musicians to express a multitude of feelings, concepts, ideals and other philosophical matters. This expression of the artists has literally been the push behind music and its creation thousands of years ago, and is what still influences music today along with all the time in between (DeNora). Starting with the transition of music from the Renaissance Era, music became more and more of a political device (The Birth). One of the largest genres of political music, especially within the Baroque and Classical Eras, would be Operas. Political undertones have been bounded to opera since its establishment over four-hundred years ago. L'Orfeo [Orpheus], the first successful
opera written by Claudio Monteverdi in the 1600s, is a notable example of how opera came to incorporate these political aspects (Bokina 19). To be brief, Orpheus is a political character who learns what it means to be a ruler – being emotionally detached to his subjects and distancing himself from love, so he may become rational and unaffected by emotional pressures (Bokina 3). Perhaps to the common audience today, these political references are hidden among the beautiful lines of lyric and the heart-wrenching story of losing love. The same cannot be true to Prince Francesco Gonzaga, Monteverdi’s patron at the time of writing L’Orfeo. Prince Gonzaga was heir to the throne of Mantua, and could relate to Orpheus’ struggles as a ruler (Berner 14). This influenced Monteverdi’s choice of opera and storyline greatly (Berner 15). After the success of L’Orfeo, composers have been pouring out operas at an astonishing rate. And nearly all of these operas address some form of politics in one way or another (Bokina 4). A prolific example of a composer who could not resist the urge to politicalize his operas would be Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Or perhaps it was that Mozart could not resist opera-izing politics (Berner 2). Regardless, Mozart’s operas were filled with the political and social status of women, Masonic ideals, and the overtures to revolution.
Throughout the Age of Enlightenment, women were regarded as a softer gender, incapable of fierce emotions such as rage and revenge.
This mindset of women was reflected in many operas, often substituting rage as an “intensity of passion” according to Kristi Brown-Montesano (13). This trend was common among many composers and librettists of the time, greatly limiting the growth and development of female characters in the opera they have written (Brown-Montesano 14). Carbon copies of the same basic female character appeared in opera after opera, showing little signs of change from the character previous and to the character succeeding (Brown-Montesano 15). Mozart and his famed librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte would not stand for such an offense in their operas, insisting on the use of real characters within the confines of their operatic masterpieces. Their women would be able to seek harsh revenge for injustices, and were even brash enough to outwit their male counterparts (Brown-Montesano xxiv). Donna Anna is a prime example of a female character that broke through the mindless restrictions that appeared in opera after opera (Brown-Montesano 16). She was fueled with rage at her father’s death at the beginning Il dissoluto punito, ossia il Don Giovanni [Don Giovanni], and promised revenge on the man who had killed her father. This rage of Donna Anna’s is amplified by the fact that her father died while defending her honor, and is what motivates many of her actions throughout the
opera (Brown-Montesano 17). Her fiancé, Don Ottavio, acts as a way for the audience to see the softer side to Donna Anna, although that side burns duller than the rage that’s within her. It is still important for her character, showing that she can be complex and muscle through both emotions, much like the male characters of that time (Brown-Montesano 17-18). A character like Donna Anna, complex female character driven by revenge, is almost nonexistent in many of the operas produced during this time. Another example of a complex female character that broke the confines of traditional female roles would be The Queen of the Night, from Die Zauberflöte [The Magic Flute]. The Queen is a series of missing pieces of a puzzle, not able to get a full grasp of what she is, but enough to get a general idea (Brown-Montesano 82). The political role she plays in Mozart’s musical is a great importance, as she is clearly the symbol of female dominance. This dominance of hers clashes with Sarastro, showing the struggle between the male and female dominance of the world (Brown-Montesano 83). Although, Sarastro ends up winning the favor of the audience in the end, manifesting this struggle in his opera helped expose the problem that was present in the world at that time (Brown-Montesano 84). Mozart did not want dominance of one sex over another, but a harmony of the genders. This theme of his occurs over and over within his operas, including The Magic Flute. Tamino and Pamina share a near equal relationship, having to work together to pass the trial they were put through (Brown-Montesano 83). Another couple that shows this near equal relationship would be Figaro and Susanna, each creating drastic plots of their own, yet somehow ending up in perfect harmony (Brown-Montesano 158). The reasons as to why Mozart was intent on having these deep female characters remains largely unknown, even more so when you contrast his operas against those who have been using the same carbon-copy for women year after year (Brown-Montesano 3). Maybe it took a genius to understand the concept of equality among all genders, classes and peoples in a time that desperately lacked any equality?
Mozart’s understanding may have had its roots in the Free Masons.
Today, Mozart’s active role in the Free Mason organization should come as no surprise. Over 20 of his works are dedicated or influenced by his Masonic beliefs (Oderberg). There is one work that stands out amongst the rest, though, showcasing the ideals of the Free Masons to the public. This work would be Die Zauberflöte [The Magic Flute] (Berner 17). The Magic Flute is saturated with rituals and symbolism of the Mason society. These secrets, which were supposed to be kept by its members, were revealed in a matter of hours (Berner 20). Perhaps the person to blame for this leaking of secrets would be the opera’s librettist, Emanuel Schikaneder (Berner 21). Schikaneder, like Mozart, was also a Free Mason. They attended a meetings together, and were well acquainted before their joined efforts on the masterpiece (Oderberg). An opera that outlined the basics of the Free Masons is exactly what was needed to help spread their cause (Berner 20). Revolutions where happening across the globe, and people were taking arms against the Monarchs of Europe. At the heart of these revolutions where the Free Masons, men who foresaw a future of merging classes (Berner 21). This prominent society of hardworking and forward thinking men gained supporters after supporters, and show casing their beliefs in an opera that thousands would see only increased the supported they already had (Berner 22). The Magic Flute was not the only
opera Mozart composed that had the ideals of Masonry embedded within. Don Giovanni shows the struggle between the classes, and the corruption of “noble” men (Bokina 43). Giovanni filled himself with worldly pleasures, often using his class to escape punishment for his deeds (Bokina 44). He was a symbol of the monarchs and other nobility of the era, who were often more corrupt than noble. This ideal of nobility has its roots in the Free Masons (Bokina 45). This brassy show of Free Masonry was dangerous and posed high risk, as both the church and state forbade Free Masonry and relentlessly persecuted those who were practicing (Berner 21). Mozart did not fear the penalties that came with politics, even taking banned literature and turning it into magnificent works of art.
Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais was a jack of all trades; from watchmaking to adventurer, he did it all. He also gave a hand at writing, and turned out to be a decent playwright (Berner 1). His political distrust came from being imprisoned for a few years, where it had time to crawl into a slow and steady boil (Berner 2). His first work, The Barber of Seville, is how the boil of distrust manifested itself (Berner 3). After the success of his first play, Beaumarchais set out to write another. The Marriage of Figaro was the result, and it became a sensation across Europe. The play rung with cries of distasteful nobility and the horrible treatment of their own household and subjects. This terrified the monarchs, who immediately placed a banned on this literary work and all works like it. This ban did not scare Mozart and his librettist, though, and did not stop them from turning the controversial work into an opera (The Birth). With a few select changes to the story, Le nozze di Figaro, ossia la folle giornata could evade the bans, and be performed openly for the public. This isn’t to say that the opera was without political