Author Description

Mozart's collaborations with the librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte led to the composition of three of the great masterpieces of opera, Le nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni, and Cosi fan tutte. The aim of this book is to guide the reader to a deeper understanding and enjoyment of these enigmatic works, not so much through detailed musical analysis as through setting the scene for their composition. The author examines the cultural and social context in which they were written, the sort of audience who might have attended, their tastes and expectations. He considers Mozart's own intentions and aspirations of these works, composed over a period of rapid intellectual and political change, during which his beliefs, ambitions, and position in society shifted radically. At a musical level, Mozart's work underwent crucial stylistic developments that are manifest in these three operas. We are also given clues to Da Ponte's views of opera and the typie of entertainment he set out to create by an examination of the form in which he presented the three stories, none of which was based on an original plot. Finally, the author looks at the practicalities of opera production in Mozart's time--the musical resources, the availability of singers, and the staging facilities--all of which would have influenced the final creation. Bringing these strands together for the first time, this book provides an illuminating insight into Mozart's creative technique and into the functions of opera in his time.