W. A. Mozart: Le Nozze di Figaro (Cambridge Opera Handbooks)
Cambridge University Press
Edition: Illustrated, 2/25/1988
EAN 9780521316064, ISBN10: 0521316065
Paperback, 196 pages, 21.6 x 14 x 1.1 cm
Language: English
Le nozze di Figaro (1786) was Mozart's first mature opera buffa. It was also the first of his three major collaborations with the librettist Lorenzo da Ponte. Unlike Don Giovanni (1787) and Così fan tutte (1790), Figaro has few obvious problems, and even if it is not without flaws, it nevertheless contains a remarkable mixture of all those elements that go to produce a good opera: a sound plot, a well-structured text and fine music. This opera handbook examines the work from historical and musical perspectives, to set it in the context of Mozart's age.
1. Introduction
2. Mozart and the opera buffa tradition Michael F. Robinson
3. Beaumarchais, da Ponte and Mozart
from play to opera
4. Synopsis
5. Verse and music in Le nozze di Figaro
6. Opera buffa and the Classical style
the Act I trio
7. Music and drama in Le nozze di Figaro
8. Le nozze di Figaro
a brief performance history
Notes
Select bibliography
Discography Malcolm Walker.