- Do you identify with any of the characters in The Abduction from the Seraglio?
- If not with an entire character, perhaps with some traits?
- Some Mozart operas include a character that represents Mozart himself -- some see him in Cherubino (The Marriage of Figaro) or Leporello (Don Giovanni). Do you think Mozart identified with any character(s) in The Abduction from the Seraglio?
- How would Mozart’s eighteenth-century audience have identified with, or related to, the various characters?
- The elements of race, class, and gender are prominent in The Abduction from the Seraglio. Characters are clearly European or Turkish, upper- or lower-class, and (of course!) male or female.
- Are the women strong individuals, or symbols of their race, class, and gender?
- How essential are the contrasts of race, class, and gender to the drama?
- The Abduction from the Seraglio is staged every summer at the Topkapi Sarayi (Topkapi Palace, the original Seraglio) in Istanbul, Turkey. How would the experience of Abduction feel in that venue, with an audience of Turks and tourists? According to Yekta Kara, chairwoman and general art director of the Istanbul State Opera and Ballet, Abduction “celebrates the tolerance and magnanimity of Turks,” because the Pasha releases Konstanze to marry the son of his enemy.
- The Orient Express setting of The Abduction from the Seraglio is Boston Lyric Opera’s co-production with Houston Grand Opera, Opera Colorado, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Minnesota Opera and Opera Pacific. It has also been produced at Florida Grand Opera and Portland Opera. Clearly it’s not a one-time experiment! What do you think Mozart would think of the transplant? How would you explain it to him?
The Abduction from the Seraglio is a singspiel—essentially a musical theatre work, with spoken dialogue. Georges Bizet’s Carmen was also originally set with spoken dialogue, later adapted as recitative by Ernest Guiraud. As far as we know, no one has attempted this with The Abduction from the Seraglio. How essential is the use of speech to The Abduction from the Seraglio? How would the opera be different if everything were sung?
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