31014786 erformance Lssay 6

Lh
May 2011
WA Mozart 1he Mag|c I|ute "C Is|s und Cs|r|s"
Wolfgang Amadeus MozarL (27
Lh
!anuary 1736 3
Lh
uecember 1791) ls
consldered Lo be one of Lhe mosL brllllanL and prollflc composers of Lhe
classlcal era composlng over 600 works Pe was born ln Salzburg aL LhaL Llme
parL of Lhe Poly 8oman Lmplre Pe wroLe 41 symphonles of whlch Lhere
should be menLloned Symphony no 33 Paffner no 36 Llnz no 24 and 41
!uplLer Pe composed 27 concerLs for plano and orchesLra 7 vlolln and
orchesLra concerLs clarlneL concerLs fluLe and harp concerLs corn and
orchesLra and many oLher symphonles Pe also composed 6 sLrlng quarLeLs
dedlcaLed Lo Payden plano sonaLas vlolln and plano sonaLas vlolln Lrlo
vloloncello and plano woodwlnd and brass quarLeL and many oLher
composlLlons Pe also composed a number of 17 opera masLerpleces Lhe
mosL famous ones LhaL are played nowadays belng ule LnLfuhrung aus dem
Serall" 1he marrlage of llgaro" uon Clovannl" Cosl fan LuLLe" and 1he
Maglc lluLe"
1he Maglc lluLe" ls mosLly based on Masonlc elemenLs and lL has some
LnllghLenmenL phllosophy 1he Cueen of Lhe nlghL ls seen as Lhe evll form of
darkness whereas her opponenL SarasLro follows Lhe wlsdom reason and
naLure paLh 1he sLoryllne focuses on Lhe educaLlon of manklnd ln a
progresslve maLLer from a world of chaos Lo and rellglous bellefs Lo
raLlonallsLlc approach LhroughouL 1amlno's Lrlal and apageno's mlsLakes Lo
form a beLLer world MozarL's approaches Lhe slnglng parL cauLlously helplng
Lhe slngers by sLarLlng on sLrlngs so LhaL Lhey could easlly flnd Lhelr plLch Pe
also lncludes hlgh plLches for 1he Cueen of Lhe nlghL up Lo hlgh l6 and ln Lhe
lower end he adds boLLom l for SarasLro's parL
Cne of my flrsL year's performance pleces ls C lsls und Cslrls" whlch ls a
parL of MozarL's Maglc lluLe opera ( ule ZauberfluLe")lL was composed ln
1791 belng a Lwo acLs opera (1
sL
acL belng dlvlded lnLo Lhree scenes whereas
Lhe 2
nd
one lnLo seven) havlng lLs premlere ln vlenna on Lhe 30
Lh
of SepLember
wlLh Schlkaneder playlng apageno and MozarL's slsLer ln law !osepha Pofer
playlng Lhe Cueen of Lhe nlghL
1he opera's sLoryllne relles on a young prlnce who falnLs from faLlgue
and ls saved by Lhree ladles ln aLLendance of 1he Cueen of Lhe nlghL LogeLher
31014786 erformance Lssay 6
Lh
May 2011
kllllng Lhe serpenL AfLer savlng hlm Lhey argue on whom Lo be lefL alone wlLh
Lhls handsome prlnce buL flnally declde LhaL Lhey should leave LogeLher
leavlng Lhe prlnce Lhere
ShorLly afLer Lhese women lefL apageno enLers on sLage slnglng abouL
hls [ob as a blrd caLcher and Lhe facL LhaL he ls Lrylng Lo flnd hls beLLer half a
wlfe or aL leasL a glrlfrlend apageno lles Lo 1amlno Lhe prlnce as lf he were
Lhe one who saved hlm from Lhe snake by sLrangllng lL wlLh hls own bare
hands AL Lhls polnL Lhe Lhree ladles enLer and Lhey Lry Lo convlnce 1amlno LhaL
Lhey were Lhe ones LhaL saved hls llfe showlng hlm afLerwards a plcLure of a
young malden LhaL he lnsLanLly fell ln love wlLh
1he Cueen of Lhe nlghL now appears Lelllng 1amlno LhaL Lhe glrl ln Lhe
porLralL ls her daughLer who has been capLured by her enemy SarasLro She
charges 1amlno wlLh her daughLer's rescue whlle Lhe Lhree ladles glve a maglc
fluLe Lo 1amlno and Lhe sllver bells Lo apageno Lo gulde Lhem Lhrough Lhelr
[ourney
SarasLro's slave MonosLaLos follows amlna buL he geLs scared by Lhe
feaLhercovered apageno who Lells her LhaL 1amlno loves her and lnLends Lo
save her 1amlno conLlnues hls advenLure Lowards 1he 1emple of SarasLro and
ls Lold LhaL lL ls Lhe queen LhaL ls evll noL SarasLro Cnce Lhe prlnce flnds ouL
LhaL 1amlna ls safe he calls Lhe anlmals wlLh hls maglc fluLe and Lhen rapldly
follows Lhe sound of apageno's plpes
MonsLaLos and hls guardlans follow apageno and 1amlna buL cannoL
sLop Lhem because of apageno's maglc bells SarasLro makes hls enLrance
wlLh a greaL ceremony ensurlng amlna wlll be seL free and punlshes
MonsLaLos
amlna casLs a spell over 1amlno who ls led lnLo Lhe Lemple wlLh
apageno SarasLro Lells hls prlesLs LhaL 1amlno wlll Lry Lo lnLervene and sLop
hlm (C lsls und Cslrls") now MosLraLos Lrles Lo klss amlna ln her sleep buL
he ls dlscoverd by Lhe Cueen of Lhe nlghL who chases hlm away AfLerwards
she glves her daughLer a dagger wlLh whlch Lo sLab and klll SarasLro SarasLro
confronLs and Lhen Lrles Lo console amlna 1amlno and apageno are advlced
by Lhe prlesL LhaL Lhey should remaln sllenL and noL eaL aL all a rule LhaL
apageno lmmedlaLely breaks by drlnklng some waLer from an old lady She
31014786 erformance Lssay 6
Lh
May 2011
dlsappears as he asks for her name 1he Lhree splrlLs appear Lo gulde 1amlno ln
hls [ourney and Lell apageno Lo keep Lhe sllence 1amlno keeps quleL even
when 1amlna appears maklng her feel dlsappolnLed
1amlno flnds ouL LhaL he has only Lwo more Lrlals Lo accompllsh hls
lnlLlaLlon whlle apageno longs for a beauLlful wlfe buL flnally seLLles wlLh an
old lady As he swears Lo be loyal she Lurns lnLo a beauLlful apagena buL [usL
for a momenL afLer whlch she vanlshes
1amlno and amlna are flnally LogeLher ln safeLy afLer all Lhelr
advenLures Lhey experlence Lhe orders of Lhe waLer and flre wlLh Lhelr
proLecLlon from Lhe maglc fluLe
apageno ls saved by Lhe Lhree splrlLs from commlLLlng sulclde whlch
remlnds hlm Lo use hls fluLe ln order Lo regaln happlness ShorLly afLer he plays
lL apagena reappears and Lhen boLh move lnLo a blrd's nesL 1he Cueen of
Lhe nlghL LogeLher wlLh her Lhree servanLs and MonsLaLos aLLack Lhe Lemple
buL Lhey are defeaLed and chased away SarasLro Lhen follows 1amlno and
amlna as Lhe crowd welcomes lsls and Cslrls
C lsls und Cslrls" arla ls Lhe one LhaL l have been worklng on and l musL
say LhaL l managed Lo undersLand and Lo lnLerpreL lL comblnlng lnLeresLlng
harmony and obllgaLes me Lo compleLely enLer LhaL fabulous world and slng
wlLh lnvolvemenL MozarL lnLroduces very lnLeresLlng harmony changlng lL aL
Lhe very end of Lhe plece maklng lL sound beLLer
8elng ln a beaL of Lhree lL may seem easy aL flrsL slghL havlng a long
phrase aL Lhe very beglnnlng whlch may be solved wlLh a resL aL Lhe end of
sevenLh bar 1he Adaglo" makes lL qulLe fluenL buL aL Lhe same Llme glves lL a
sLable rhyLhm 1hls helps when l wanL Lo colour my lnLerpreLaLlon keeplng a
plano lnLenslLy whlch l Lend Lo rlse when Lhe melodlc llne reaches a sllghLly
hlgh plLch noLe slnglng lL relaLlvely opened so LhaL lL can glve arla's a brlghL
complex sound Pere l should also Lake lnLo accounL lLs lowesL noLes whlch
Lend Lo enlarge Lhe rhyLhm aL Lhe end of Lhe phrases especlally Lo puL Lhls
arla's range lnLo Lhe spoLllghL 1he usage of Lhe semlbreve and crocheL for Lhe
C lsls und Cslrls" polnLs ouL Lhe lmporLance of Lhese Lwo characLers whlch
one can flnd ouL abouL Lhe end of Lhe opera 1he semlbreves are used Lo hold
Lhe plLch noLe for a blL longer so LhaL lL can be lnLerpreLed as a prayer Lo Lhe
31014786 erformance Lssay 6
Lh
May 2011
mlghLy colossus gods lLs sLrucLure ls amazlng [usL by Lhlnklng of Lhe prlesL
cholr whlch dlvlde Lhe plece lnLo Lwo parLs [usL by repeaLlng words of Lhe lasL
phrase by slnglng Lhem downwards as ln sLarkL mlL Ceduld sle ln Cefahr" and
Lhe second phrase whlch represenLs Lhe endlng of Lhe arla of Lhe second parL
as l LhoughL of dlvldlng lL nehmL sle ln euren WohnslLz auf" lL ls a conLlnuous
prayer Lo Lhe Cods as Lo proLecL Lhem from any danger LhaL mlghL occur by
helplng Lhem survlve Lhe Lrlal and Lo accepL Lhelr prayer for forglveness 1he
arla ls more of a sacred song whlch glves Lhe lnLerpreLer Lhe chance Lo express
a deep meanlng by llghLlng Lhe volce uslng a Lender vlbraLo C lsls und Cslrls"
vocal range flLs me well as lL makes me feel comforLable when performlng lL
wlLhouL Loo many lssues l can easlly glve dlfferenL lnLerpreLaLlons Lo Lhose
phrases especlally Lhe ones whlch lnvolve Lhe hlgh reglsLer of my volce havlng
Lhese modulaLlons from plano Lo forLe as Lhe cholr ends each one of Lhose
Lwo parLs wlLh some quleL sounds whlch acLually announce Lhe end of Lhe
prayer
Clvlng speclflc deLalls ln Lerms of Lechnlque and mood l llsLened carefully
Lo some famous verslons of C lsls und Cslrls" sang by operaLlc Cerman bass
kurL Mull who's lnLerpreLaLlon ls very clean and clear when lL comes Lo
Lechnlque whlch he assumes deeply Cne of Lhe mosL lmporLanL aspecLs LhaL l
have heard whlle llsLenlng Lo hlm ls noL only Lhe relaxed volce buL also Lhe
pronunclaLlon whlch ls lndeed clear and easy Lo undersLand hls dlcLlon ls very
well Lralned AnoLher aspecL LhaL l clearly saw was Lhe facL LhaL along wlLh
dlcLlon comes a wlde opened sound a clear one whlch ls ln facL Lhe reason
why all becomes fluenLly wlLhouL any LlghL LhroaL and sLrangled sounds
AnoLher opera slnger LhaL lnfluenced me ls my former professor Clrplan
Marele a greaL barlLone from naLlonal Cpera lasl who had a very lnLeresLlng
lnLerpreLaLlon of apageno LhaL l was really lmpressed wlLh Pe had a greaL
Lechnlque LhaL helped hlm form and play wlLh apageno's characLer whlch
lmplles a loL of movemenL and sLamlna havlng a greaL approach of Lhe well
know arla Lln Madchen oder Welbchen"
Pavlng Lhese sLabled examples of how Lo approach an opera plece l Lend
now noL Lo glve everyLhlng and Lo balance Lhe efforL buL aL Lhe same Llme Lo
keep Lhe Lone and lnLerpreLaLlon quallLy aL hlgh sLandards ln order Lo succeed
Lhere are some very lmporLanL sLeps LhaL have Lo be Laken lnLo accounL buL
31014786 erformance Lssay 6
Lh
May 2011
Lhe mosL lmporLanL of whlch ls Lo keep Lhe breaLhlng Lechnlque ln place and Lo
Lry and keep lL Lense so LhaL l wlll noL lose Lhe alr aL all As for Lhe parL ln whlch
acLlng ls concern l Lrled Lo lmaglne a sacred world relaLed Lo prayers and Lo a
brlghL aLmosphere
As a whole C lsls und Cslrls" helped me develop and lmprove my bel
canLo Lechnlque havlng a wlde range whlch helped me sLlmulaLe my vocal
range from a boLLom l Lo a Lop C buL also Lhe pronunclaLlon of Lhe Cerman
words so LhaL Lhe arla's message can be easy Lo undersLand