Mozart’s Most ‘Noted’ Opera

By Eman Isadiar

One of the world’s best-known opera reviews was given by Joseph II, Emperor of Austria, who, after seeing Mozart’s Abduction from the Seraglio, summed it up in three words – “Too many notes!” Clearly, he never saw the bold, new co-production of San Francisco Opera with Lyric Opera of Chicago, which is now on stage at the War Memorial Opera House through October 23.

San Francisco Opera presents Mozart’s Abduction from the Seraglio in a joint production with Lyric Opera of Chicago (photo by Cory Weaver).

The opera’s principal characters are two noblemen from opposite shores of the Mediterranean, namely Belmonte of Spain and Pasha Selim of Turkey, who are in love with the same woman, Constanze. Similarly, the noblemen’s butlers Pedrillo and Osmin vie for the love of Constanze’s chambermaid, Blonde.

Pedrillo, Blonde and Constanze are held captive by the Pasha in his harem estate, while Belmonte plots to win their freedom. Incognito, he enters the grounds of the palace and manages to find Pedrillo. Together, they drug Osmin and attempt to free the girls at the stroke of midnight, but their plan hits a snag and the four are captured in their attempted escape.

At this point, Belmonte introduces himself as a member of Spanish nobility and offers to buy the group’s freedom. This is where things go from bad to worse. Upon hearing his name, the Pasha realizes Belmonte is the son of his lifelong blood enemy, so he orders the captives executed in the morning.

As Belmonte and Constanze await their death, they reluctantly accept their fate and are resigned to being together in the afterlife. But the Pasha’s deep love for Constanze turns out to be sincere and exerts its influence upon his heart overnight. So, he frees the prisoners and lets bygones be bygones.

Osmin is in utter shock.

Soprano Mary Dunleavy sang the part of Constanze with the subtlety and grace of true Spanish aristocracy. Her aria of Act 1, “Ach ich liebte” (“Ah, I Once Loved”), in which Constanze sadly remembers Belmonte before her kidnapping, was delivered with elegant simplicity.

Soprano Mary Dunleavy sings the part of Constanze and stage actor Charles Shaw Robinson appears in the speaking role of Pasha Selim in San Francisco Opera’s Abduction from the Seraglio (photo by Cory Weaver).

Gifted Tenor Mathew Polenzani was captivating as Belmonte. An uplifting moment of the opera was Belmonte’s aria of Act 2, “Der Freude Tränen” (“Tears of Joy”), in which he rejoices after being reunited with Constanze.

With his boyish good looks, tenor Andrew Bidlack made an outstanding Pedrillo. In Act 3, the young Spaniard sings a serenade as a secret signal to Constanze and Blonde to prepare for the escape – “In Mohrenland gefangen” (“Captive in a Moorish Land”) – which Bidlack combined with just the right measure of charm and good acting.

Soprano Anna Christy was stunning in the role of Blonde. She sang some of the opera’s most demanding passages with effortless ease. Her aria of Act 2, “Durch Zärtlichkeit” (“With Tenderness”), where Blonde tells Osmin how to win a Western woman’s heart, was simply brilliant.

Judging by the decibel level of curtain call cheers, the audience definitely picked Christy as the show’s uncontested star.

With his powerful voice, British Bass Peter Rose brought much resonance to the character of Osmin, culminating in the aria “Ha, wie will ich triumphieren” (“Ah, How I Shall Triumph”), where he delights in the imminent execution of his rival, Pedrillo, after the failed escape.

Stage actor Charles Shaw Robinson gave a solid performance in the speaking role of Pasha Selim, and the chorus of Ottoman guards and concubines played a vital part under the skillful direction of Ian Robertson.

The production was designed by David Zinn and directed by Chas Rader-Shieber. Last and certainly not least, twenty-something Cornelius Meister of Germany conducted the orchestra with the musical expertise and insight of a seasoned maestro.

Too many notes or not, Mozart vindicates a fictional Turkish Pasha in a surprising eleventh-hour plot twist, while the real Emperor of Austria goes down in history – with perhaps a touch of operatic irony – for making the most pedestrian musical remark of all time.

One wonders what the attention-deficient Joseph II would say about Wagner’s epic The Ring Cycle, promised by San Francisco Opera in all of its 15-hour-plus glory in June 2011.

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Eman Isadiar teaches piano at the Peninsula Conservatory and writes about music in the San Francisco Bay Area.