Mozart: one of the most famous and influential composers still known today. Born in Salzburg, his incredible talent was shown in his early childhood. While he is famous for many of his pieces, Le Nozze di Figaro can arguably be his most important based upon it’s the context in which it was written. Le Nozze di Figaro by Mozart represents the Classical period as it mirrors the political, social and musical style of this time.
The political issues in the Classical period restricted the creative freedom amongst artists. The origin of Le Nozze di Figaro appeared in 1778, as a sequel to one done by Beaumarchais. The characters were similar, but the play portrayed a more critical assessment of social order. Both the play and opera are able to …show more content…
This is evident in the popular Amadeus, a movie reflecting the life of Mozart. More importantly though, as time progressed, a more natural and simple style was shown throughout society. This not only applied to the aristocratic men, but also the music style during this period. Classical music is “lighter in tone, simpler, and sometimes more folk- like but also full of high drama” (Wright, 2014, p. 152). Le Nozze di Figaro portrays this simplicity, clarity and balance of this era. In the Baroque period, the melody was seen as long and asymmetrical, but this change in time birthed melodies that are simple, short and tuneful. The overture provides the audience with an idea for the music to come, and indicates the funny and serious sides to this comic opera (Hinrichs, 2010, p. 3). The melody here is perfectly balanced, light, and homophonic. It begins with a four-bar phrase that repeats at a higher level of pitch immediately after. The dynamic of the Classical music was to create a change in mood. Figaro begins very calm, but becomes more anxious the more he thinks bout the Count’s treachery. This anger and intensity is evident in sections A, B, C, D. Additionally, Mozart casts an aria, within the context of a dance, the courtly minuet, figuratively referring to the shuffling of social order. (Wright, 2014, p. 153). Even more so than the basic elements, the ensemble music in Figaro creates a new take on opera. Specifically, the finale of Act II is one of the “longest interrupted spans of music that Mozart ever wrote, seamlessly building on the tension, the dramatic confusion, and the numbers of characters on stage, for 20 minutes” (Service, 2012). Being that the orchestra moved from private to public performances, the ensemble grew in size to satisfy the demands of its new performance space and a growing audience. To increase the color in the orchestra, more
The political issues in the Classical period restricted the creative freedom amongst artists. The origin of Le Nozze di Figaro appeared in 1778, as a sequel to one done by Beaumarchais. The characters were similar, but the play portrayed a more critical assessment of social order. Both the play and opera are able to …show more content…
This is evident in the popular Amadeus, a movie reflecting the life of Mozart. More importantly though, as time progressed, a more natural and simple style was shown throughout society. This not only applied to the aristocratic men, but also the music style during this period. Classical music is “lighter in tone, simpler, and sometimes more folk- like but also full of high drama” (Wright, 2014, p. 152). Le Nozze di Figaro portrays this simplicity, clarity and balance of this era. In the Baroque period, the melody was seen as long and asymmetrical, but this change in time birthed melodies that are simple, short and tuneful. The overture provides the audience with an idea for the music to come, and indicates the funny and serious sides to this comic opera (Hinrichs, 2010, p. 3). The melody here is perfectly balanced, light, and homophonic. It begins with a four-bar phrase that repeats at a higher level of pitch immediately after. The dynamic of the Classical music was to create a change in mood. Figaro begins very calm, but becomes more anxious the more he thinks bout the Count’s treachery. This anger and intensity is evident in sections A, B, C, D. Additionally, Mozart casts an aria, within the context of a dance, the courtly minuet, figuratively referring to the shuffling of social order. (Wright, 2014, p. 153). Even more so than the basic elements, the ensemble music in Figaro creates a new take on opera. Specifically, the finale of Act II is one of the “longest interrupted spans of music that Mozart ever wrote, seamlessly building on the tension, the dramatic confusion, and the numbers of characters on stage, for 20 minutes” (Service, 2012). Being that the orchestra moved from private to public performances, the ensemble grew in size to satisfy the demands of its new performance space and a growing audience. To increase the color in the orchestra, more