Overture to The Abduction from the Seraglio, K. 384
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)

THE STORY

As a newcomer to Vienna, the Salzburg-born Mozart was eager to establish himself, especially in the world of opera. Mozart had arrived at a particularly auspicious time, as Emperor Joseph II had recently founded a company devoted to commissions and performances of Singspiel: “sung plays” in which dialogue is interspersed with music. The Abduction from the Seraglio was premiered by the company in 1782.

Taking place in the Ottoman Empire, the plot focuses on two pairs of lovers. The noble Konstanze and her maid, Blonde, have been abducted by pirates and sold to the Pasha Selim (Pasha denotes a high-ranking military title). The ladies’ fiancés, Belmonte and his servant Pedrillo, come to the rescue but are thwarted by the palace caretaker, Osmin—but in an act of magnanimity, the Pasha releases them.

The setting and subject of Mozart’s Singspiel reflects the tension between West and East: the Habsburg and Ottoman Empires had long been at war with each other. The popularity of The Abduction from the Seraglio portended well for Mozart’s professional life in Vienna. There he also composed his Symphony No. 40, which the North Carolina Symphony will perform in November.

LISTEN FOR

• The stylized version of a Janissary band (an Ottoman military band): piccolo, triangle, tambourine, cymbals, and bass drum
• The form of the overture, with the energetic Janissary band followed by a more solemn section led by the violins and oboes, concluding with a return to the rousing opening music

INSTRUMENTATION

Piccolo, flute, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, timpani, percussion, strings