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Did Mozart use an original storyline for The Abduction from the Seraglio?
No. Thirteen other Turkish-abduction operas predate The Abduction from the Seraglio, including Mozart’s own unfinished Zaide. All thirteen include roughly the same plot elements as Mozart’s The Abduction.
Why does the “Abduction Opera” become so popular in the decades before Mozart’s version?
Mozart’s Viennese contemporaries believed in the centuries-old stereotype of the violent Turk. The image dated back to the Crusades and the fall of the Byzantine Empire, and was reinforced by the unsuccessful Ottoman siege of Vienna in 1683. France, however, had diplomatic relations with the Turks. Their connection inspired turquerie—lavish, exotic “Turkish” fashions that swept over Europe. In 1771, Austria actually allied briefly with the Ottomans, and with France, to resist Russia.
If 18th-century perceptions of the Ottoman Empire are so essential to the composition of The Abduction, why is Boston Lyric Opera’s version set on the Orient Express?
Just as the political climate between Europe and the Ottoman Empire influenced the creation of The Abduction, our production re-imagines the work at a similarly crucial time in history. The 1920s dealt heavily with the aftermath of the First World War, which also saw the end of the Ottoman Empire. Setting the opera on a train provides an opportunity for two cultures to meet—and clash—in close quarters.
How did the Turkish obsession influence European composers’ musical choices?
The Turkish military band, or mehter, was originally used in the Ottoman Empire’s special military force, the janissaries. First appearing in Europe in 17th-century Polish and Russian courts, the mehter introduced a sound that was heavy on drums, cymbals, and horns. European composers sought to imitate the percussive and shrill qualities of mehter music, giving rise to what is sometimes referred to as the alla turca style. Alla turca music included a march-like rhythm, dynamic contrasts, simple harmonies, and novel percussion instruments (tambourine, triangle, cymbals), with piccolos evoking the shrill Turkish horns. Keys of F, B-flat, D, and C were common in alla turca music, being the easiest keys for the wind instruments to play.
How does Mozart imitate Turkish music in The Abduction from the Seraglio?
Mozart chose the more alla turca key of C major; a full third of the opera is written in C major. Repeated rhythmic note patterns and sudden switches from a quiet dynamic to a more militaristic forte are quite common. The Turkish influence is obvious in Mozart’s “Chorus of the Janissaries,” which he described to his father as “everything one could wish a Janissary chorus to be…short and jolly; and written completely for the Viennese.” Mozart gives different musical qualities to the Turkish and the European characters: there is more lyricism in the Europeans’ arias. Singspiel, with its spoken comic dialogue, is well-suited to the jolly and more declamatory nature of Turkish-style music.
Despite Mozart’s imitation of Turkish music, The Abduction is undeniably Mozartean. Its florid passages may have provoked Joseph II of Austria to remark, “Too beautiful for our ears, my dear Mozart, and monstrous many notes!” Mozart is reported to have replied, “Exactly as many notes as are necessary, Your Majesty.” (See Mozart Myths)
-- Clare McNamara, Education Intern
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