1. Le nozze di Figaro K 492
a. The overture captures the spirit of the opera with themes specific to the overture that do not appear anywhere else in the opera.
b. The overture was written just hours before the opera’s first performance and Mozart’s main concern was to catch the audience’s attention immediately and to show the opera’s pace.
c. Overture begins with a piano whispering and buzzing that develops into a short-breathed theme.
d. The tutti then comes in with the trumpets and drums, driven by the violins, flutes, and oboes in four minutes.
e. There is a slow middle section with an oboe solo.
f. Analysis
i. Measures 1-7
1. Five seconds with fourteen pulses
2. Quiet, quick notes
3. Low and middle range notes ii. Measures 8-11
1. Three seconds with eight pulses
2. Slower notes in four …show more content…
In bar 31 there is a transition from D minor to D major and the main theme comes in. It is heard in a codetta leading to A major. iv. The second theme shows the character of Don Giovanni leading into E major in bar 76.
v. In bar 141 the main theme returns twice. vi. The recapitulation starts in bar 193 in D major. vii. The secondary theme is then played again in bar 217. viii. In bar 277 there is a modulation to F Major leading into the first scene.
g. Orchestration:
i. Two flutes, two clarinets, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, three trombones, drums, mandolin, and strings.
3. Cosi fan tutte
a. The overture anticipates the final moral lesson: Cosi fan tutte.
b. Short andante features the oboe that is associated with the chuckling of Don Alfonso.
c. The motto theme is heard in the twelfth measure of the overture and during the end of the overture.
d. After the andante the tempo changes to Presto to create a mood and frame the mind for humor.
e. When the overture arrives at the twelfth measure, the orchestra plays the musical motive that underscores the words Co-si fan tu-tte later on, the refrain is sung by Don Alfonso, Guglielmo, and Ferrando toward the end of Act
a. The overture captures the spirit of the opera with themes specific to the overture that do not appear anywhere else in the opera.
b. The overture was written just hours before the opera’s first performance and Mozart’s main concern was to catch the audience’s attention immediately and to show the opera’s pace.
c. Overture begins with a piano whispering and buzzing that develops into a short-breathed theme.
d. The tutti then comes in with the trumpets and drums, driven by the violins, flutes, and oboes in four minutes.
e. There is a slow middle section with an oboe solo.
f. Analysis
i. Measures 1-7
1. Five seconds with fourteen pulses
2. Quiet, quick notes
3. Low and middle range notes ii. Measures 8-11
1. Three seconds with eight pulses
2. Slower notes in four …show more content…
In bar 31 there is a transition from D minor to D major and the main theme comes in. It is heard in a codetta leading to A major. iv. The second theme shows the character of Don Giovanni leading into E major in bar 76.
v. In bar 141 the main theme returns twice. vi. The recapitulation starts in bar 193 in D major. vii. The secondary theme is then played again in bar 217. viii. In bar 277 there is a modulation to F Major leading into the first scene.
g. Orchestration:
i. Two flutes, two clarinets, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, three trombones, drums, mandolin, and strings.
3. Cosi fan tutte
a. The overture anticipates the final moral lesson: Cosi fan tutte.
b. Short andante features the oboe that is associated with the chuckling of Don Alfonso.
c. The motto theme is heard in the twelfth measure of the overture and during the end of the overture.
d. After the andante the tempo changes to Presto to create a mood and frame the mind for humor.
e. When the overture arrives at the twelfth measure, the orchestra plays the musical motive that underscores the words Co-si fan tu-tte later on, the refrain is sung by Don Alfonso, Guglielmo, and Ferrando toward the end of Act